What Could You Do With 50 Pickles in 2 Hours?

Polish Dill Pickle Soup (zupa ogorkowa).
This is no entry-level Polish dish, in terms of taste. If you pick your pickles off your cheeseburger, don't bother trying this 100 percent- all pickle-all the time soup. On the other hand, if you ask for three dill pickles to your one sub sandwich, or if you're pregnant and have an insatiable pickle craving, then give this a try. As with borscht, this savory, tart soup grew on me and I'm slightly addicted.

If anything, pickle soup will definitely satisfy your salt craving. It's cheap to make, and it's easy to stew up a few gallons at a time. Fortunately, Piotr has a bunch of friends from Poland studying abroad in Chicago, so this soup goes fast around here. His sister taught me this:

Ingredients:
Pork neck/shoulder bone pieces (3-4 good-sized chunks)
bay leaves (4-5)
pimiento (6-7 of those little balls)
Vegeta soup seasoning mix (about a tablespoon)
1 beef bullion cube
3 cups cubed potatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1 big jar of dill cucumbers in brine (save the brine, shred the cucumbers, use the Polish kind)
butter
3-4 tablespoons of flour
2-3 tablespoons of fresh dill (wash, dry and freeze the rest of the bunch)
sour cream
salt, pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Get a huge pot and fill it with however much water you want. For the ingredients portioned out above, I used maybe a gallon and a half of water. Put in the pork bones. Start bringing to a boil.
2. Add bay leaves and pimiento. Bring to a boil. Add beef bullion and Vegeta. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 30 minutes. More if you have time and want to get a really good broth.
3. Add cubed potatoes and carrots. Cover, simmer.
4. In a separate pan, saute shredded cucumbers and dill in some butter.
5. Once the potatoes and carrots are tender, add the sauted cucumber mixture, brine. Let soup boil again. Then add flour (mix in about 3/4 cup of water so it doesn't chunk up). Cook for about 15-20 more minutes. Add a bit of sour cream (mixed in cold water so it doesn't chunk up) if you want.
6. OK, you're pretty much done.