Take half a pound of navy beans, wash 'em and put 'em in a pot of cold water. Cover 'em good! You want it soupy, don't you? Bring to the boil and leave for an hour and a half. Chop a couple of medium-sized onions - chunky, not too fine - put 'em in the pot, they make the food sweet. Add twice as much chopped celery as you have onions then some parsley and a couple of cloves of garlic (chopped) and a bay leaf. Throw a can of tomatoes in the pot and some pepper. Bring it to the boil and let it cook for an hour and a half. No salt 'til the end (very important). Pour in 3/4 of a cup of good olive oil and serve with fresh bread.

"Soup is such a great thing for musicians to make because you just throw everything into it, leftovers and whatever, it's real cheap and substantial, and it's not hard to make." Most of the people who post to ND are intimately involved with music, either as makers, producers, promoters, or fans. "Guy musicians seem to really really like to make pasta," notes Ray. "They all start with some jar of pasta sauce they get off the shelf, and they all involve a lot of hot chili powder or peppers--the guys are really into this punked up, bottled pasta sauce." Or they're into low maintenance food, like corn on the cob or food eaten right over the sink.