Black bean soup

We played hookie from church this morning to stay home and rest. It's been a long busy week and the rest of today is crazy busy. So, in an effort to truly have a sabbath, we slept in and stayed home. We're still in our jammies and it's after noon! It's been great, but I had this hankering for some soup and I had the itch of creativity. So, I whipped up a little something I like to call black bean soup...I know, right? SO novel. Well, it's what I had on hand. I had planned to make it earlier in the week but never got around to it. I do have a recipe that is wonderful, but I didn't feel like going ALL THE WAY upstairs to get it, so I improvised. What came from it was so much better than the recipe I've been making for the last 2 years! I don't measure anything, so I'll do my best to get it down on paper.

Black Bean Soup
1 Onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 jalepeno, chopped (optional)
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped (I can't use this because Eliot's allergic, but it would have been SO good)
4-6 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade with chicken feet and marrow for healing properties) Also, 4 cups would make it thicker consistency, more would make it a bit more soupy.
3-4 cans black beans (I used dried ones that I'd prepared in advanced...probably 3-4 cups)
2 large potatoes
1 package of 4 fully cooked organic chicken or turkey sausage, diced into bite size pieces
2 tsp cumin
1 TBS mexican seasoning
salt or herbamare to taste

For toppings, any combination of the following:
organic raw cheddar or jack cheese
cilantro
tomato
diced red onion
chile pepper, finely diced
sour cream

Saute onion, celery, jalepeno, garlic, and half the carrot on medium/high in olive or coconut oil for 5 minutes until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Season with cumin, mexican spices, and salt. Stir. Add broth and half the beans (undrained if you want to have thicker soup). Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer another 10 minutes. Take soup off heat and puree in blender or using immersion blender. Put back on the stove and add chopped potatoes, sausage, the rest of the carrot and black beans. Simmer on medium for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. If too thick, can add a bit more broth or water.
Serve in bowls and top with chopped cilantro, red onion, tomato, chili pepper, sour cream, and cheese...or any combination thereof!

It's a fiesta in your mouth! Seriously, I'm going down for another bowl! :) Enjoy!