 Basic Broth Making and Usage Ingredients • cooked remnants of a previous meal, with or without skin and meat • enough to just cover the bones • a splash
• celery, carrots, onions, garlic and parsley are the most traditionally used, but any will do Recipe An easy way to cook broth is to use a crockpot on low setting. After putting the ingredients into the pot and turning it on, you can just walk away. If you forget to skim the impurities off, it's ok; it just tastes better if you do. If you wish to remove the fat for use in gravy, use a gravy separator while the broth is warm, or skim the fat off the top once refrigerated. Cold broth will gel when sufficient gelatin is present. Broth may be frozen for months or kept in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Usage 2. Cooking Liquid—Use broth in place of water to cook rice, beans or other grains. Bring broth to a boil, add grains or beans, reduce heat and cook for instructed time. Or you can simmer vegetables or meat in a little seasoned broth until cooked. Remove to a plate, thicken broth with cornstarch, arrowroot or flour, then pour over vegetables and meat. 3. Gravy—Make gravy to put on vegetables, meat or biscuits. Put fat (removed from the broth, or use butter) in a skillet. Add any type of flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and stir constantly until browned. Whisk in broth and cook until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. 4. Tea—Don't forget you can just add salt and sip broth like tea. This is especially nice in the winter or if you're feeling sick. Since broth is simultaneously energizing and calming, it can take the place of morning coffee, afternoon tea, or evening nightcap. Try it in a thermos and sip throughout the day. Of course, the most traditional use for seasoned broth is as a first course, to enhance the digestion of any meal to come. *Pork bones are not generally recommended for prepared ahead broth, but are cooked into stew and soup recipes, and boiled pig skin is traditionally consumed for many of the same purposes as broth. Heather’s Quick Immune Enhancing Soup (even the kids I know love it!) Makes 2-4 servings 6-8 cups water (use at least two cups of water for each egg you plan to use) 4-6 slices fresh gingerroot 3-6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled 1 cup fresh Shiitake Mushrooms (or ½ cup dried) 6-8 spears organic broccoli or green beans 6-8 organic baby carrots, sliced in quarters 1 cup chopped organic greens (kale, collards, or chard) 1 egg for each person being served 1-3 Tbsp Tamari sauce 2-3 tsp. Sesame oil 1-2 tsp. Fish sauce (optional) 1-2 cups noodles (my favorite are the brown rice penne, but use what you like) 2-3 Tbsp. Miso 2 green onions, sliced, for garnish Place water in large pan over high heat. Add garlic and ginger to pot. Don’t worry about how big the pieces are, you will pick the ginger out and the garlic will be soft enough to eat! If you are using dried shiitake, add them now as well. Add the tamari, sesame oil and fish sauce to taste. You should keep it slightly on the bland side, as the miso will add some salty flavor at the end. Bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, crack each egg directly into the water, trying not to break the yolk. Cook about one minute. Now add the noodles and let cook until they have about 2-3 minutes left. (This depends on the type of noodle you use, I usually let my whole grain noodles cook 2-3 minutes.) Remove and save 1 cup of the broth, being careful not to disturb your cooked eggs. Give the pot a good stir and then layer in the fresh shiitake, greens, carrots and broccoli. Don’t worry about stirring it all together. You are just trying to steam the vegetables, so it’s OK if they just sit on top of everything else. Cover the pot and turn the heat down so the water is strongly simmering. While the veggies are cooking, add your miso to the broth you removed and mix this with a fork until it is dissolved or no longer clumpy. Once the veggies are brightly colored and can be pierced easily with a sharp knife, turn off the heat, and stir in your cup of miso broth. Serve immediately, making sure each bowl gets an egg and topping with green onions if you like. As you can see, this recipe has lots of room for improvisation. You can substitute different vegetables depending on what you like, but try to include the shiitake mushrooms as they are very good for your immune system. For a reasonable price, you can buy a huge bag of them dried from your local Asian grocery store. You could also add lemongrass with the ginger and garlic if you like. Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans and can be found in the refrigerated section of your local health food store. Use white or yellow miso for a milder taste, and red miso for a deeper, heartier flavor. To add more protein, feel free to add a little pre-cooked chicken, shrimp, tempeh or tofu. Once you have the basics on hand, this soup is easy to throw together and wonderfully warms the belly on a cold winter day.
Black beans are great in the winter because they nourish the Kidney. In Chinese Medicine, the Kidney is responsible for providing our metabolism, keeping bones strong and hair healthy. This stew is also very nourishing to the digestive system and would make a great winter staple.
Heather's Warming Masala Tea Heather’s Quick Whole Oat Breakfast 1 cup steel-cut oats (available at health food stores or at the Old Mill of Guilford on Hwy. 68 in Oak Ridge) Makes 2-4 servings depending on appetite! Rinse oats thoroughly, then combine with water in saucepan. Soak overnight. When you get up in the morning, place on burner, bring to a light boil and then simmer about 10-45 minutes. The longer you cook them, the sweeter and more digestible they become. But I like mine a little more textured, so I cook them about 15 minutes. Add some dried fruit, nuts, seeds, maybe even a small amount of butter or real maple syrup. You’ll never make instant again! If you’re feeling especially wild, try toasting the oats before rinsing. Just line a cookie sheet with a thin layer of the dry oats and toast at 200 for 5-10 minutes or until golden. Then cook as above. This gives the porridge a nuttier flavor. Millet-Sweet Vegetable Soup This recipe taken from Cooking the Whole Foods Way, by Christina Pirello, p.102 -- you should buy this book! ) This soup is easy to make, very nourishing and easy to digest, and perfect for cold winter days. ½ cup millet Rinse millet by placing in a glass bowl and covering with water. Gently swirl grain with your hands to loosen any dust. Drain well. Layer onion, cabbage, squash, carrot and then millet in a soup pot. Add enough water to just cover, being careful not to disturb layering. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add remaining water. Reduce heat to low and simmer soup 30 minutes. Remove a small amount of broth, add miso and stir until dissolved. Stir mixture into soup and simmer 3-4 minutes. Serve garnished with green onions. Makes 4 servings. Heather’s Easy Greens #1) Go to your favorite place to get organic produce (the Farmer’s Market, Deep Roots, Earth Fare, etc.) #2) Buy your favorite greens (my favorites are lacinto or black kale and red chard). I love collards too, they just take a little longer to cook. Buy more than you think you need, after cooking you are left with about half of what you started with. #3) Rinse the greens. #4) Chop or slice in bite size strips (I roll several leaves together and then just slice across). Unless you're using collards, be sure to inlcude most of the stems too. Especially with red chard, the stems are the best part! #5) Put greens in skillet (cast iron is best) with approx. 1-2 tsp. olive oil or sesame oil. Use olive oil if you’re adding greens to pasta or for lighter taste. Add sesame for a nuttier flavor, this is good for oriental style meals. #6) Add approx ¼ cup water to skillet. #7) Turn on med-high and cover. Let steam for 5-10 minutes until greens turn a very bright color. #8) Serve immediately with toasted walnuts or pecans or sesame seeds. Or, add a little lemon juice or vinegar. Alternative: Just throw the lighter greens (meaning lacinto kale, spinach or chard because these are less bitter) in with soups or pasta the last 5-10 minutes of cooking. This even works with packaged ramen noodles, although you probably don't want those due to the hydrogenated oils. Try Barilla enriched noodles or brown rice pasta--yum! Add a little sesame oil and an egg, garnish with scallions and you’ve got a real treat!
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