Lola does Minestrone

You cannot even imagine what went into this soup. Here is a partial list:

• chicken broth
  
• garlic
  
• green onion
  
• parsley
  
• green beans
  
• wild rice from last Monday
  
• canned corn
  
• tomatoes
  
• zucchini
  
• squash
  
• carrots
  
• spinach
  
• 3 kinds of beans
  
• lentils
  
• celery
  
• jalapeno
  
• olive oil
  
• bay leaves, cumin, oregano, basil, paprika, chile powder, salt, pepper
  

I'm fairly certain I've forgotten some things. Basically, I just went to the corner market and filled my backpack and two shopping bags with vegetables. And then I cooked the whole dealy for the last five hours. Now it's done and it should last at least a week.

Here's how you, too, can make Lola's Minestrone:

• You start with the chicken broth, whether you do that organic stuff in the carton or the cheap kind from a mix: no me importa tres pepinos. Fill yer pot about halfway with water/broth and throw a bunch of beans in. I just eyeball the amount. But remember they puff up. Get the water boiling and then reduce it to a low simmer. Now, the beans'll need to cook at least two hours just by themselves. So go read a book or call your mother or get engaged in the season premiere of Lost or something.
  
• When you come back, the beans should be opened and puffy. Then you can start adding veggies. Add them in the order of what needs to cook the longest. For example, I added my carrots first,then garlic, then zucchini and squash, and so on. Tomatoes last, if you're using them.
  
• This would be a good time to add your spices. I recommend a healthy dash of olive oil, too. With cumin and oregano, it's almost impossible to put too much. You just really can't overdo cumin. It's a mild spice. Watch yourself with the paprika, chile powder, salt, and pepper, though. You can always add more, but if you put too much you might be in hot water. Ha! Get it? Hot water?!.....Ahem. Anyway. I put too much jalapeno this time, and the only solution was to add more water, with the result being a thinner soup. No biggie.
  
• By the time you put the last ingredients in (ie tomatoes) your soup should be pretty much done. Give the broth a taste and bite a carrot to make sure it's cooked.
  

*DONE*

I think I may start posting more about my cooking. Everything I cook, I mostly make up the recipe myself. Like when I wanted to make blueberry muffins, I went online and found a recipe, then changed it to suit my preferences. Plus, posting my cooking exploits here will help me when I want to make something again and I realize I didn't write my recipe down because I thought I would just remember. Because of this false assumption, nothing I cook ever turns out the same as it was the time before.