Seems like every autumn is accompanied by sniffles, coughs, and sneezes. So to enjoy the spirit of fall, my nostrils started gribbling and my gigantor nose thing started sneezing today. Bit of a sore throat too… a tickle anyway. And no I don’t have allergies. It’s just some kind of sinus bug I believe. I decided to counterattack the germs by making medicine for dinner. That doesn’t mean I load up with over the counter cold remedies; although of course some of those can be part of the cold killing arsenal. Nope, it’s much more basic, much more traditional, much more practical than that.
I make soup.
Soup has been known for centuries as an excellent means of warming and nourishing the body. There are lots of time tested, soup based, medicinal concoctions that have been passed down through the generations; chicken soup being one of the more well known. Seems to me, though, some very important combinations of effective natural germ killing additives for soup are too often overlooked. If I must say so myself, I’ve gotten pretty good at making yummy but powerful cold killing soups over the years.
I start with stock, of course. Often, my soup stock starts as compost. HUH??!! Well OK, it’s not technically compost yet, but it would have been if I hadn’t tossed it into the gallon sized freezer bag first. Still confused? Ha ha, yes I know… OK enough silly: whenever I trim the ends from carrots, or the peel of an onion, snips of celery, et cetera, I put them into a gallon size freezer bag and pop them in the freezer. Once the bag is full, it’s available for stock. I empty the contents into our 4 quart Revere Ware pot and cover with water. I put the cover on, then boil the heck out of the snippings until they start to fall apart. Then I take a potato masher and smoosh them around so they release more goodies before I strain the contents through a colander into another pot. The stock becomes soup, and now the snippings can be thrown in the compost.
I add a cup of beans, ½ cup of barley, ½ cup of lentils ½ cup of rice for the protein. Quinoa could also be used by itself, as it contains complete proteins. And yes you could use meat such as chicken or beef; but I choose not to.
I cook the previous ingredients in the stock till they’re done, then the fun begins. If you don’t have anything to make stock, you can of course buy some. Sometimes I use a can of chicken noodle soup to provide a base. Here comes the cold killing stuff:
1 big handful of finely chopped fresh parsley
1 medium yellow onion (diced)
2 or three carrots, sliced (I didn’t have any carrots today so I diced up a turnip instead)
4 cloves (at least) of fresh garlic (minced) Note: there is a medicinal compound in garlic called allicin, which is activated by exposure to air. To get the greatest benefit, mince the garlic and allow it to sit in the open air for at least 10 minutes before adding it to the soup.
1 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves
1 heaping teaspoon of sage (powdered)
1 ½ teaspoons of fresh chopped rosemary leaves (dry is OK too)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bundle of wild cabbage (or kale) leaves, chopped (stems and all… wild cabbage is from our garden and is an ancestor to other cole crops like kale, broccoli, and Brussles sprouts).
Salt to taste (be careful… those eating the soup can always add more). Sometimes before salting the soup I’ll slosh some Kikkoman Organic Soy Sauce in the mix for a little more flavor.
Bring to a low boil, stirring regularly, then allow to simmer for about ½ hour more. Serve by itself or with a hunk of your favorite bread. The soup is especially helpful when eaten before sleeping, whether that’s at nap time or bed time.
Of course, the ingredients can be switched around a bit to your liking. In my professional opinion, there’s nothing like a good batch of medicine soup to ward off the sniffle bugs. And hey, during cold season, I’ve made similar soups even when I’m not sick.
As Mom would say, “it’s good for what ails ya, and if nothin’ ails ya, it’s good for that too.”
Don’t think we’ll be using this machine to serve dinner anytime soon though…