I made chicken soup, using whatever spare vegetables I could find. On the other side of the window was the ongoing soundtrack of sub-20 degree winds. I spilled some of a gin and tonic into my soup, but this did not seem to hurt anything. In fact, the alcohol and juniper flavors may have even improved the broth. I would have to fuss with the recipe a bit, but I might have stumbled upon a way to have your drink and eat your dinner too. This is an interesting idea. I wonder if anyone’s ever thought of it. In Spain, gin and tonics are not just default orders at a bar. They are well crafted, complicated, flavorful. What you need is a large cocktail glass that’s like a martini glass, but rounded rather than cone-shaped, and a giant ice cube that will shape the drink but not immediately melt and water it down. You can’t really find the right ice cubes here, so I came up with a jury-rigged approximation by pouring the gin and tonic over ice in a martini glass, stirring, then removing the ice and adding juniper berries and a sliver of lime.

(Photo: Pole Dance Factory, Barcelona.)

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