Harvest minestrone with herb lemon pesto

Pesto Italian cuisine

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a slight addiction to soup. I could eat soup every day for every meal and never ever tire of it. I'm the crazy girl eating hot soup sitting outside in August in Florida when the temperature is hovering around 100 and the humidity is 90%. I've had parties where all I served was a variety of soups. The first question I ask every waiter involves the day's soup offering. Okay, maybe it is more than a "slight" addiction! This is a great cleaning out the fridge soup. I made this minestrone frequently this winter when the crisper drawers were overflowing with the goodies from our CSA basket. It is a yummy versatile soup. You can use kale, chard, or really any green to replace the spinach and you can switch up the veggies to your liking. Regarding the beans, I love Rancho Gordo beans and use the Rio Zape bean here but you can use your favorite pinto or any other bean if you prefer. Regarding the cheese rind, when you finish a block of parmesan, toss the rind in the freezer in a zip lock. Also, Whole Foods sells them separately if you don't have one handy. It adds a great depth of flavor to soups and meat sauces. - melissav