Yesterday was James Dean’s birthday so I thought I’d make a little something from my chum Greg’s fabulous “In the kitchen with James Dean” cookbook Recipes for Rebels.

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There are so many fab recipes in this book (I’m looking at you Eartha Kitt’s Crocked Rabbit with Winter Vegetables) it was hard to choose, but as it was a weeknight and I’ve got a lot on at the moment, I went for something quick and easy.

Cher’s soup was a doddle to make.  I did a bit of googling around the subject of “tomato sauce” as to Brits, that would be this:

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but I knew that wasn’t what Cher meant, so I used almost a whole jar of this:

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The only time in my life I can remember having minestrone it was as a kid, from a can:

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and in my memory the pasta used to be little round circles (like miniature Spaghetti ‘Oops), not what looks like busted up spaghetti in the above picture… 

Cher’s recipe called for Ditalini pasta:

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But I couldn’t find any tiny round pasta of any type in Morrisons, so I made do with these:

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Ha ha!  I liked the elephants…

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So this soup wasn’t anything like I remember Heinz misfortune (good predictive text word for Minestrone) to be, it was a much thicker consistency.  Also, I’m not sure how traditional adding soy sauce is…  But anyhow, if you are a Cher fan (I am looking at you Yinzerella over at Dinner is Served 1972), you might want to have a go at Cher’s soup.

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1/2 cup sliced carrots [about one medium carrot]

1/2 cup sliced celery [about 2 stalks of celery]

1/2 cup chopped onion [about 1 small onion]

1 x 14.5 oz can chicken broth, defatted [I used approximately 410 ml of chicken stock]

1 and 1/2 cups water [35o ml]

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon pepper

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 x 28 oz can Italian plum tomatoes, drained and chopped [I used 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes]

1 x 8 oz can low-sodium tomato sauce [approximately 225ml of a jarred passata type sauce]

1 x 16 oz can red kidney beans, drained [I used a standard 400g can kidney beans]

1/2 cup Ditalini pasta

Grated Parmesan cheese

Place first 11 ingredients in saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10-15 minutes or until carrots and celery are tender.  Add kidney beans and Ditalini, cook for 10-15 minutes more or until pasta is al dente.  Serve with a sprinkle (no more than 1 teaspoon) of Parmesan cheese on top of the soup.

Tasty!

So happy birthday for yesterday Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean!

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Greg made an INCREDIBLE James Dean birthday cake and he’s written a great post talking through the whole process.  Check it out!  Woweeeeeeee!

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It’s too hard to pick just one picture of Cher for the post.  She’s so goddamn gorgeous!  I know Mr R thinks so, therefore, here are a few of my faves…

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