Winter Powerhouse Soup

Personal Chef Charity’s recommendation for keeping warm in the winter

Winter, even the mild ones here in Santa Cruz, is the time for soup.I frequently make soup for my personal chef clients.  I was inspired this week by a visit with my friendly nutrition expert to make this concoction, using fresh organic ingredients specifically good to eat in the winter. 

 Soup, in general, is good because of its warming properties. We all know this instinctually. Parsnips and carrots are in season now and root vegetables are good to help us stay grounded ( a quality much appreciated during the busy holiday rush). Barley is full of fiber and minerals and can have a good effect on blood sugar. ( another good thing for remedying those holiday indulgences). I hadn’t had any beef in a while, so went for some good grass fed. I bought a bag of bones and made Bone Building Broth from The Garden of Eating by Rachel Albert-Matesz and Don Matesz, an excellent guide to produce dominated eating. You can find more information about the broth here.

Bone Building Broth

3 to 4 lbs meat bones, leg, marrow or assorted bones ( raw or from cooked meats), beef, bison, lamb, venison, pork

5 to 6 qts. filtered water ( you will need to add more)

2 bay leaves and/or 2-3 ( 5 in.) pieces kelp or kombu

3 T lemon juice or 2 T raw apple cider vinegar

Combine ingredients in an 8 qt. stockpot. Add water to cover bones. Cover and bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat. Reduce to medium low to keep broth gently bubbling. Kim off foam that rises to surface during first 30 minutes. Simmer for 10 to 14 hours ( yes, that long) or until broth appears milky. Add water if needed to keep bones covered. Uncover and simmer 1 hour longer or until liquid is reduced to 4 qts. Remove bones with large slotted spoon or pour through a large colander over an extra large bowl. Return broth to pot and place in sink filled with several inches of ice water. Cool for 30 mins. Strain and ladle into 1 qt Mason jars or freezer containers, allowing 1 in. of head room. Broth will thicken as it cools. Skim off and discard fat layer before using or freezing broth. Use refrigerated broth within 10 days, frozen broth with in 9 mos.

I used all of my broth to make my delicious Mushroom Barley Beef Soup.

Mushroom Barley Beef Soup

Bone building broth

5 cloves of garlic

generous amounts of salt and pepper

1 tsp. dried thyme, 1/4 c. chopped fresh dill ( use whatever herbs you like)

large handful chopped parsley

one large onion, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

2 packages of dried porcini mushrooms ( a bit extravagant but so flavorful, you could substitute fresh mushrooms)

2 large carrots, sliced

1 VERY large parsnip, sliced and chopped

1 small savoy cabbage ( kale would be awesome, mine was too far gone to use)

2 lbs. organic grass fed beef stew meat

1 T olive oil

1 c. barley ( not the pearled kind), which has been soaked in water for 24 hours and drained. ( this may seem tedious, but really helps digestion)

Brown the meat in the olive oil. Add to broth along with all the other ingredients and simmer for several hours. I usually add more parsley and celery at the very end so there is something green and crunchy. If I would have had some, I would have added 1/2c. red wine.  Other root vegetables would be an excellent addition – celery root, turnips. This would be good with lamb.

As with most of my recipes here, you are encouraged to make this your own. Let me know how you like it. If you live where it is really cold, curl up in front of the fire with a warm bowl of soup and watch the snow fall. Here in California, I will sip soup and wait for more rain.