Why do I start blogging after 11pm each night?  Maybe it is the supreme silence , now that everyone in the house
has gone to sleep and Chelsea Handler is on in the background.  This is my most relaxing time..so I guess it stands
to reason that I can bang on the keyboard undisturbed.  The weather is turning cold again after a brief day in the
50's, but the temperature is plunging into the 20's overnight. 
     When I got home from work I didn't feel like cooking a full blown meal so Egg White omelettes and rolls sounded
like an easy way out...but I tripped over a bag of Christmas gifts, and another idea came to mind.  There was some
mostaccioli leftover in the fridge from yesterdays' dinner, just plain macaroni.  And I tripped over a bag which had a bottle
of Grapeseed Oil from Italy infused with truffles.  Let me stop a minute here.  This is a powerful ingredient that needs to
be used gingerly...not like you would use an olive oil or canola...or like ketchup on a burger.  I find all too many times when
out to dinner at a nice restaurant, that the chef was way way overgenerous with their addition of truffle oil to whatever
the preparation was.  Many a mac and cheese with truffle oil has been pushed to the side by me, the taste reminiscent of
sucking on a raging pipe of jet fuel...anyone else have that unpleasant experience?    Well, I paired up my gift of truffle
oil with the leftover mostaccioli and decided an"upscale" Pasta e Fagioli would be a great way to use the ingredients.
     Pasta "Fazool" comes in many ways, again, simma down all you culinista and foodie police, it can be made in a myriad
of ways.  Sometimes it is very brothy (not my preference), and sometimes it is quite thick, and sometimes it falls in-
between.  A pantry stocked with a good variety of beans is really the way to go.  For this version of Pasta e Fagioli, or
Macaroni and Bean Soup,  I used a medium saucepan.  In it went some olive oil, 2 thinly sliced cloves of garlic...let them
just give up their fragrance, you can smell it...then open two cans of cannellini beans (white kidney beans) and stir
well.  Taste for seasoning now since the beans are packed in salt.  Add some fresh chopped parsley and 1/2 cup of
crushed italian tomatoes.  This will turn this mixture into nice orange rust color...it looks like Tuscany...really.  Let this
cook for 15 minutes.  Add 1 tsp. good balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. dried oregano.  Stir.  Add a 2 inch rind of pecorino
romano, and a 1/2 cup of vegetable broth, or water, and let this cook for another 15 minutes.  Now add 1 1/2 cups of
al dente cooked pasta of your choice, ok, no choice, use a mezzi rigatoni, or ditalini, or Barilla's mostaccioli, or penne
lisci.  All good choices.  Blend and let this cook for 5 minutes. THEN, add 1 tsp. of a good truffle oil..no more...or you
will be licking the runways at JFK or LAX.  More is less with this ingredient.  Add some more chopped fresh parsley and
grate some pecorino or parmigiano over it...that will mos def be your choice..Serve with good country bread and a
nice green salad, simply dressed. 
     This is a great way to load yourself with good things that are healthy and filling, and gives you a break from meat
in your diet.  Pasta e Fagioli, a winter favorite...stay warm and enjoy.