The year is 2010, or possibly 2012. My mother comes home with a mason jar filled with dried goods with a piece of ribbon wrapped around the top and a printed out recipe on the side. The label says “Friendship Soup” on it.

Little did I know, that jar, a gift from our pastor’s wife, would rock my world. By just adding water, a pound of browned ground beef and a can of diced tomatoes, my mother had introduced our family to the world’s best soup. Or at least, my favorite soup.

Soon after, my mom would start making the jars herself, giving them out to friends and family members at the holidays because she liked the gift so much. Friendship Soup became the taste of October, November and December. For a few years of my life, we would eat it when it first got cold and around Christmas time.

And then, a few years later, my dad (and subsequently the rest of my family) went on a diet. For years, we didn’t eat red meat at all as he worked to manage his weight, cholesterol and blood sugar. It’s why I still cook mostly chicken and fish to this day— because that’s what I learned to cook.

While my father lost 90 pounds in a year (yes, you read that right, he really is that impressive), I also lost Friendship Soup in the process. At least, that’s what I attribute it to. Though, maybe everyone else was just tired of it. Who knows?

But last year, when the first cold snap came through, I remembered Friendship Soup and started making demands for the recipe. My mother, who had not thought of the soup in years, laughed when she got my phone call. But she said she would dig up the recipe on my behalf.

And then, when I went to visit her about a month later, she passed me a jar instead. It was filled with all of the familiar split peas, lentils, pasta noodles and more that made up my favorite childhood soup and had a red ribbon wrapped around the top of it.

Since then, my mother has kept me well supplied with Friendship Soup jars whenever the cold months start to approach. To be perfectly honest with you all, I’ve never mixed a jar myself. I’ve only ever enjoyed the after-effects. But it wouldn’t be Friendship Soup if it didn’t come from someone you love, I guess.

I called my mother again to ask if I could share the recipe for the newspaper, and she gave me permission to give it out with the stipulation that I still come home for my own jars. She said the hardest part of making the soup is tracking down all of the ingredients and taking the time to put all of her jars together to give to friends. Other than that, she said it is a great gift, and one that she is happy to share. After all, she got it from a friend.

Ingredients
Jarred Mix:
1/2 cup dried split peas
1/3 cup beef bouillon granules
1/4 cup pearl barley
1/2 cup dried lentils
1/4 cup dried onion flakes
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
2 bay leaves
1/2 – 1 cup uncooked pasta (I use 1 cup because I like a thicker soup. I also substituted out the normal macaroni noodles that are easier to store in the jar for a fall-themed pasta I found at the grocery store to really bring in the season. If you’re packing it all together, use 1/2 cup macaroni.)

To prepare soup:
1 pound ground beef
1 8 ounce can diced tomatoes
3 quarts water

Directions
■ In a 1 1/2-pint jar, layer the first 7 ingredients in the order listed. (Be careful not to shake or disturb the jar, if you want to keep the layered look.) Wrap pasta in a small sheet of plastic wrap and add to the jar. Seal tightly. Store in a cool, dry place for up to 3 months.
■ To prepare soup: Remove pasta from jar and set aside. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook and crumble the beef until no longer pink; drain. Add the water, tomatoes and soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir in the reserved pasta. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the pasta, peas, barley and lentils are tender.