Soup

A Healing Bone Broth

Bone broth is the most accessible “cure-all in traditional households and the magic ingredient in classic gourmet cuisine, stock or broth made from bones of chicken, fish and beef builds strong bones, assuages sore throats, nurtures the sick, puts vigor in the step and sparkle in love life–so say grandmothers, midwives and healers.

For chefs, stock is the magic elixir for making soul-warming soups and matchless sauces. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily-not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons–stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.

It works great as a base for soups, sauces, grains, beans or add some kraut and a bit of miso for a delicious and easy lunch. A warm cup in the morning is a simple and nourishing tonic to begin the day. This is the flavor of love!

Here’s a simple recipe:

Every time you come upon a beef bone, like when you have steak, keep it. Collect leftover bones in a gallon bag in the freezer. Eventually, you’ll have enough for a pot of stock. If you like, you can buy some bones as well, or instead.

You can buy soup bones at a butcher store or your supermarket’s butcher counter. They might be labeled soup bones, marrow bones, or even “dog bones,” although people can eat them, too! If you don’t see them on display, ask the nice folks behind the counter, and they’ll set them aside to sell you when they remove them from the meat they process, or even order them for you.

Ingredients:

  • Beef bones, about 3 quarts, or 3 pounds – you can use any mix of leftover bones or soup bones, marrow bones or bones sold for dogs
  • Water

Equipment that bears mentioning:

  • Tall stock pot (ideal), or any big pot
  • Tongs
  • A big bowl or another big pot
  • Several freezer-safe containers

In a nutshell:

Roast bones until browning and fragrant. Simmer bones 6 to 12 hours. Cool and strain. Lift off tallow when completely cool.

Yield:

About 1 gallon.

Temperature and time:

  • Oven: 350 F : 45 minutes.
  • Stovetop: Low : 6 to 12 hours

In detail:

Heat water. Fill a stockpot or other large pot with water about halfway and set on the stove on high heat. It takes a while for this to get to the boil, so you might as well get it started while the bones are roasting.

Roast bones. Set oven to 350 F. Spread bones out on a shallow baking sheet or rimmed cookie sheet. Place in oven for 45 minutes, or until browned and sizzling. Don’t allow them to burn or get singed, or the whole batch will taste burnt.

Remove the pan of bones from the oven and set it near the pot. Use kitchen tongs to transfer the bones carefully into the water. The bones will be sizzling hot — up to 350 F (think about it) — so don’t drop them in so that they make a splash that could burn you. Slide or place them carefully.

Simmer bones. Add water, if there’s space in the pot, so that there approximately a gallon plus a quart of water. That’ll give you a gallon of stock, after about a quart of loss to evaporation, absorption into the bones and clinging to the bones. The precise amount of water is not important. If you don’t have a pot big enough for this amount of water and/or bone, just use less.

Bring the water to the boil. Turn the heat to the lowest setting possible that will maintain a gentle simmer. The surface of the water should be waving gently and making many tiny bubbles. It should not be frothing crazily.

Over the course of the next several hours, check the soup every hour or so to see that the simmer level is good.

After six to twelve hours, turn off the heat. The amount of time depends on your convenience. You could cook this overnight, but the strong cooking aroma might disturb your sleep, despite being wonderful.

Cool and strain. Let the stock cool. This will take an hour or two. Pour the stock through a strainer into a big bowl or another big pot.

Skim tallow. If desired, cool it long enough that you can easily lift the tallow (beef fat) that has collected and solidified atop the liquid. Store this separately in the refrigerator. It makes an excellent, stable and tasty cooking fat with a high smoke point.

Store stock. Ladle the stock into individual containers and store in refrigerator or freezer.

Variations:

  • Use any other kind of animal bones you like, chicken especially will take less time due to smaller pieces.
  • Add a splash of vinegar when simmering the bones. (The acidity will help extract more minerals from the bones).
  • Add chopped veggies like carrots, celery and onions for more flavor or variety.

A crock pot makes this recipe super-simple, but you can also use a large stock pot (hence the name) or an enameled cast-iron dutch oven type of pot.

Recipe from: How To Cook With Vesna

Cranberry Borscht

borscht-b-640Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cranberries
  • 3 quarts water
  • 2 large onions (sliced)
  • 2 cups finely shredded cabbage
  • 1 one pound can of beets (julienne or sliced accordingly)
  • salt to taste
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 pint sour cream
  • 3 hard boiled eggs (sliced)

Cook cranberries in water for about 10 minutes or until skins pop. Put cranberries and liquid through sieve or food mill. Skim the seeds from the top. Add onions and cabbage. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until soft. Add beets and beet liquid. Season with salt and honey. Serve hot or well chilled. Garnish with sour cream and slices of hard boiled eggs.

Yield: 8 servings

Source: The Honey Cookbook

Split Pea Soup

split-pea-soup-675x454
Ingredients:

  • 2 cups split peas, boiled in 6 cups water
  • 4 or more cups additional water
  • 1 large onion, minced, 2 cups
  • 2 medium celery stalks, quarter rounds, 1½ cups
  • 2 medium carrots, thin quarter rounds, 1½ cups
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 5 tsp soy sauce, optional

Procedure – Boil split peas for 1 hour in 6 cups water until soft. Using the same pot, add the additional water. Mix with beans so water is at the bottom of the pot. Add vegetables. Sprinkle sea salt on top. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer 30 minutes over low heat, using a heat diffuser if needed. Add soy sauce if used.

Yield: 10 cups

Source: Ohsawa Macrobiotics

Kitchari

Indian Daal

Traditional Indian food for soothing diets. Nutritious and easily digested, Kitchari is simply rice and dahl cooked so thoroughly together that they make a creamy stew. This makes a good soup for an evening supper or a light meal while fasting. Total cooking time about 1 1/2 hours.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup mung lentils, cleaned and washed
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon Vata Churna
  • 1/4 cup rice
  • 2 tablespoons ghee
  • 1 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon saffron (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon ghee
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Bring water to a boil in a 2 quart pan. Add lentils, salt, and Churna. Cover and bring back to a boil, then reduce heat to ver low and simmer for about an hour.

Add rice, ghee, water, and saffron. Increase heat and bring to boil again. Then reduce to low and simmer for half an hour. Stir frequently to avoid sticking and add more water if it becomes too thick. Khichari should have the consistency of thick gravy. When ready to serve heat ghee in small pan with spices. When mustard seeds start to pop stir spices into Khichari and serve.

Serves 2 or 3

Source: The Ayurveda Cookbook

Explore The Posts
Subscribe
If you'd like to be informed whenever anything new is posted, you can subscribe via email:

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Find Us On Facebook
Quotable
"Diet has the distinction of being the only major determinant of health that is completely under your control. You have the final say over what does and what does not go into your mouth and stomach. You cannot always control the other determinants of health, such as the quality of the air you breathe, the noise you are subjected to, or the emotional climate of your suroundings, but you can control what you eat. It is a shame to squander such a good opportunity to influence your health." ~Andrew Weil, MD
Be Merry


I think it's time to go shopping... maybe even buy some really cool stuff at my online shops!!

Visitors