Recipe(tried): My version of Dean Ornish's Tuscan Vegetable Minestrone

Due to what I had on hand, I made changes to a Dean Ornish recipe from his book, Everyday Cooking w/Dean Ornish. Made it early this morning and the house smells like Tuscany now! Had planned to make 1/2 batch but forgot so now I have some to share with my new diet buddy from yesterday! (see previous post from Dean Ornish-ville)I didn't have enough vegetable broth handy (the recipe calls for 5 cups, so I used water for the remaining 2 1/2 cups. It tastes fine to me)

Vegetable Minestrone a la Tuscany

1 cup diced kale
1 cup diced swiss chard
3/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
3/4 cup diced celery
3/4 cup diced peeled baking potato
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup diced zucchini
1 (15 oz.) can rinsed, canned great northern beans
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup elbow macaroni
1 Tablespoon minced fresh oregano
Salt and pepper

In large pot combine kale, chard, onion, carrot, celery, potato tomatoes, broth and the 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Cover, adjust heat to maintain simmer and cook 15 minutes.

Add zucchini, beans, 3/4 cup water and macaroni. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender and pasta is al dente, about 15 minutes. Add oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper.