Friendship Soup by Mel

This is a great gift idea, but I make it at home a lot. For gift giving, fill a jar with 1/4 cup of the following:

black eyed peas, split green peas, lima beans, red beans, great northern beans, red and or green lentils, pinto beans, navy beans. (If you can't find one of the varieties, just double up on another type.)

Tie a nice ribbon or raffia around the lid of the jar, and attach both a recipe card and a card with additonal ingredients listed:

Additional Ingredients:
smoked ham hocks (if you can't find smoked, buy regular and add liquid smoke flavouring, but smoked is WAY better, trust me!)
1 large finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp concentrated lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
28 oz can of seasoned stewed tomatos
1 chopped red pepper
1 tsp chilli powder
Optional: small can green chilies

Recipe:
Wash, then place beans in container covered with water. Add 2 TBSP salt. Cover and let soak overnight. Drain beans, and place in a soup pot with 2 litres of water and smoked ham hocks. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer. Add water only as needed.

After 2 to 2 1/2 hours, add 1 large finely chopped onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper, canned stewed tomatos, red pepper, and chili powder.

Simmer for another 30 minutes.

Freezes well and ages well in the fridge.