Easy to
Make
Nutritious Soups
Being a herb grower I don't
enjoy the winter months. But even I am comforted by the thought of curling
up by a blazing fire with a bowl of hot, hearty,
nutritious soup and a slab of crusty bread and herb butter. And if I
can have a glass of gluhwein on the side - even the better.
See if you agree with the Staff at
Allrecipes.com who said the following about the culinary characteristics of
soup:
"Soup is a many-splendored thing; as soup,
more than any other food, invite you to innovate and experiment, making
something fabulous with what you've already got on your shelves.
Soup is
the most improvisation-friendly food in the world. You can substitute,
increase, decrease, exclude and include ingredients to your hearts content
without fear of disaster.
What's more...
A bowl of soup can be a
stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal with a wonderful array of flavours, textures
and nutrients from every food group. And soup can be hearty, healthy, and
filling without being fattening."
I especially like their descriptions of soup
being a "stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal" and it being "the most
improvisation-friendly food in the world." Many a time, when making soup, I
felt like a toddler in a candy store. Not knowing what to put in and what to
leave out of the bowl.
But there's a lot more to soup than just
being a "stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal". In the 12th century the great
physician and philosopher Maimonides prescribed herbal baths and chicken
soup as remedies for the common cold.
More than 800 years later, the
New England Journal of Medicine confirmed that Maimonides was right.
Researches found that chicken soup was a mild antibiotic and decongestant.
Chinese healers to this day also use chicken soup to treat colds, though
they do add some herbs, like ginseng, to their brew.
Nutritious Soup Recipes
When treating acute illnesses herbalists will
often recommend a cleansing diet. This often entails taking freshly
pressed fruit and vegetable juices or vegetable broths (soups.)
Years ago I
came across a recipe of Vicki Pitman (author of Herbal Medicine) which she
called "Potassium broth". I've - very respectfully - renamed it to "Pitman Powerade"
in the meantime, as it is wreaks havoc on colds, infectious and feverish
illnesses.
Here's her original recipe:
Potassium broth by Vicki
Pitman
"To 2 pt (1140 ml, I think) of water add unpeeled, and preferably
organic, vegetables: 2 potatoes, 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery, 1 onion and a
handful of fresh parsley.
Cover, bring to the boil and simmer until gently
cooked. Season with 1 tsp each of fresh herbs such as fresh or dried ginger,
fennel, cayenne or black pepper, and cumin and 3-4 cloves of garlic to
taste. Strain the vegetables and serve.
For a thicker soup add 1 cup of
oats, brown rice or millet that has been soaked overnight then cooked. Puree
the whole before serving."
Here's another one from my collection. It's
called "Subzee" and the original recipe was copyrighted by Yogi Bhajan in
1980. According to Bhajan this Ayurvedic soup (the name Subzee refers to a
vegetable stew) is a wonderful digestive and intestinal tonic and nerve soother.
And it should be as the spices are all excellent tonics for
inflammation, nerves, indigestion, nausea and flatulence; and the other
ingredients are immune-boosting and nutritious as well. Be warned, apart
from being a therapeutic hearty meal, this soup is pungent and fragrant.
Subzee by Yogi Bhajan
In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the following in about 3 tablespoons almond
oil (I use olive oil) and 1 tablespoon water: 1/2 tablespoon each
ground black pepper, turmeric, ground cinnamon and ground ginger; and 1
teaspoon ground cardamom.
When this is thoroughly blended, sauté 1
bulb garlic, sliced and 2 large onions, sliced. When garlic and
onions are soft and lightly browned, add a little water at a time as you
bring to a boil, until the vegetables are covered.
To the boiling water add 8 ounces of
assorted vegetables (carrots, broccoli, zucchini, etc.) and 1 ounce slivered
raw almonds. Add enough water to cover added vegetables. Cook until
vegetables are very tender. Serve with warm whole-grain bread or toast, or
spoon over cooked rice.
The last recipe I would like to share with
you should get you sitting up.
This recipe by Robyn Landis called
"Preparation B" is used, believe it or not, to treat hemorrhoids.
Fortunately I've never had any reason to try this recipe, so I can't testify
to its success. It does however make a lot of sense.
Beets alone are a classic hemorrhoid remedy
and as a bonus the recipe also utilizes the cleaning and healing properties
of several root vegetables.
Robyn renamed the recipe to "Fluorescent
Soup" because she says the beets, radish, red cabbage and carrots give the
soup a glowing pink, red, purple and orange colour. If you give this recipe
a bash please let me know. I would love to hear if it sits well - on the
palate I mean.
Fluorescent Soup by Robyn
Landis
Ingredients: 1 large onion diced; 1 bulb garlic sliced; 2 tablespoons
coriander; 1 teaspoon dried basil and/or fresh to taste; 5 large carrots
sliced; 1 28-ounce tin organic stewed tomatoes (diced, crushed or whole); 15
to 20 radishes, sliced thin; 1/2 large head red cabbage, chopped; 10 large
organic beets, steamed, trimmed and sliced or cubed; black pepper to taste.
Sauté onion and garlic in coriander,
dried basil and olive oil over medium heat in the bottom of a large soup pot
until soft. Add carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Add tinned tomatoes
and radish, cabbage and beets. Stir till mixed. Fill the pot with water and
bring to a boil. Add black pepper and turn down to simmer until all the
vegetables are cooked, up to an hour. Add fresh basil before serving. Serve
with bread on the side or mix in cooked rice or other grains. Grated
parmesan cheese can be lightly sprinkled on top.
This article appeared in
Issue # 9 of Timeless Herb Secrets.
More soup
recipes...
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