Give me a Boost!

It seems like many of my friends and family are floundering in the grip of this terrible cold and flu season. With Culinary school starting in a little over a week I can’t afford to be out sick. I decided that Brian and I need an immune system boost; what better way to get it than from soup. Soup gives the opportunity to combine an array of healthy and healing ingredients because you can basically throw everything in but the kitchen sink.

If you’ve already taken ill this flu season and think you don’t have the energy to cook, this recipe is relatively easy to make especially with the use of canned or box stock (which I use often when it’s just for Brian and me).

I recently read an article called “The Axis of Food Evil:  Fat, Sugar and Salt.” The article explained that food can stimulate the same circuits in the brain as drugs. Every one knows the affects of food cravings and that feeling that you just can’t stop eating even though you’re full. You know that feeling when you’re eating a bag of potato chips and you just can’t pull yourself away from it. It can be difficult to eat well with all of the salty, sweet temptations bombarding us daily.

If you actually stop and think about each ingredient in the food you’re eating as a way to provide your body with caloric energy and nutrients it can change your world. The first two healing ingredients that came to mind while writing this recipe were Ginger and Garlic, but after doing some research I found that most of the ingredients I planned on using anyway would also contribute to boosting our immune systems.

Here’s my reasoning behind some of the ingredients:

• Red Kidney Beans for protein, iron, vitamins A and C.
• Ginger for nausea, migraines, aches, chills and congestion
• Garlic and onions help stimulate the power of macrophages and T cells which are important to immune system defense.
• Celery and carrots for vitamin C which may help reduce the duration of the cold.
• Tomatoes for antioxidants which protect against destructive free radicals

Please keep in mind that this soup is not the end-all-be-all to curing your cold. It contains many healthy ingredients and is an example of things that should be included in a healthy diet  that can lead to a strong immune system, but it is not a substitute for a visit to the doctor if you are sick. For more nutritional health information a great book to read is “Foods that Harm Foods that Heal” by the editors of Reader’s Digest or Prevention.com has a fantastic Nutrition Section.

The Healing Soup

• 3tbs evoo
• 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
• 2 carrots finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk finely chopped
• 1lb mushrooms caps sliced
• 1/2 tsp koser salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 tbs flour
• 4 cups beef stock
• 2-3 tbs fresh ginger minced
• 9 cloves garlic minced
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 lemon juiced
• 3 tbs fresh parsley chopped
• 2 green onions diced
• parmesan cheese
• orzo

heat evoo in a large soup pot. Saute onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms until just tender, season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. add butter to pot, when it’s melted sprinkle in flour and stir. allow to cook 3-4 minutes.

Add beef stock, ginger, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves to pot and bring to a boil. scrape off any foam that rises to the top. Add canned tomatoes and kidney beans. Turn heat down to medium low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, uncover and add lemon juice, parsley and half of the green onions. Stir together. Serve over orzo pasta, garnish with remaining green onions and parmesan.

Additions & Substitutions:

Shrimp: if you don’t like beans, throw in a 1/2 pound of pealed, deveined shrimp at the last ten minutes of simmering. Cook until shrimp are opaque. – shrimp for protein, iron, zinc & slenium

Some of my Home Cooking Philosophy:

I realize that fresh produce provides more nutrients and a better flavor than canned and frozen, but buying only fresh can become quite expensive. Generally, I split my fresh and frozen/canned usage about 50/50. Freshly grated artisanal cheeses are expensive as well; you’ll notice that I use the pre-grated stuff in the plastic cylindrical container for our daily use. I try to be as frugal as possible, I do however frequently spend the extra money on canned or box stocks because I don’t have the time to make them myself on a regular basis. I would not criticize you if you did the same or if you made your own. I believe in culinary freedom.