Six Bean Soup

• 1/4 c. dry baby lima beans
• 1/4 c. white beans
• 1/4 c. black-eyed beans
• 1/4 c. garbanzo beans
• 1/4 c. pink beans
• 1/4 c. light red kidney beans
• 1 c. chopped onion
• 1 c. chopped celery
• 1 c. chopped carrots
• 1/2 c. green bell pepper
• 1/2 c. minced parsley
• 1 clove chopped or minced garlic
• 2 (2 oz.) envelopes chicken noodle soup mix
• 1 whole crumbled bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. fines herbes
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. margarine or butter
• 1 c. chopped fresh tomatoes
• grated Parmesan cheese

1. Soak beans by preferred method:
2. For each pound of dry beans, any variety, add 10 cups hot water.
3. May add up to 2 teaspoons of salt per pound of beans to help the beans absorb water more evenly. Heat to boiling, let boil 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Cover and set aside for at least one hour, but preferably four hours or more.
6. The longer soaking time is recommended to allow a greater amount of sugars to dissolve, thus helping the beans to be more easily digested.
7. Always discard the soak water.
8. To maintain color integrity, soak beans separately.

beans, white beans, blackeyed beans, garbanzo beans, pink beans, light red kidney beans, onion, celery, carrots, green bell pepper, parsley, garlic, noodle soup, bay leaf, fines herbes, salt, margarine, tomatoes, parmesan cheese

Taken from www.cookbooks.com/Recipe-Details.aspx?id=902719 (may not work)