Eight Bean and Barley Soup

Large glass jar (32 oz. minimum)

1/4 cup of each of the following dry beans: pinto, navy, green split peas, pink, and black-eyed peas, black, red kidney and lima.

1/2 C. pearl barley

1/4 C. dehydrated vegetable flakes

2 bay leaves

1 T. salt

2 t. dried thyme

1/2 t. garlic powder

Presentation:

Layer each of the dried beans in the jar one at a time, do not mix or shake. Put all of the other ingredients in a sandwich bag and tie the bag closed with a ribbon. Place the bag in the jar and cover. If you used a screw-top jar, you can put a piece of material around the top and tie on with ribbon. If you used a cork top, tie with ribbon around the outer edge of the jar. Copy the recipe onto a recipe card; punch a hole in the corner, thread it through the ribbon and your gift is done.

Soup Preparation:

Rinse and pick over the beans and peas. Put into a 2-3 quart heavy pot with 1 1/2 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat, let soak for 1 hour. Drain the beans and add 4 cups of water, barley and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for approximately 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender but firm. Uncover, increase the heat to medium low and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for about 45-60 minutes, until thickened. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Note: The soup will be thick. Add more water if you would like a thinner consistency.