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.