pepper

I have always been a baker, not a cooker, but lately I have started cooking. Admittedly, most of my cooking so far involves baking-type endeavors: enchiladas (self-explanatory), chicken soup with dumplings (dumplings steam, but they are bread-like).

I cannot actually make a recipe as described in the recipe. That would be far too easy. Everything wants a little sea salt sprinkled on top, or some chives thrown in, or a bit of coconut for flavor. My two usual magic ingredients, depending on the flavor of the food, are vanilla (doubled, if the recipe already calls for it) and pepper.

Yum. Pepper.

My roommate had a large pepper grinder full of peppercorns when I moved in, and now it is almost gone. Considering how seldom she has been here near a cooking hour since I moved into this house, I am pretty sure that entire grinder of pepper has gone primarily to my taste buds and the taste buds of those lucky enough to partake in my baking and now my cooking.

I added pepper to the dumplings in my soup tonight, and a healthy amount to the soup itself.

I am the only one who has tasted it so far, but it is delicious. It is perfect for this kind of rainy winter night, when you need something hot and comforting and gentle to keep you going.