There once was an elderly gentleman who was celebrating his 90th birthday. His friends had little idea what to give him as he was a man who had all he needed in life. One friend remembered that years before the man had mentioned a lifelong wish to spend a night in a fancy hotel. So, on the fateful day, the man’s friends shuffled him off in a limousine bound for a five star hotel to spend a night in the lap of luxury.
Arriving at the hotel, the man was greeted by the staff and treated like a king. They sent him up to the penthouse and when he entered the room, he was thrilled to find a glorious view laid out before him. A huge, widescreen television dominated one wall and a table was loaded with gourmet snacks and bottles of champagne on ice.
The man had just settled into his pajamas and was indulging in a bit of cold bubbly when the doorbell rang. He got up to answer it and when he opened the door he was greeted by a woman. She was dressed all in skin-tight leather and was wielding a whip in one hand and a box of condoms in the other.
She told him, “My name is Madam Orgasma and your friends have sent me here to give you super sex.”
The old man looked her up and down, thinking for a moment before answering her.
“I’ll have the soup.”
Ta-da! And now for the recipe.
A soup as good as sex. Almost.
1 quart vegetable stock (Use the good stuff. It’s worth it for this one.)
2 cups of water
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen spinach
6 mushrooms, diced very small
1/2 zucchini, diced very small
1 cup elbow pasta
1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Tbl. balsamic vinegar (again, get as good as you can afford.)
In a nice big pot, dump in the stock and water and bring it to a boil. Dump in the balsamic, Old Bay and half the olive oil.
While you’re waiting for that to heat up, dice the veggies.
Dump the elbows in the boiling stock and set your timer for 10 minutes.
In a small pan, heat the other half of the olive oil.
When the oil is hot (it should ripple when you slide it around the pan) dump in the mushrooms. Sautee them for a minute or two and then dump in the zucchini. When all that is browned slightly, dump the veggies in with the elbows. Put the frozen spinach in the hot pan. No need to turn the heat back on under the pan as you’re just looking to defrost the spinach.
When the elbows are done (ten minutes!) dump in the beans and spinach. Simmer about 3 to 5 minutes to let everything warm through before serving.
A nice whole grain bread and butter goes well with this. Bon Appetit!
