FAITH THROUGH FOOD

In one big soup pot...

 

Throw in 1/2 Stick of Butter (adding a spoon of bacon fat adds flavor here too.

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Add 2 or more Medium/Big Organic Onions sliced (a few different kinds if possible) (or substitute with big handfuls of anything 

onion-y...Leeks/Shallots/Walking Onions...pick only one, or a few different types...), 

 

At the same time as the onions, throw in coins of Organic Carrots (I like tri-colored carrots best for flavor - I'll often dump in a bag of frozen organic tri-colored carrots because they're already sliced).  Depending on the soup or size of the fresh carrots--maybe 5 medium carrots - 10 if they're skinny...  

Once the carrots are soft and the onions are almost caramelized (for flavor), 

 

slice in a big bunch (where your whole hand stretches to fit around the stems of the bunch you're holding) of Red Swiss Chard into 1/4" strips (I use a big serrated bread knife on a cutting board).  Depending on the size of the pot, slice and throw in half or the whole bunch...  (substitute or supplement, with any arrangement of Dandelion Greens, Escarole, Green Swiss Chard),

 

add chopped organic Garlic - I always go heavy on garlic and depending on the bulb, I might use a half or a whole one...garlic's healthy :).

 

Pour in 1 - 3 boxes, of Organic Chicken Broth.  If you don't have chicken broth, just add water to fill the pot to 1 1/2" below the rim, and add extra seasonings/spices... I don't like the taste of bone-broth from a box-I find it bitter...if I use bone-broth, it's home-made replacing the boxed plain chicken broth here...

 

Add protein if wanted (or extra veg or raw rice or raw pasta to "stretch" a just veg soup):

a tray of Chicken cut into 1-inch-ish pieces can be added after the broth goes in...Kosher Salt it first...if you think of it, roll the pieces in gluten free flour or rice flour seasoned with lots of kosher salt... (organic chicken, and meats with fat still on them will add the most flavor. Chicken thighs are especially flavorful).    Don't have time to cut the chicken, put in boneless breasts and shred them with forks after the soup is done...  or add about 2 cans of white beans near the end of cooking (beans just have to be heated up-add them too early and they mush)...  or any leftover already cooked meat cut into slices and added at the end ('cause they're already cooked) would work too...

 

Then add Adaptogens: (a teaspoon to a tablespoon of each - I vary them up) Chaga Mushroom powder, Cordyceps Mushroom powder, Lions Mane Mushroom powder, Dandelion Greens powder, Ashwagandha powder, Acerola powder, Rhodiola Rosea powder, Moringa powder...

 

Add Salt and Pepper:

Kosher Salt, or several types of salt--each has different minerals therefore a different taste... Different types of pepper adds different nuances as well--try white pepper, pepper blends, course vs. fine...

 

Add Some kind of "spicy": - even if just a pinch for nutrition/health, not necessarily for flavor, like Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder, Siracha, Hot Sauce...

 

Add Some arrangement of "Green Spices" from the garden and/or dried  - Pick the ones You like - enjoy the process - share smelling each type and choosing with your children:

Rosemary, Thyme (several types), Marjorem, Parsley...  Whenever kids see me picking herbs from our window boxes, they suddenly "love" the food - even something they wouldn't previously admit they like :) !  Remember - fresh herbs are more potent than dried - use them sparingly until you're used to cooking with them...

 

Toward the end of cooking, I will almost always finish with adding several splashes of flavored Balsamic Vinegar.  Fig Balsamic is my go-to, but depending on what's in the soup, Lemon or Strawberry Balsamic works.  I think it's the acid in the vinegar that wakes up the other flavors - I'm thinking of trying crushed tomatoes or maybe a juiced lemon to see if I get the same results...

 

Keep the pot simmering, but never boiling, 'till the ingredients are all fork-tender, and any raw meat is done...  About an hour, but soup is always tastier when simmered on the stove for longer than that...

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I really do use mostly the same base ingredients above for most soups...then change up for:

 

Pumpkin Soup: Don't add the meat and leafy greens, add a few extra carrots, several cans of plain pumpkin, add the same spices above, but add spices you'd use in pumpkin pie (cinnamon nutmeg allspice clove), then close to the end of cooking, add honey and Siracha and right before serving, either mix in sour creme, or dollop sour creme in the middle of each bowl as you serve. 

 

Potato Leek Soup:  Don't add the meat, switch the leafy greens for chopped celery, make the onion-y flavor come from mostly Leeks cut into thin strips, add a lot of potatoes.  Use less dark brown spices like mushroom powders, more green spices (so your potato soup doesn't look like brown gravy)...at serving, top with nitrate-free bacon chopped up--I've even used pork cut into strips and heavily salted.

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Taco Soup: chopped meat for the protein, add corn (a bag of frozen organic works fine), more spicy spices... at serving topped with taco cheese/and a dollop of organic sour creme.

 

Italian Soup: more escarole - no chard or dandelion greens--, add tomatoes (different types of fresh), pasta, oregano instead of thyme, Parmesan...   Serve topped with Parmesan, and with Italian bread topped with melted Mozzarella next to the bowl...

 

Irish Pot Pie Soup:  the same onions/carrots/spices, but add celery, a bag of frozen organic peas and carrots, lots of potatoes, chopped bacon and chopped lamb...  Use a hand masher to crush up the potatoes at the end--I tried a stick blender once and it became watery whipped potatoes :) !!  Yummy, but very weird as a soup.

 

Chinese-inspired Soup: switch the veggies or include bok choy, more onions, sliced fresh mushrooms, add chicken or pork in stick-like slices not chunks, and consider adding something from the Chinese section of the supermarket like baby corn cobs and water chestnuts.  Soy sauce at the end...