reinventing leftovers

I had a ton of pasta sauce leftover from Friday night's dinner, but I really wasn't feeling like eating pasta tonight -- I've come down with the cough that all of my little folks at work have, and soup sounded MUCH better. So, I pawed through my cupboards, fridge, and freezer, and made a pseudo-minestrone:

I started by sauteeing some carrot, celery, onion, and garlic in a little canola oil. In went about 3 cups of leftover marinara, 2 cups cooked chickpeas, and 4 cups vegetable broth. Boil, then simmer for fifteen minutes or so. While I was working on the soup, I cooked 1 cup of spelt and stirred that into the soup after it had finished simmering. Top with parmesan and voila! Soup's on.

I'm loving the chewy, firm, almost "squeaky" spelt in this. More whole grains in soups, I say!