It's a bean, it's a tomato, it's MINESTRONE!

Lu: George made a soup tonight that was real' tasty. Minestrone is one of his best soups, but tonight's may have been the best yet.

So what is his secret?

Minestrone according to George:

Saute garlic and onions in large soup pot with olive oil. When translucent, add coarsely chopped vegetables of choice (he used carrots, potatoes, celery root, and yellow squash). After a couple of minutes add chicken broth and crushed plum tomatoes. Bring to boil, and then simmer on low heat for 30 mins or so. While simmering, add kidney and navy beans, fresh chopped Italian parsley, and a splash of dry white wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook orzo al dente in separate pot, and add to each bowl when serving, along with some peccorino romano.

George: We got back from a fine day at the Brooklyn museum somewhat famished. We caught the 3 to the G and made our way to the Garden in Greenpoint. It's freezing out there today.
Soup and biscuits were a good choice to nurture the soul. Lu was in charge of biscuits, and whipped up some amazing whole wheat dilly biscuits.

Lu's Biscuits:

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 ts baking powder
Large pinch of salt
Mix together.....
Cut in:
6 tbs unsalted butter
Finely chopped herbs of choice (optional, like dill...mmm)
Make well in the mixture and fill with:
10 tbs cream
Combine until ingredients just come together. roll out pastry until 3/4 in. thick. Cut out biscuit rounds and place on buttered baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes, or until lightly browned.

While this was going on, she compulsively whipped together a yogurt cream cheese dip, and a chimichurri sauce for another day...

Chimichurri:

1 bunch finely chopped parsley
3 or 4 cloves garlic
olive oil (make it wet)
add salt, pepper, and lemon to taste

That's it folks. Chop everything up real small, mix it all together, add some lemon juice, and throw it on a steak or a burrito or a fish taco. This sauce kicks ass.

Diana's Dip:

Cream cheese
Yogurt
Diced shallots or red onion
Dill (finely chopped)
salt

Blend until it's done. Serve with toasted bread or crackers. It's so good.

If you've made it this far, you probably have a real boring job and some time to kill. We appreciate your readership and hope you'll check back for exciting recipe updates.