My first year, of a 3 year herbalism program here in New York City, is off to a great start. I am learning so much, and where I considered myself to have led a holistic life beforehand, my knowledge is so much deeper now. I am very excited about sharing relevant interest through Willy B Mum, moving forward. For this post, as we are deep into winter, I thought it might be nice to share this medicinal and delicious soup which is easy to make at home.

Eat onions and garlic every day and you’ll be well all through the winter, while they are both considered healing and protective to the lungs, they also taste wonderful together.

Onion is an example of a herb which can help immensely with coughing, in particular a wet productive cough with expelling mucous. By using food as medicine, one can help support the body to aid in thinning of mucous, thus making it more easily expectorated. Thyme, Ginger and Garlic also do the same thing, and all ingredients in this recipe.

Otherwise, onions are immune supporting, improve cardiovascular health and are known to be helpful with cancer prevention, and incorporating more of them into your diet is definitely not going to hurt you, quite the contrary actually.

I have most recently started incorporating ghee, cultured butter, into my diet which I included in this recipe too. Ghee is a nutrient dense food, containing healthy fat soluble vitamins, which are essential for good health.Consuming Ghee in the diet aids in enhancing and maintaining vitality, and treats exhaustion, liver disease and nervous system disorders. It also internally lubricates the body, which is helpful if you are an athlete, or just have aches and pains. Ghee is a traditional Indian ingredient used in Ayurvedic medicine and cooking, which has a high cooking point, and a long shelf life.

What You Need, serves 6

Bay leaves

• 5 large red onions
• 2 tablespoon Ghee (I use Pure Indian Foods)
• 10 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 6 cups of porcini mushroom broth
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 2 Bay Leaves (pictured)
• 2 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger
• 2 tablespoon high quality curry powder
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemongrass
• 1 teaspoon of dried reishi mushroom powder
• Chilli pepper, and sea salt to taste

What To Do

• Heat a large pot over high heat
  

  Sautéed onions in ghee and vinegar

• Add sliced onions with ghee, and cook over high heat, stirring often until onions are dark brown and caramelized, up to 30 minutes (pictured)
• Add red wine vinegar and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan
• When vinegar has evaporated, add garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and 6 cups of the porcini broth **See broth instructions below
• Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer about 40 minutes
• Add grated ginger, powdered reishi mushroom, curry powder, fresh chilli, and lemongrass
• Simmer on medium-low for another 30 minutes
• Remove bay leaves, and serve

**  Soak 1 small packet of dried porcini mushrooms in warm filtered water for 30 minutes before adding

This soup is a wonderfully delicious wholesome food which the whole family will enjoy. It definitely opens up the sinuses, and is good to make throughout winter to maintain health, and to ward off colds and flus. It also freezes very well, so if you cannot eat it all, save it for later.

I encourage everybody to use high quality ingredients, which are organic and non-gmo. If this is not an option, do your best. As this soup is intended as a medicine as such, it is detrimental to use ingredients sprayed or grown with toxic pesticides.

I hope you enjoy it!