Cookin' With Leo

By Leocthasme

Well now, it ain’t often that my Dear Sweet Italian Fairy Godmother visits me more than a few times a year, but this year she has been around pretty often. And just the other day while the weather in Texas has been so damn hot and dry and I was sitting in the shade just to cool off, she fluttered on to the patio.
“Good gosh, Dear Sweet Italian Fairy Godmother, what in this world would bring you to Texas with all the fire and smoke here? I know you are not a resident of hell but you sure came to it.”
“Oh be quiet, you no in any hell yet, and if you get there you sure gonna’ know it.”
“Maybe so Dear Sweet Italian Fairy Godmother, but West Texas has been hell since before last Christmas, and if we don’t get some rain soon this whole damn state will burn off the face of the earth.”
“Don’t worry you gonna’ get rain sometime before next Christmas.”
“Gee, is that a promise?”
“No promise, just a fact.”
“OK so who made you the chief meteorologist?” I asked with a bit of sarcasm.
“Don’t worry I know everything and you gonna’ get rain here before June come around.” She forecast.
“Well I hope your predictions are correct.” I snorted.
“Hey, li’l bambino, you know you can depend on your Dear Sweet Italian Fairy Godmother, she know everything.”
“Maybe so, but every church in West Texas has been praying for rain and by now many folks have turned to voodoo and wild incantations, whatever and nothing works.”
“Well if I say it gonna’ rain here before June, you just believe it the same as you believe in my recipes I give you and make you world famous chef and cook book writer.”
" OK, Dear Sweet Italian Fairy Godmother, I won’t doubt you, so what have you got for me today?”
“ Oh, I gotta some nice Italian pasta soup for that rainy day.”
“ OK, I like soup on rainy days, so let’s have it!”
Will I ever learn to not say ‘let’s have it” to my Dear Sweet Italian Fairy Godmother, she is too good at letting me have it with that magic wand of hers. Slam, bang, and she was gone again but now I have a recipe for a rainy day in Texas,

Here is what you need so check out everything as a lot goes into this:

• 2 tblspns Olive Oil, look for the kind with the picture of the Virgin on the bottle.
• About 6 oz. Prosciutto chopped, that’s Italian Ham in case you didn’t know.
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 midium stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced.
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 can 16 – 18 oz great northern beans, drained and rinsed.
• 2 cans 16 – 18 oz diced tomatoes, drained
• 2/3 cup ditalini pasta
• ¼ cup minced fresh parsley

And here is how you do it:

Heat the oil in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Add the Prosciutto, onion and garlic. Cook stirring constantly until the onion is tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the celery, carrots, and broth, Cook until bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pot. Reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer 5 minutes more. Mash the beans and stir in with the tomatoes. Cover and stir occasionally and f let cook for 5 minutes, only stirring to keep anything from sticking to the bottom. Add the Pasta Cover and heat until the Pasta is tender but still firm. Remove from heat and let stand about 5 minutes, stir in the parsley and serve.

Some nice red Italian Wine will go with this, and stay out of the rain.