Mmm, 90+ degree weather and soup!

I would like summer to go back from whence it came. Record April highs do not a happy Ruth make. As protest, I have eaten soup for the past two dinners. Already made soup that I had frozen a few weeks prior. Mostly because it meant no cooking, but also, because it is a truly delicious soup, a Sonoma Diet-style Spaghetti-Os, except more like my memory of Spaghetti-Os (delicious) and less like the Spaghetti-O reality (disgusting).

Thus, I present to you the inelegantly named Turkey Sausage-Garbanzo Bean Soup with Pasta.

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 9-11 minutes Makes: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

6 ounces uncooked Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. chopped fresh sage or 2 t. dried sage, crushed
2 T. chopped fresh rosemary or 1 1/2 t. dried rosemary, crushed
3 14-oz cans low sodium chicken broth
1 15 - 16 oz. can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup tomato paste (1/2 of a 6 oz. can)
3/4 cup uncooked elbow or any other small size multigrain or whole wheat pasta
Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large saucepan cook sausage, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is browned and onion is tender. Stir in sage and rosemary; cook over low heat for 1 minute (do not brown herbs).
2. Stir in broth, garbanzo beans, the water and tomato paste. Bring to boiling. Stir in uncooked pasta. Simmer, uncovered, for 9 to 11 minutes or until pasta is tender. Season to taste with pepper.