martha's vegetable soup

The first incarnation of this soup came straight from Martha Stewart's Entertaining , but over the years it's evolved into quite a different soup. However, when I first made it for the kids, I dubbed it "Martha's Vegetable", and the name stuck.

It's a great, simple soup, bright with basil and easy on the stomach if one has ( now who would that be?) indulged in a few too many Double Chocolate Chunk cookies, as well as six Italian Anise cookies. A small handful of either vermicelli or gemelli pasta adds a little oomph to the hearty mixture of fresh veggies, and if you have some, a spoonful of pesto is always good, too.

To make about 4 plus servings:

1/2 large onion, quartered and sliced

2 T. olive oil or unsalted butter

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2 cup zucchini, quartered and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

2 cloves pressed garlic

1/2 cup green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup large dice red or green peppers

1 cup large dice red skinned potatoes

1 cup canned plum tomatoes, diced

3 T. gemelli pasta or small bunch vermicelli pasta

2 t. basil

salt and freshly cracked pepper

1 t. tarragon ( optional)

2 T. chopped parsley

4 1/2 cups half water, half vegetable or chicken stock

Pesto - one tablespoon per bowl (optional)

In a pot, heat the olive oil and/or butter and toss in the onions. Stir and cook for five minutes or so.

Add the potatoes , the stock, and the celery and peppers and simmer until the potatoes are just barely tender.

Add the zucchini, garlic, basil, tarragon, green beans, tomatoes, parsley, and pasta and cook about 15 minutes, or until pasta is just tender.

Taste the soup for seasoning, and add more basil and salt and pepper to taste. Swirl in the pesto if you're using it, and serve.

Enjoy!