79. Eric's Birthday Black Bean Soup

I am assuming that this was a good soup--it disappeared before I really got a chance to eat it. We brought it (in the Crock-Pot, natch) to our friend Eric's birthday celebration on Saturday night. A few folks asked for the recipe. Here 'tis. (And happy birthday, dear Eric, happy birthday to you!)

Eric's Birthday Black Bean Soup
Serves... er, well, I'm not really sure. Nice in small portions, paired with Eric's terrific pasta salad.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 small-to-medium carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced
A whole bunch of black beans--probably four cups? Five, even? Cooked-from-dried, as ever, is best, and you might actually want to cook them past the point of tenderness and unto the point of falling completely apart.
3 cups vegetable broth
1 pint thick homemade chili sauce--you probably don't have this sitting around, and here I cannot help you. If you want to approximate it, I would use one of the Subsidiary Recipes below. The first recipe is pretty much exactly what went into my chili sauce, less the Seasoning of Time (i.e., sitting on my basement pantry shelf for six months).
1 Tbsp hot sauce--Drunken Angel, of course!
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a soup pot; add onion and carrots; cook, stirring frequently, until glazed and tender, about 7 minutes.

Combine sauteed vegetables and all other ingredients, either in said soup pot or in a Crock-Pot. Cook at a low simmer until you're ready to eat--at least 30 minutes on the stovetop, probably at least 2 hours on Low in the Crock-Pot, at which point you can switch it to Keep Warm and go from there.

Subsidiary Chili Sauce Recipe I: The Good Stuff
You'll need to start it ahead of time and let it simmer a long long while 'til it gets thick. You might as well double or triple or quadruple this recipe and keep some sitting around--you can can it, of course, or just keep it in the fridge.

2 cups chopped cored peeled tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp horseradish, drained (optional)
1/2 tsp EACH: celery salt, mustard seeds, salt
1/4 tsp EACH: ground allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves

Combine everything except the last four spices in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently; simmer, stirring occasionally, until it gets thick, about 1 hour. Add final four spices. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about another 30 minutes, until mixture mounds on a spoon. Look! Chili sauce!

Subsidiary Recipe II: The Quick Stuff
Makes just enough for this recipe, about.

2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 (small) can tomato paste
1 red bell pepper, diced small
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp EACH: ground allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves

Add the above ingredients to the soup when you add the black beans and everything else.