Black Bean Soup

Classic American black bean soup is usually made with sherry and garnished with paper-thin slices of lemon. One evening. I substituted scotch for the sherry and found that it adds depth of flavor to the soup. Of course black bean soup is wonderful in its own right and needs no booze at all.

To take this soup south of the border, add some ground cumin and garnish with a dollop of sour cream, finely diced red onions, and little slivers of lime. Or some lightly whipped cream flavored w