A Minestrone to Love in The Summer Villa

Chic lit I suppose, but enjoyable all the same, with good themes and endings.  The Summer Villa, by Melissa Hill brings three young women together in a picturesque, though somewhat run down villa on the Mediterranean sea in Italy.  They are all running away from something in their lives, hoping a change of scene will help.

Six years later, they meet up again, still escaping from what now, once again,  look to be impossible situations; and lives run amuck.  

From the Publishers:

"The Irish Times #1 bestseller! Three women. One summer reunion...

Villa Dolce Vita, a rambling stone house on the Amalfi Coast, sits high above the Gulf of Naples amid dappled lemon groves and fragrant, tumbling bougainvillea. Kim, Colette and Annie all came to the villa in need of escape and in the process forged an unlikely friendship.

Now, years later, Kim has transformed the crumbling house into a luxury retreat and has invited her friends back for the summer to celebrate.

But as friendships are rekindled under the Italian sun, secrets buried in the past will come to light, and not everyone is happy that the three friends are reuniting... Each woman will have things to face up to if they are all to find true happiness and fully embrace the sweet life.

An epic summer read about food, friendship and the magic of Italy,"

I thought a pot of minestrone was the perfect food image for this yummy novel, things thrown together, from past meals, to create something better in the final mélange.  To a base of homemade stock, I added two sorts of leftover pasta, one with pesto clinging to it, moringa leaves, some tomato paste, pieces of duck breast, chickpeas, carrots, onion, garlic and celery.  I added thyme, parsley and sage from my garden, with a jolt of Worcestershire, and was amazed at the fabulous flavors in the end result. Recombining some old leftovers make a new and wonderful Minestrone!

I'll share the goodness over at Weekend Cooking, hosted by the inimitable and Intrepid Reader, Marge, and with Heather for her January edition of the Foodies Read Challenge.  Please visit, check out all the good food and book recommendations.