Herbalists’ Sicky Icky Chicken Noodle Soup

(Note: This is enough to make quite a bit and freeze, it’s involved and not the kind of thing you want to try to whip up when you’re already sick!) You can also half the recipe.

Ingredients:

-4 lbs organic chicken breast cut into half inch cubes

-12C chicken stock (preferably homemade)*

-1 box dried pasta 4Tbs olive oil

-1/2C minced garlic

-1/3C fresh minced ginger

-1C mixed fresh herbs of: thyme, rosemary, parsley, and marjoram

-Shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced (1C dried or 2C fresh)

-1/2C dried wakame seaweed

-4 medium sized potatoes large dice

-2 sweet potatoes medium dice

-4 carrots 1inch rounds

-4 parsnips 1inch rounds

-1/2 celery root or 2C turnips small dice

-4-6Tbs salt

-1/4C lemon juice

-1Tbs ground black pepper

-2tsp paprika

-1/8 th tsp cayenne pepper

Herb Bags:** Place the herbs in either cheesecloth or jelly bags, these can also be added to the stock ingredients if you’re making that from scratch. 1 Oz dried astragulus 1 Oz dried eleuthero 1/2 Oz dried burdock root

Sauté the garlic and ginger in the olive oil until fragrant on medium heat, about 2 minutes, add the spices and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Add the herb bags if not already cooked into the stock.

Add celery root/turnips, carrots, and parsnips reduce heat and simmer until they start to become tender. Add the fresh herbs. Add the potato and sweet potato, add the cubed chicken and bring to a boil for 10 minutes.

Cook pasta (gluten free works just as well as glutenous) separately according to package instructions. Test the tenderness of the vegetables, adjust spices and lemon juice to taste. Remove soup from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes, stir in the pasta and serve.

**If you made the homemade broth with herbs then no need to add more of the medicinal herbs and some of the fresh garlic or ginger, unless you love garlic and ginger like me!

Some notes on astragalus, burdock, and eleuthero:

Eleuthero: There are concerns around hypertension, so if you have high blood pressure please check with your medical provider.

Burdock Root: If you’re allergic to chrysanthemums or daisies you might also be allergic to burdock since they’re in the same family. If you’re pregnant or nursing please consult your medical professional.

Astragalus: Not to be taken medicinally during pregnancy or lactation, and can interfere with immunosuppressant drugs or cause complications for those with autoimmune disorders.

candy, elderberry, herbs, recipe

Vegan Elderberry Gummies

Adapted from: https://www.simplyhappyfoodie.com/elderberry-syrup-gummies/

Ingredients:

-2C Elderberry Syrup

-3/4C water

-4Tbs agar agar powder

Supplies:

-Silicone molds

-Droppers

Add syrup and water to sauce pot and heat to near boil, add the agar agar powder, whisk vigorously until combined and lower heat.

While keeping the liquid warm use the dropper to add the mixture to the molds. Be careful to make sure the mixture stays warm enough to not solidify and whisk as needed. This can be kind of messy and potentially a burning hazard if the mixture is too hot.

Fill the molds and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, it’s worth doing a test on the first mold to make sure you have the consistency you like.

Once they’ve fully cooled you should be able to easily pop the gummies out and store them in a clean, lidded, glass jar in the fridge. To help preserve them longer add a piece of wax paper or cloth under the lid to help absorb any extra moisture.

More about elderberry!

An important note about elderberry fruit is that you cannot consume it unless the berries have been dried or cooked. Raw elderberry can cause cyanide poisoning, do not eat them raw!

Elderberry is an incredible fruit. I planted one in my yard in 2017 and I usually don’t get to the fruit before the birds do, but the bush this year is big enough that I hope we can share.

“Elderberries contain high levels of vitamins C, B-complex, flavonoids, and other antioxidants. They have a strong antiviral effect and immunomodulating properties, making them great for the common cold and flu. Elderberries can be used for prevention of the flu and also in persons that already have the flu.” Citation

In terms of folks who shouldn’t consume elderberry:

-If you’re pregnant or nursing please consult your medical professional

-Those taking immunosuppressants or with autoimmune diseases can have a strong negative reaction to elderberry, please consult your medical professional before use

elderberry, herbs, recipe

Pressure Cooker Elderberry Syrup

Adapted from: https://www.simplyhappyfoodie.com/instant-pot-elderberry-syrup/

Yields approximately 4C elderberry syrup

Ingredients:

-1C dried elderberries

-4.5C water

-Whole fresh garlic (eyeball for how much garlic you like, I used about a thumbs worth)

-Zest of 1-2 lemons

-2 cinnamon sticks

-1/4 C rosehips

Add all above ingredients into InstaPot or other pressure cooker (not a pressure canner). Set on soup or high for 2 hours. I let mine sit on warm for 12 hours to really get lots of herby goodness in it.

After the pressure cooker releases the steam on its own, or after 12 hours of steeping, you will add:

-1.5C of sugar (I use raw or otherwise vegan sugar) or 1C of honey*

-1/4C lemon juice

*If you are making this syrup to make gummies you may want to turn the pressure cooker to sear in order to cook down some of the volume. However if you’re using raw honey do not add until the liquid is just warm, or you may cook off some of the really awesome properties of raw honey.

Once cool enough to handle, strain the liquid and discard the solids (in the compost if you can! The herbs work best when they return to the soil.)

Elderberry syrup can be kept in the fridge in a clean, lidded jar, for up to 3 months easily. This recipe can be adapted to make elderberry jellies that you can process in the water canner that can last for 1-2 years.

More about elderberry!

An important note about elderberry fruit is that you cannot consume it unless the berries have been dried or cooked. Raw elderberry can cause cyanide poisoning, do not eat them raw!

Elderberry is an incredible fruit. I planted one in my yard in 2017 and I usually don’t get to the fruit before the birds do, but the bush this year is big enough that I hope we can share.

In terms of folks who shouldn’t consume elderberry:

-If you’re pregnant or nursing please consult your medical professional

-Those taking immunosuppressants or with autoimmune diseases can have a strong negative reaction to elderberry, please consult your medical professional before use