Back from the dead! Plus Soup...Minestrone to be exact

So it's been a dog's age since I posted here. Sorry sweet friends! But I'm back and feeling the need to update this space so get ready for some new recipes!
Hard to believe I never put my minestrone recipe up here. This is in HEAVY rotation in my house. It is pretty quick to put together, fantastic on cold nights or when you're sick. Plus my youngest, Lucia, eats it by the truckful. Ha ha! You ate vegetables you silly girl!  Bwahaha! Victory is mine!
Anyhoo, this is a recipe that I kept searching for and never liked what I found. I'm pretty picky about minestrone. Italian thing probably ;) So I combined what I liked from at least 5 different recipes. 
This is one of those recipes you can tinker with and it's almost always good so have fun with it!

Maria's Minestrone

Ingredients
Olive oil
Minced garlic
Salt
Carrots (I usually use 4 because my girls loooove carrots)
1 Zucchini cut into small slices
Half a sweet potato/yam cut into small pieces
Handful of green beans
2/3 cup white wine
2 cans cannellini beans (these are white kidney beans. If you can't find them use Great Northern or Navy beans)
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth
bay leaf
Parmesan cheese rind: don't skip this! This is where the magic happens.
Herbs of your choice: basil, sage, oregano, rosemary
*Pasta: optional

Heat up some olive oil in a deep pot. Add minced garlic and cook for a few seconds- a minute. Add your vegetables with some salt. Cook for about 5 minutes or until they get nice and sweaty. Meanwhile, work on your beans. Take one can of your beans and drain/rinse them. Put them in a bowl with half a cup of water and blend them with a stick blender to make a paste. This is your thickening agent.  Take your other can of beans and simply drain/rinse. Once the vegetables are sweating add your wine. Add herbs, beans, bean paste, tomatoes, parmesan rind and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes or more depending on your desired consistency.

*A note about pasta. I for one don't use pasta in mine. Mostly because if you are having leftovers the pasta will soak up a lot of your liquid. But if you choose to, cook it separately and then add it in at the end.

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