Spontaneous Soup—Minestrone

I'm working the closer tonight at the bookstore, and it's craft night. So, I felt the need to make something to serve to people here, and I have at my disposal only one cooking implement: A crock pot.

Let's get to work.

Ad Hoc Minestrone Soup
2 Zucchini
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
4 carrots
4 stalks celery
some basil
some parsley
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (19 oz) cannelloni beans
1 can (4 oz) tomato paste
water to cover
about 2 cups elbow macaroni
salt and pepper as needed

1. Combine all ingredients in a crock pot, and cook until the zucchini is soft. Add macaroni somewhat into the cooking process. Add salt and pepper to taste—this can take a quite surprisingly large amount of salt, if you like things that way.

Now, presuming I didn't have a crock pot—or rather, presuming that I did have a stove, I'd approach this a little differently.

1. Heat some olive oil in a pot, and sweat the onions and garlic. When soft, add basil, carrots, and celery. Sweat until all items are soft and glistening.

2. Add tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, zucchini, and parsley. Cover with water (bring it up to the desired amount, in essence) and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the vegetables are tender.

3. With about 15 minutes left in cooking time, add macaroni. Season to taste, and serve when the macaroni is soft.