Black Bean Soup (Recipe)

Yesterday I came so close...so close...to a day without buying anything.  But when I started to make black bean soup, I realized I was out of onions.  This gave me an excuse to walk up the street to the Hispanic American Super Fiesta Market, a store I don't frequent often enough considering how friendly the owners are.  So my sole purchase of the day: two onions.

One of my friends has asked me to post more recipes.  So here's my soup recipe.  It is slightly adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Lean Bean Cuisine by Jay Solomon.  If you're looking to expand your bean repertoire, this is the book I recommend.  It's out of print now, but you can buy it used for barely over a dollar.

Southwestern Black Bean Soup with Sun Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup black beans, soaked overnight and drained
water
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons dry sherry (Optional.  I didn't use it because it wasn't on hand.  But it's good.)
3/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced (The books' recipe is for regular canned tomatoes.  That's good, too.)
1 teaspoon salt
parsley, cilantro and/or scallions for garnish

Directions:
Generously cover beans with water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 45 minutes.  Sautee the onion, garlic, jalapeno, celery, green pepper for 5-7 minutes, until they start to soften.  Add beans and their cooking water, carrots, and all the seasonings except the salt.  Bring to a simmer again and cook for about 20 minutes or until the beans are good and soft.  Add the salt and the tomatoes; cook for another 10-15 minutes.  You can puree a cup or two of the soup in the blender to thicken it.  Garnish and serve.  The next day it's good served over brown rice or thickened into a vegetable dip or burrito spread.

I have a full weekend planned: farmers market this morning, a play tonight, waitressing tomorrow then dashing off to my playwriting meeting.  I probably won't have time to post again until Monday--when I'll be able to do my first monthly consumption analysis.

Daily Consumption Totals:
Food:  .93
Miles Driven: 0