My baby is very generous. So, when a bout of cold and flu swept his daycare taking no prisoners, he was more than happy to share his bug with me. After having ordered a couple of meals, I was no longer in the mood to eat take-out. I was yearning for a nice, hot bowl of soup to nourish my senses. I missed my mom. I mustered the last bit of energy left in me to make some minestrone. I already had a lot of pre-cut vegetables in the refrigerator so it was just a matter of throwing everything together. With a delicious recipe and a pressure cooker at my arsenal, I set to work. After everything was prepared and kitchen was cleaned, I left to pick up my son from daycare. We came home and shared a mouthwatering bowl of soup, snuggled together in bed and had a blissful night of sleep.

Ingredients:

1. Canned red kidney beans - 1/3 cup

2. Shelled pasta / Macaroni - 1/3 cup

3. Vegetable stock - 2.5 cups

4. Water - 1 cup

5. Onions - 1 (chopped)

6. Garlic - 3 pods (peeled and chopped)

7. Carrots - 1/3 cup (julienned or chopped)

8. Spinach - 1/2 cup

9. Tomato - 1 (chopped)

10. Zucchini - 1 (chopped)

11. Marinara - 2 tbsp (I used Barilla)

12. Olive oil - 2 tbsp

13. Spices - 1 tsp each of dried (oregano, basil, thyme, black pepper, parsley)

14. Salt to taste

15. Green onions - 2 tbsp

Procedure:

1. In a pressure cooker (I used my Fagor duo), throw everything together. Alternatively, if you had the patience, you could first add oil, then onions, garlic, pasta, kidney beans followed by the vegetables, liquids, spices and salt and lightly stir the top layer to incorporate the spices.

2. Pressure cook for 6 minutes on high. Release pressure right away and give it a stir. (This is important because you don't want the pasta to overcook and become a gooey mess. )

3. Serve with some green onions (optional) on top.

**Please note - the pressure cooker timings may vary for each type of pressure cooker. I used 6 minutes because I wanted to use the same setting as white rice. If you are using a type with whistles, you might want to wait for 1 whistle or about 10 minutes on high. In any case, I recommend checking it well before so you can act accordingly - better to have it be undercooked rather than overcooked.