Wedding like the Italians do it

I've never understood those lyrics from the Police song, ' I resolved to call her up/a thousand times a day/and ask her if she'd marry me/ in some old-fashioned way'. What, you mean old fashioned like over the phone? That just never made any sense. Why not go really old fashioned and do it by text message, loser.

Of course, to ask her to marry you in a truly old fashioned way, you'd need a club and a dry cave somewhere.

Fortunately the Italians are one up on us as the originators of Italian Wedding Soup. I'm not sure how old fashioned it is, but its gotta be better than asking her by fax or IM. Alright, actually the phrase 'wedding soup' is a popular mistranslation, the 'wedding' in it refers to the ingredients going well together. Whatever.

Simplified Italian Wedding Soup:

• Chunk and lightly brown a parsnip, two carrots, a large onion and a huge handful of basil. Add plenty of fresh pepper and four chicken thighs, some herbs de provence, and oregano.

• Cover with chicken broth, and simmer until the chicken is tender. You may have to fish out the bones.

• Add directly to the soup a cup of either Israeli couscous or small macaroni, cook until tender

• Tear the leaves off a whole head of escarole. Mix into soup and let sit until wilted and tender. Tender is a big part of this recipe.

• Mix together three eggs and half a cup of fresh grated parmesan cheese. Bring the soup to a boil and whisk in the mixture. Final color should be a fluffy white.

• Serve with even more fresh pepper. Adding meatballs is a popular variation- can't say I'm a fan tho.