Rustic Vegetable and Polenta Soup

As quickly as summer came, it is slowly leaving us. The leaves are getting crisp at the side of the road and soon they will change colors - the most magnificent colors that only those of us in the northeast can appreciate. Sentimentality has taken over. On Tuesday, I will walk A to the bus and head back into the house. For the first time since 1982, I will not be going to school in September. I have always had a first day of school - elementary school, high school, college, graduate school, and the last eleven years as a teacher.

It seems strange to be missing the first day. My colleagues will have set up their classrooms, and they'll laugh and complain from the hallways of the high threes like always, but I won't be there to join in, and I'm already missing J and K (and the year hasn't even technically began). My homeroom will enter, but another teacher will be there to distribute schedules, agendas, and school picture forms. They are seniors this year. I've watched them grow from silly to serious, and it's a little sad to think I won't be there to see them through their last year. And another teacher will be decorating my boards, moving into my desk, and arranging the seats. Will she know to buy candy for holidays, light candles to make the room more homey, or to never, ever turn on all of the florescent lights?

A strange post for a cooking blog? Probably. But as a result of all of this nostalgia, I'm making soup. A delicious autumnal soup from Giada De Laurentis. I'm using heirloom tomatoes from A's garden to make it even more special. It takes no more than a half an hour to prepare. And it makes enough for a couple of meals. Maybe I'll even eat it for lunch on Tuesday, hours after I've headed back into the house after the bus has driven away, made another cup of coffee, and snuggled with C, the little gift from God that we've been blessed with this year who has reminded me to slow down, take a break, and enjoy the gift of life and love.

You need:

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, chopped
salt and pepper
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
3 plum tomatoes, diced
2 zucchini, diced
4 c. chicken broth
1/3 c. instant polenta
3 tbsp. unsalted butter

Heat olive oil in a medium or large soup pot. Add carrots, onions, and salt and pepper. Cook for 6 minutes or until the onions are soft. Add parsley, thyme, garlic, zucchini, and tomatoes. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the polenta and cook for 8 minutes. Add the butter, stir, and serve. Season with, if desired, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese.