Autumn Broth
I love to drink and cook with broths in the cold seasons. There is something about a hot savory cup that is so grounding and satisfying, but my favorite thing about broths is that they are so good for strengthening your immunity and staving off sicknesses of all sorts.
Traditionally broths were steeped and boiled, like tea, to extract all of the nutrition and flavor out of food waste, like vegetable peels and chicken bones. In keeping with the this function, it seems counter-intuitive to make broth to a specific recipe. Rather, broths are a phenomenal opportunity to strengthen your creativity and resourcefulness in the kitchen and to make seasonal concoctions.
This mixture and the recipe below contain healing mushrooms and my all time favorite broth addition, astragalus root. Use the recipe for guidance or feel free to prepare your own.
Featuring:
Turkey Tail Mushroom for strength, endurance and disease protection.
Astragalus for immunity, healing infections, liver health and upper respiratory health.
Maitake Mushroom for immunity, cholesterol, fertility, blood sugar and cancer prevention.
Reishi Mushroom for immunity, fatigue, heart health, disease prevention and anxiety and depression.
AUTUMN BROTH:
In a large soup pot, bring a small handful of the mushroom and astragalus mixture to a boil in 8 cups of water.
Bring to a boil and steep on low heat for at least 1 hour.
Add salt, tamari or (my personal favorite) umeboshi plum vinegar to taste.
Other optional add ins: Peels and stalks of vegetables (onion, carrot, parsley, celery and garlic) that are remaining after chopping, bay leaf, peppercorn, ginger root, turmeric root, garlic, Kombu or other seaweed or beef or chicken bones**.
I like to also add herbs like oregano and thyme for their flavor and antiviral qualities.
**To make a true bone broth, the broth will need to cook on low heat for 12-14 hours.
Drink this nutritious broth alone or use it for soups, risotto, miso soup or any other savory recipe calling for broth, water or milk.