Crockpot Black Bean Soup

This recipe is adapted from my newest cookbook: Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. I have made it several times, and loved it every time! It's really quite easy, and the crockpot cooking method is very user-friendly. If you don't have a crockpot, I think you could make it in a regular pot, too.

Ingredients:

1 lb dried black beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
1 T canola oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 carrots, halved and sliced
1 green bell pepper, diced OR 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth, or more
2 bay leaves
1 T ground cumin
2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

1. Drain or partially drain* the beans and place in a crock pot with water to cover by three inches. Cook on low for 8 hours.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onions, garlic, carrots, and green pepper if using, until softened.
3. Add the vegetables, tomatoes, broth, and spices to the the beans.** Cook for at least another half hour to let the flavors blend.
4. Ladle some of the soup into a blender and puree. Return it to the crockpot and stir it in. It will thicken the soup. You can continue to puree until all of it is smooth, or leave some in chunks.

I like to eat it with sour cream or grated sharp cheddar cheese. You can also make this recipe with canned beans. I would use 3 15-oz cans and reduce the cooking time to six hours, with the vegetables included for the whole cooking time.

Weight Watchers points: 3 per cup of soup.

* Draining the rinse water from the beans reduces flatulence but also eliminates many of the B-vitamins that have soaked out into the water. I usually do a partial drain to try and get the best of both options.
** You can add the sauteed vegetables and the spices before or after cooking the beans. However, the tomatoes, vegetable broth, and salt should not be added until after the beans are completely cooked.