Less-than-Experimental Kitchen: black bean soup

That is, I started with a recipe in a cookbook and have made it three times now, so not so much with the experimentation.

The base recipe is from Nigella Lawson's "How to Eat". In a nutshell: take black beans, cover with water, cook for long time; saute red peppers, onions, shallots and garlic, add cumin and oregano and lime zest; blenderize contents of #2; add to black bean glorp; cook another half hour; add sherry and serve.

I make the following edits:

- Put a ham bone in with the black beans during long cooking.
- Leave out shallots and lime zest, 'cos I usually don't have any.
- Blenderize the beans and water, rather than the veg. (Not all of it, but between 50 and 70%.)
- Add leftover ham, if any is around, when the two portions are combined.

Steve opines that tonight's effort was the best soup I have made yet.