Soup in all it’s humble forms are a weekly staple in my home’s hearth for 40 years! If I had to choose one food group to represent the heart of my kitchen; it would be an ode to soup with all of it’s classifications! In my ‘Chakra Alchemy
Activity Workbook,’
a chapter is dedicated to
“Soup as the song of the hearth.”
The chapter on the 4th Chakra or Energy Center for the Throat reads:
“This is an ode to bisque, bouillon,
broth, chowder, consommé, gumbo, pho, purées, stock, soups and stews call it what you will. And if you don’t know what to call it, then, just call it,
soup du jour! “ -cas
“Soup has the magic of holding the earliest of indigenous people’s culinary viewpoint, as they used what was available. Turning the simplest, humblest ingredients into rich spoonfuls, steeped with
their mysteries.”
fabled ‘Stone Soup.’ Soups and stews are good for the soul,
no matter the scarcity.” -cas
The long cooking hours required has seen me burn out 2 Crockpots dedicated to 30 years of bone broth.
I mindfully turn Sunday’s roast into Monday’s meals. The new Instant Pots, make this secret soup; this magical elixir of a broth, easy to manage, in a fraction of the time.
Sadly, the Art of Animal Husbandry is lost for the most part. Mass consumption and production has replaced an awareness for healthy social measures. Forgotten is a respect for all sentient beings.
I would be remiss not to point out that
it all begins in our shopping cart. This awareness of supply and demand ensures we demand better for ourselves, all living creatures
and our planet.
When in fact, caring about healthy conditions promotes happy, calm creatures. Naturally the animal kingdom is part of Nature, just as we are. Micro to macro.
When we live with caring dignity, we and the animals are healthier. Make no bones about this; it matters.
For example, free grazing animals in the pastures; under God’s sunshine creates the long missing CLA’s and Collagen. Honoring animals by using everything from Tail to hoof to snout is another way of showing respect for the life given.
“Humanely raised proteins provides a bone broth that is brimming with the most abundant proteins found in the human body. Collagen.” -cas Folks collagen is not new or “the latest and the greatest” despite current advertising ploys - Collagen and it’s dry weight has always accounted for up to 30% of the human body’s protein! Thyme to ‘Bone Up.’
As the daughter of a Greek butcher from Chicago, I am not afraid to “pick a bone” or two;) I prefer meaty, ham hocks, oxtail, shanks, or short ribs. My favorite tip would be to use the freezer to store up the bits and pieces for your stock, until ready to use. That is onion and garlic skins, stems of woody herbs.I bag celery roots, sweet potato skins, as well as the tops of carrots, etc. Weee are firm believers in roots to stem and flowers. From tail to hoof. Make no bones about it, this also applies to produce.
Using vegetable peelings, stalks, 🍃 tops and leaves can be a great way to save money while adding flavor and nutrients. A lifetime habit of freezing these bits and pieces is a sure fire way to ensure spoonfuls of medicine. Not wasting food takes a mindfulness I adore as I head outdoors, to our composting bins.
And do not forget all citrus peels,
lemon 🍋 lime and orange 🍊
Garlic and onion skins are loaded with nutrients as well! All herbs, flowers and stalks freeze well and often add a surprisingly pleasant scent. Your garden can provide infinite amount of possibilities, hindered only by your culinary imagination.
Our daily garden or the local farmer’s market dictates what lands in our bowl! No two Pho’s seem to be alike!
(pronounced “fuh”)
🍚 🥣 🍲
Here’s a Fun Fact the Etymology
on Pho (n.): “A type of Vietnamese soup, probably from French feu "fire" “as in pot-au-feu, a stew of meat and vegetables of which the broth is drunk separately as a soup" [Ayto, "Diner's Dictionary"] which would have been acquired in Vietnamese during the French colonial period.”
In today’s harvest is our coveted Thai Basil. Our monthly drum circle date, found us picking Thai Basil flower heads from our bowl of Pho.
Our dates began with a meal at downtown’s Pho 88 where we would gather basil’s flower heads, before landing in our bowls. Years later we still have generations growing. Along with our 7 year old Hawaiian 🌺 ginger and turmeric patches. Inspiration abounds…
BONE BROTH
Here’s some of our Tried and Trues:
-Marrow bones and Meaty bones I treat with respect and roast first
Add: 1 gallon of pure water
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar with the
‘Mother.’ Be generous with the organic unfiltered, ACV during cooking, to break down the bones nutrients. If citrus is not going to be used to cut through the oils, I will add healthy amounts of lime or red wine vinegar to finish.
-onion 🧅 cut in quarters skin on
-Whole garlic unpeeled ie antibiotic
-celery and leaves 🍃 for minerals
-carrot for sweetness of carotenoids
-Fresh ginger for inflammation
-grated turmeric many use as liver support and all sorts of inflammation
-The freezer bag collecting unused seemingly, inedible bits and pieces of herbs stems, celery ribs, carrot tops, woody herb or hard vegetable stalks etc, all in the pool.
The mysteries of the fabled
Stone Soup, is at hand.
Whole spices: star anise, cloves, cinnamon sticks, black cardamom pods, fennel seeds, coriander seeds.
I bloom or toast spices in a dry pan or skillet before adding them to simmering pot of bone broth. The aroma this 3 minute step takes, will convince you it’s worth the TLC. I do this in much of my cooking as it intensifies or blooms the flavors and oils contained within the spices and seeds.
~~Protein for us it is usually good beef. We splurge for we use such small amounts. The slivers of rib eye, tenderloin, or flank steak serves many a bowl. The authentic way of doing this is RAW! A tip is to freeze your tender raw beef for about
20 minutes. Then slice as thin as you safely can. I put my beef in bottom of the bowl first, to ensure it gets cooked.
If using any other protein cook throughly first!
~~ Weee use Gluten Free Baked Rice Ramon or thin Rice Vermicelli Noodles. These quick cooking noodles provides oodles of delicious nutritious slurping.
To Assemble
•FIRST slivers of Protein bottom of bowl
•Hot cooked Rice Noodles
•Ladle piping HOT Bone Broth to cover
•TOPPINGS: pile all Fresh Garnishes high to your hearts and gardens delight. For it here that this Vietnamese inspired soup really shines! And don’t forget the fresh sassy squeezes of lime.
-Sprigs of Thai basil
-Fresh cilantro
-scallions, white and green parts
-Fresh lime wedges
-Mung bean sprouts
-Napa or Savoy Cabbage julienne
-Bok choy julienne
-thinly sliced Jalapeño
-thin sliced Thai red chiles
-Sriracha or your favorite
-Spicy Chili Sauce
-Hoisin sauce
-Amino Acids
This time honored cure is just
one more indicator of how far
removed we have become from using food as our original medicine.
Currently, bone broth or soup is once again being touted as one of the
“latest and the greatest.“ To this, I say, “knickknack patty wack give the dog a bone was the rhyme to the song. The bone belonged in this old man soup, that’s where he had it wrong.” -cas
“If there is a meal to unite mankind across time; surely soup with all of its classifications, holds first place as the original, time-honored comfort food.” -cas
No matter the weather - whether it be environmental, political or personal; soup is a comfort food that crosses all boarders into every kitchen’s
heart and soul!
To feel safe and to warm our weary spirits, soup has always fit the bill in trying times. Simmered in layers of aromatic and complex flavors these simmering broths are both delicious and nutritious. Aiding in digestion and hydration; the warmth is good for our systems and comfort. Proof is in the pudding with this 30 year old catchy slogan “Mmm! Mmm! Good!” Rings more often in my head than it should ;) Et Tu?
Listen up, the following quote
was taken from a site that is associated with JOHNS HOPKINS. “They” are finally admitting: “Nutrition researchers say that there are more than 100 common spices used in cooking around the world, and some have proven to be concentrated sources
of antioxidants — substances
that protect your cells from damage.”
This ‘Stone Soup’ style of Bone Broth has an infinite amount of possibilities for its use. If sipping beautiful broth is not your cup of tea, consider using as a base for rice, beans, paella, sauce, gravy etc., once again hindered only by your culinary imagination.
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We must Find + Stay Calm to Carry on
🙏 “God Bless Us, Everyone” 🙏
An apple a day, and now “The rest of the story.” The Medical Journal actually studied this. Here’s the results: “The study tells us that the ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ aphorism was coined in 1913 but was based on the original form with a different rhyme, some 149 years ago in Wales: ‘Eat an apple on going to bed and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread,’ went the proverb in Pembrokeshire. The daily apple eaters in the study were more likely to successfully avoid prescription medication than the people who did not eat apples.”
🍎 “How do you like them apples?” 🍏
“Will wonders cease to exist?”
🍏 🍎 🍏
Talk about Original Medicine
🍏Thyme to Upset the apple cart…🍎
That being said, here goes the dreaded and wretched Disclaimer! And I quote “Statements regarding dietary supplement meds, have not been evaluated by the FDA I am not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition.”
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