Pasta e Fagioli

Okay, this recipe is hard to share because no one really has ever written it down. My grandma learned from her mother, and when my mom was visiting at Dad's house, she learned to make it by watching his mom ( I always thought her name was Grace, but I got that confused because they lived on Grace Street. Grandma's real name was Delores but everyone called her "Aunt Honey" since she had so many sisters in her big Italian family). I'm not even sure after 4 generations of interpretations away from Italy if this even qualifies as Pasta E Faggoli (i pronounce it like Pahst-ah-FIH-johl... i could be wrong, but that's how I thought I heard my Uncle and Dad say it.)

First dice up two medium onions (or one big 'un) and garlic (i buy garlic chopped already in a jar). This is all you need for the fry stage, but I often add chopped green or yellow summer squash and/or chopped tomatoes. For added flavor, you can also use ham, bacon, a pork chop or remains of a ham dinner/ hambone at this stage too, but it still tastes great meatless.

Heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil on the bottom of the soup pot, then add in your diced/ chopped veggies and any ham/ pork. let it sizzle and brown, stirring to keep it from sticking to the pot. Have a cup of water handy to add just at the point where it's browned before it starts to burn. Add the water and stir in 2 small cans of tomato paste (12 oz total?) fill the soup pot about 1/3 with water. if you added a hambone, leave it in there for now- pick off the meat later. add the seasonings- this is to taste: oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, and majoram if you've got it. turn the heat down to low or low-med to let it simmer. Add a couple handfuls of barley and a handful of lentils. Leave the lid half off. stir it in passing now and then. If the water is too low from simmering off, add more)

After an hour or so (longer if you have the time!), fill up the pot with water, stir, add some noodles, like ditalini or elbow macaroni, anything like that. When the noodles are done, it's ready to eat! we usually have either ham sandwhiches or Cheese sandwhiches with this.