Wonderful Soup ... perfect for Fall

Tonight we had Crock Pot Black Eyed Pea Soup from A Year of Slow Cooking. This was a perfect way to start Fall. It was excellent and has made its way into my book of tried and true recipes to be used again (and again!). Thanks to Stephanie O'Dea for such wonderful cooking. If you haven't checked out her site, please take a look, I know you will enjoy it. I've posted the recipe below, and here at Stephanie's site: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-black-eyed-pea-soup.html

--1 pound dried black eyed peas
--1 pound spicy sausage
--6 cups chicken broth
--1 yellow onion, diced
--1 cup diced carrots
--1 cup diced celery
--4 cloves garlic, diced
--1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (not pictured. I didn't know I needed it at first. But I did.)
--1 tsp kosher salt
--1/2 tsp black pepper
--Tabasco sauce (to add at the end to taste)

The Directions.

Soak your beans overnight. Drain and pick out the undesirables (broken, discolored beans) in the morning.Use a 5 to 6 quart crockpot. This will serve about 8 people. Dice the veggies, and dump them into your crockpot with the pre-soaked beans. Add sliced sausage. Pour in broth, and stir in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for about 6. Before serving, use a stick blender to smash up about 1 cup of beans. If you don't have a stick blender, scoop out 1 cup of beans, blend them in a traditional blender, and add back to the soup. Don't blend too much---just enough to get the broth thicker and creamy-looking.Ladle into bowls, and add Tabasco sauce to taste.