Three bean soup, jicama salad are good, easy pair

LITTLE ROCK — Thick, hearty soup and a salad make a great autumn dinner. I used to love to come home from school to a kitchen filled with the smell of a large pot of soup that had been simmering for hours. I still love a really good bowl of soup, but I don't have hours to make it. This shortcut version takes only 25 minutes. It's a whole meal in a bowl. This soup freezes well; if you have time, make double and you will have another meal ready.

Jicama is a root vegetable with a thin brown skin and crunchy white flesh. It can be eaten raw or cooked and can be found in most supermarkets. It should be peeled just before use. The nutty flavor and crisp texture are refreshing with the thick soup. If you can't find it, use any crunchy vegetable such as broccoli or zucchini.

Wine suggestions: Some people say soup, being soup, doesn't require anything as liquid as wine to accompany it. Some people are crazy. A really nice accompaniment to all these veggies and spice is a sauvignon blanc.

Southwestern Three Bean Soup

1 cup diced red onion

1 /2 cup diced carrot

2 small parsnips, diced

1 1 /4 cups water, divided use

1 cup canned red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup canned chick peas, rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen baby lima beans

4 cups canned peeled tomatoes

1 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 small baguette, for serving

Place onion, carrots and parsnips with 1 /4 cup water in a large sauce pan. Saute 5 minutes.

Add kidney beans, chick peas, lima beans, tomatoes, chicken broth, remaining 1 cup water, cumin and chili powder. Break up tomatoes with a spoon or knife and bring to a simmer. Simmer 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve soup with bread on the side.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition information: Each serving contains 547 calories (12 percent of calories as fat), 27 g protein, 8 g fat, 100 g carbohydrate, 1 mg cholesterol and 22 g fiber.

Cucumber and Jicama Salad

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 tablespoons chicken broth

1 tablespoon diced red onion

2 teaspoons, seeded chopped jalapeno pepper

1 /2 medium cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced (about 1 cup)

1 /4 pound jicama, peeled and sliced about the same size as the cucumber (about 1 cup)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk lime juice, olive oil, and chicken broth together in a salad bowl. Add onion and jalapeno pepper.

Add cucumber and jicama slices and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition information: Each serving contains 42 calories (50 percent of calories as fat), 1 g protein, 2 g fat, 5 g carbohydrate, trace cholesterol, 52 mg sodium and 1 g fiber.