We’ve been having some wacky weather, here in SoCal.

Last weekend it was in the 90s and so hot that a strapless sundress with gladiator sandals was an appropriate choice for both day and night.

But this weekend, it’s rainy, cold, windy. I LOVE it! Of course, it helps that I get to work from home and cook whenever I feel like it, so rainy days are extra special to me. And of course, cold, wet days means….soup!

My dad and I : soup  ::  cookie monster : cookies

Did I do that right? I’m trying desperately to mimic those awesome SAT questions that I secretly love but might be really awful at.

Anyway, my dad and I decided today was a soup day, so using ingredients we had at home, a vegetable soup was born.

Mmmmhmm. Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?

Here’s the quick recipe we used to make it. Remember that all seasonings are to taste. And we likey the salt.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. EVOO
• 1 small brown onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4-5 carrots, peeled and chopped into half inch-inch pieces
• 3 stalks of celery, sliced large
• 32-oz. box of vegetable stock/broth, plus a 14.5-oz. can of vegetable stock
• 1-2  14.5-oz. cans of diced tomatoes, depending on how tomatoey you like your soup (I used 1 and a half)
• 3/4 can of garbanzo beans
• 3/4 cup frozen mixed vegetables (I used peas, carrots, corn, and green beans)
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• Salt and Pepper
• Season salt
• Cayenne Pepper
• Cooked pasta, your choice (*Note: when my dad makes soup, he ALWAYS throws the uncooked pasta into the soup to cook. and it ALWAYS soaks up all of the broth, which makes for great-tasting noodles, but dry soup. Do yourself and your soup a favor and cook the pasta first, THEN add it to your soup. And always freeze your soup without noodles. So when you defrost it, there’s plenty of yummy broth, and then you can just throw in fresh cooked pasta–no gummy noodles!)

Throw them in the pot like this:

1. Cook the diced onion in the EVOO in a dutch oven (or soup pot) until translucent. You can season the onions with seasonings of your choice as they cook down.
2. Throw in the minced garlic, stir, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Throw in the carrots and stir, cooking for about 5 minutes.
4. Throw in the celery and stir, cooking for about 1-2 minutes.
5. Add all of the broth and tomatoes. Add your seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 30-40 minutes.
6. Add in the frozen mixed vegetables and garbanzo beans and cook for about 5 minutes, until thawed and heated through.
7. Add the cooked noodles.
8. Sip, slurp, sigh.