This is what I'm giving family and friends for Christmas. I was really wondering what to give everyone this year that would be a healthy but good-tasting gift. I like to give things that don't sit around and clutter up the place. Hopefully this will not sit around, but get consumed! I cooked a test batch and it is quite good.
Mixed Bean Soup Mix
1 lb. each:
black beans
black eye peas
red kidney
navy beans
Great Northern
barley
green split peas
yellow split peas
pinto beans
brown lentils
Mix all together in a large bowl, sort the beans to remove stones and dirt but leave them dry. Put 2 cups of the mixture in a clear bag or pint jar.
Seasoning packets:
1/4 cup minced dried garlic
1/2 cup dried celery
1/2 cup dried minced onion
1/2 cup dried parsley
2 Tablespoons marjoram
1 Tablespoon poultry seasoning
1/2 cup powdered vegetable soup base (Vogue Vege Base)
Measure 2 Tablespoons of this mixture into a separate small baggie and seal, place on top of the bean mixture. I also added three dried tomatoes per jar of beans, chopped with a knife as fine as I could, to the seasoning packet. This really gives a rich flavor to the soup.
OR - in each little plastic bag, place 1/2 tsp. garlic, 1 T each dried celery, onion, and parsley, 1 tsp. marjoram, 2 tsp. Vege Base, 1 tsp. poultry seasoning. This might work better than combining all together and measuring out the mix for each jar, it's kind of hard to get the dry mix divided up evenly, the powders sink to the bottom so might not get distributed well.
Tag for gift:
Mixed Bean Soup
Remove the small bag from the top of the package and set aside. Rinse beans with water in a strainer – there is barley in the mix so use a strainer that will not let the barley slip through. Put rinsed beans in a large pot and cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer about one hour or until largest beans are cooked and soft, adding more water as needed. When beans are cooked, add contents of small packet and any or all of the options you wish.
Options:
1 quart crushed tomatoes
½ pound baby carrots
extra fresh garlic
½ cup red wine
2 or 3 diced potatoes
Simmer for another 30 minutes or so, season with salt and pepper to taste. Baby spinach or washed chopped kale can be added just before serving.
