Urban Herbalism: Healing Broth

Getting ready for broth.

The herbalist's first line of defense is a well-stocked kitchen.  Some of the best natural defenses are already in there waiting for you.  Some of my favorite remedies against illness are used in this healing broth.  Sipping this broth alone will provide you dozens of phytonutrients and help you become or stay well. It can also be used as a base for soup. Buying broth is expensive and much less nutritive. Spend an afternoon or evening allowing these scents to fill your home. It's the best aromatherapy there is!

I'll break down the ingredients and then we can explore making it together! 

Have on hand:

• Chicken bones and gizzards. Aside from the respect that we show by using every part of an animal, using bone broth just makes sense. The bones contain several minerals our body easily absorbs. Gelatin to lubricate our joints, calcium for strong bones, magnesium for healthy bones, nerves, and muscles. Food sources are the absolute best places to find these nutrients, so use those bones! 

OR 

• Large beef bones and fat trimmings. All the same nutrient, just add a few hours to your pre-herb simmering. 
• Garlic. Garlic is a tasty treat many people love. It is also antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal. It may have cardiovascular and anti-carcinogenic characteristics as well and can be useful in the management of blood sugar concerns. This well known allium is inexpensive and many varieties exist to ensure you get the taste you need. We buy local garlic in season and then cellar it throughout the winter. We get a good price and we never have to run out for it. 
• Onion. So much to say! Studies show that onions specifically help with sore throats and coughs. This punchy allium has been in Ayurveda for centuries. Anti-carcinogenic, a guard against osteoperosis, anti-inflammatory. Onions do it all. 
• Carrots. Tons of minerals! Vitamin A! Antioxidants!
• Potatoes. More vitamins and minerals than the day is long. Did you know these beasts even have Vitamin C? Leave the skin on for maximum benefit.
• Thyme. Another antibacterial and anti-fungal herb. It is especially useful for respiratory functions and the reduction of mucus. I've definitely appreciated that quality. So sniff it up while you sit with your broth :) 
• Oregano. Another herb with antibacterial properties. Hippocrates used it for infections and respiratory issues. Can't go wrong with that. 
• Sage. You guessed it. Antimicrobial in general, a strong tonic, so many useful properties.
• Salt.  When you are sick it is important to stay hydrated. Salt keeps you in balance. 
• Peppercorns. Increases absorption of other vitamins, increases circulation, increases seratonin.

Use fresh if you can, it is absolutely best in this case. I also save things like broccoli stems, potato skins,  and cabbage leaves while I am cooking. Stored in a jar in my freezer, they make sure I get every piece of vitamin I can out of the food we eat. If you have some but not all of these items, you will still make a tasty broth. Don't be afraid to toss in other things you love. Today, I included a maitake mushroom and left out the oregano, for example.

So how to make it?

1. Toss in your chicken, vegetables and alliums and fill with cold water. Starting with cold water will help get a very deep flavor as you simmer. Place on a burner on medium-low heat. To extract extra calcium, Sally Fallon recommends tossing in a bit of vinegar. Either way, you are doing something lovely and poetic for yourself.
2. Slowly bring to a boil. Strain anything funny that comes to the top. Lower heat and simmer, covered. Simmer for a few hours.
3. About twenty minutes before you intend to remove the broth from the oven, toss in as much of each herb as you like, leaving out those you don't have access to or don't enjoy will not hurt this broth! 
4. Continue to simmer, covered with herbs for twenty minutes. 
5. Strain, tamping to extract every last nutrient. You will be happy you did. 
6. This broth can be used immediately, stored in the fridge for up to a week, or frozen indefinitely.  
7. Enjoy.   It is especially great the day of. Today, I made ricotta gnocchi in broth. It was a delightful. 

Ricotta gnocchi act as dumpling in this delicious Italian first course.

New Concepts of Waste

The Irish have a long history of hunger that has gifted them with a certain know-how. A certain wisdom about food and clothing and other necessities. A certain thankfulness for every meal. And for those things, I am certainly grateful. However, with these gifts, it seems another thing developed.

A simple composter! Not our picture. 

Those of you who have grown up Irish or near Irish people may be familiar with what I have dubbed "Irish food guilt". This is basically the idea that wasting any drop of any food stuff you encounter is a sin akin to baby kicking (The Crunchy Marriage does not endorse the kicking of babies).  It manifests in comments such as "Finish your cabbage, Seamus! There are starving children in Somalia!"

But we know it comes from a place of discomfort, of knowing that people in our family tree died for lack of that 1/4 of a mashed potato serving you can't stuff in. And it also seems to arrive from a place of insecurity that their will be enough tomorrow. But there has to be a way to honor this fear by investing in future prosperity. 

I would like to introduce a new perspective of our unedibles- a word I believe I made up and define as everything from onion skins to that last scrap of sauerkraut you can't bear to touch. A way to honor the potato famine and the depression without force feeding ourselves. A way to save the planet, keep our next harvest great, and ensure our families (and the earth's) health. 

In our home, our garbage rarely needs to be taken out. It doesn't fill often, and it doesn't smell. Why you ask? Well, allow me to tell you! Food-and all the organic waste associated with it- never touch our garbage can. We handle scraps, peels, left overs, and others in several ways.  From simple to complicated. 

• Lunch. Thankfully, Mark loves left overs for lunch. I am not so big of a fan. Nothing tastes quite right the second day. 
• Dog food.   I know, I know, "human food is bad for dogs...." To be honest, if you look though the list of common dog allergens, it is easy to avoid those items when giving your dog a little human food topping on top of his or her kibble. My grandmother and my aunts have always done this for their dogs without ever a problem. Zoe's coat has never looked better since we began topping it with a little oil or grease from cooking. And we noticed her shedding decrease and her nail growth increase when we started making sure she was getting a little bit of real food every day. For a while, we made her food, but this became cumbersome and we worried when she developed hot spots that we were not giving her something she needed, switching back to kibble made us sad that she was eating what seemed like such a fake food product. The providing of scraps seems like an affordable middle ground that gets real food in Zoe, while providing nutrition she needs. 
• Chicken feed.  Admittedly, one needs to own chickens in order for this to work, but I'll tell you what- those little geeks LOVE scraps. And they especially love farm share left overs I didn't manage to get to (or swiss chard, which I willingly tun over to them fresh). I have never seen them so happy as when they were attacking a mushy old summer squash. And the more nutrients they eat, the more make it into my eggs. Also, their poop fertilizes my lawn so well! . 
• Broth. We save and freeze all of our food scraps that could potentially be used in broth. We keep a half gallon jar in our freezer and fill it with brocolli stems, onion bottoms, leek tops, and potato skins. Every now and then, we'll roast a chicken (yes, we eat meat now, a post on that coming) and toss the bones in with the frozen veggie scraps to make a delightful, seasonal broth. Then, bones come out and veggies go into the compost. Goodbye $4 broth pints. Hello nutritious, fresh tasting soups!
• Compost. An obvious answer to food waste, compost has been used forever as a way to provide nutrients for the soil. We have been amazed watching our open compost fill and deflate during the winter. Well turned, it does not attract bugs or rodents, and we have become very aware of how quickly food will biodegrade if allowed access to oxygen, how much one family can have in scraps, and how great for a garden compost really is. Vermiculture (allowing worms to eat your scraps in buckets, essentially) is an easy alternative for people with no outdoor space to compost