What's for Dinner?

    Since we are all nursing small colds I wanted to make a really simple but hearty soup. I chose our all time favorite which we call Patchwork Soup. This recipe was given to Tim as a gift one Christmas by a customer on his route. It literally takes me about ten minutes to get cooking and an hour later we have dinner. I accompany the soup with LaBrea brand bread that we buy at Smith's. We get the multigrain or, "the kind with twigs" as our nephew Mike calls it. So here's the recipe.

Patchwork Soup
     1 cup dried split peas
     1/2 cup barley
     1/2 cup brown lentils
     1/2 cup brown rice
     1 T dried parsley
     1 t minced onions
     1 t salt
     1 t pepper
     1/2 t minced garlic (or better, use fresh)
     1 t season salt

Add everything to 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Cook about an hour or until all parts are cooked (usually the peas take the longest). Stir occasionally and enjoy. Its really hot when its done so I let it cool a little while. It stores well in the freezer and fridge. It will turn into a jello like consistence but you can add a little warmth and water and it will turn back into soup.