If you want to take the chill off the house on a winter morning like this one — if you want to take the chill off your body — get up early and make minestrone. Make a big pot so you can share some with a deserving friend, neighbor, relative or conscientious citizen. (Please don’t share with the undeserving.)
If you don’t have ingredients, make a note of this home-heating plan for the future.
When the forecast looks cold and grim, stock up on fresh carrots, celery and onions, and maybe some curly endive or cabbage. If you don’t have stock — chicken or vegetable — add that to your grocery list, along with a can of cannellini and diced tomatoes. I work off the Marcella Hazan recipe, but you can always innovate with minestrone, as I do. You can add some macaroni (not too much), or cubed potatoes. I had some leftover Chinese broccoli this morning and added a bit of that.
As the soup heats up, so will your kitchen and soon the whole house. And you’ll feel warmer as you chop. (Always put a damp dish towel under your cutting board to keep it from slip-sliding away during use.)
I also have a more complex instruction for making your house steam-bath warm. It’s in a previous post: My 20-step plan to cook multiple meals and get the house warmed up at the same time.
As always, buon appetito.
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Dan Rodricks 
Your 20 step directions have made my day! I forwarded them to my friend, Chef Adam Walker. Do you know of him? Try dinnercrafters.com for more info.
I froze some soup without labeling it and finally defrosted it to find that what I thought was chicken tortilla soup was actually a mediterranean fish soup. Yum. Also good with some cheese. The moral of my story is label frozen soups or get surprised. xo, Carol
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