A few years ago, I bought this fabulous cookbook about soups -- Twelve Months of Monastary Soups by d'Avila-Latourrette. It's got some great bones for soup recipes and is absolutely fabulous for those wanting to get into using seasonal produce.

Black bean soups and chilis are great food for the winter, because they're rich and hearty and the spiciness warms you from the inside out. They also reheat fabulously, for those with smaller households or who like to bring their lunch.

This soup is on the thin side as written on the book (with an extra cup of water), but I like my soups on the thicker side. I'm totally guilty of using up half a package of saltines in thin soups to get it to the consistency I like. The photo above was taken on the third eating of the soup, so it's really starting to thicken up.

Once upon a time, I went to a Chinese restaurant. I'm pretty sure it was P.F. Chang's, but since I adore Chinese food and move around a lot, it really could have been anywhere. But it was a nicer restaurant. And I ordered some appetizer (which I found to be ok-tasting, but not exceptional). This appetizer, however, came with a very delicious garnish/salad - of thinly sliced, slighty pickled, spicy cucumber with some shredded carrots (that somehow, weren't spicy).


Once upon a time, I went to a Mexican restaurant in San Diego's Ocean Beach neighborhood, and the food there was again not exceptional, but they had a refreshing alternative to the typical fried tortillas and salsa: carrots pickled in the same juice that they use to pickle jalapeños. It was the best part of the meal.


What's this have to do with the price of tea in China, you ask? I've been dying to have it again. So I looked for recipe after recipe for a spicy cucumber side dish that was just a little vinegary. Many of what I found, when I made it, were too salty or too vinegary and not enough spicy or refreshing.

This changed last Tuesday, when I ran into a recipe for a refrigerator pickle that was a little salty, a little sour/bitter (from the vinegar), and a little sweet. It looked like it would be perfect - and the sizes would be big enough that there should be a refreshing pop from the cucumber. And lo, to this recipe, I added some carrot, and it was not only good, it was great. I made a quarter recipe, because I wanted to try it out before committing 4 whole cucumbers to the cause, so your miles may vary.