Subject: Zuppa di Ceci
From: Unicorn (unicorn@indenial.com)
Date: Thu Nov 30 2000 - 11:50:08 EST
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F O O D F U N N Y
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Thanks to reader Shirley Boyd for today's true food funny:
I used to have a brother-in-law who was extremely overweight and ate
like you wouldn't believe, always taking the biggest and best of
anything on the table. One holiday, my mother was having the whole
clan over for dinner and, in addition to a delicious meal, she was
making blueberry muffins. She took the muffin pan out of the oven and
sat it down for a few minutes to cool, then turned it over onto a
cooling rack. As she did this, one of the muffins fell into a dishpan
full of clean water. Being very frugal and not wanting to waste a
good blueberry muffin, she put it on a plate and sat it in the still
warm oven, hoping it would "dry out."
It was now time to put everything out on the table. As she opened the
oven door, she noticed that the muffin had swelled greatly and was
more than double its original size. Still not wanting to waste it,
she placed it on the plate with the rest of the muffins.
As was his custom, my brother-in-law saw this monstrous blueberry
muffin and took it "before someone else could get it!" As he bit into
it, water poured out all over him and his plate of food. No one other
than my mother knew why there was water in the muffin but, needless to
say, everyone was hysterically laughing.
My mother said, "I didn't do that on purpose but maybe it will teach
you that the biggest is not always the best." Unfortunately, it
didn't - and fortunately, he is no longer my brother-in-law!
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T O D A Y ' S R E C I P E
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I have to confess that I like chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans)
in just about any form, and this hearty soup is a meal in itself. It
will keep refrigerated for up to a week, and leftovers taste even
better than the first time.
All recipes this week are adapted from "Essentials of Classic Italian
Cooking" by Marcella Hazan, Knopf, 1992. It is available at
Amazon.com using this link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/039458404X/worldwiderecipes
Zuppa di Ceci (Chickpea Soup)
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
4 - 6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp (10 ml) crushed dried rosemary leaves
1 cup (250 ml) canned Italian tomatoes with
their juice, chopped
4 cups (1 L) beef or chicken broth
2 cans (16 oz, 450 g each) chickpeas (garbanzo
beans, ceci), rinsed and drained
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over moderate heat. Saute the
garlic cloves until well browned, then remove and discard. Add the
rosemary and tomatoes with their juice and cook partially covered over
moderate heat for 20 minutes. Add the chickpeas and cook in the
tomato mixture for 5 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil.
Season with salt (if needed) and pepper. Serves 4 to 6.
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