It takes more than two for this marriage to work! Recipe 53 - Italian Wedding Soup

And.. they lived happily ever after... (The stuff in the soup anyway!)

So, I set out Friday night (which was a beautifully cool - almost fall, evening, making it the perfect night for soup)  So, enter: Italian wedding soup.
I gathered everything together and pulled up a recipe that I adapted from Ina Garten (what an interesting name!)
The 'meatballs' were first.  I didn't really use her recipe to a tee, just a guide.  Obviously the exception was the 'ground beef' and I threw a few different herbs in it and a different kind of bread crumb.  That probably was the hardest part.. the meatballs. 
They looked good tho!

While those were baking, I'd read something about this lady that had a granny from the 'old country' (which reminded me of the time my dad spoke of his living in the old country - which to him, meant Decatur Il.. not Italy, but I digress).   Granny from the old country suggested to NEVER cook your pasta in with the rest of the soup.  Made for too thick of soup.   Who am I to argue with an Italian grandma?  Um.. no.   I cooked it seperate!

As that was cooking, obviously I was chopping and sauteeing for the rest of the soup. 
Chop/Sautee/Broth/Wait
Kinda my mantra that night.
Occasionally I'd get interrupted by a welcome facebook chitter or a text.  But I was really into my cheffing that night.

Time for the 'meatballs' to come out.  I dropped one.. (darnit!)  The cat sniffed it.  I squealed "NO, IT'S HOT!!! H-O-T!! HOT!!!"  Not that a one of my furkids know what the words 'hot, no, yes, stop it, chill out, what did you do, OUCH" etc mean.. but as I reitterated in my squeal - I think I scared them.
Later on when it cooled, they were more than happy to re-sniff and walk away.  Lol.  Some meat eaters you just can't change. ;)

No matter.. I plopped those babies into the soup (sans the fallen one) as well as the cooked pasta and let it simmer.. then, added the last ingredient to make this marriage work:

Spinach.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting out of this soup.  It honestly didn't look all that good to me to begin with.  But - I added vegan parm (as it explained to add parmesan before serving), took a bite and was WOWED at the flavor.
This stuff was good!
Not only was it good - I had uber leftovers.
I took some to Mr. Drew as he requested.  He loved it.
The rest - so far has been fueling me after my training runs.  In fact, I ate a whole bowl last night at 11pm with some gatorade.  I do believe it helped me to fall asleep!  (Take that, Nyquil!)

A+ in that veganization.
I have one more for Italian month under my belt, but it's been created (twice already) so that means I won't be putting as much effort into it.

Keep an eye here though, it's coming - later this week. You won't want to miss it - it was YUMMY IN THE TUMMY!


:)

Music enjoyed while blogging:
Can you believe, nothing again?

Current Craving:
Not a thing - I just ate.

Current Motivation:
Following my training log to the tee for the next 12 days - even if it kills me!