Souper Tonic Recipe for Stock & Miso Soup

This is a special soup stock recipe that contains immune boosting and general tonic herbs to keep you strong or give you an added boost if your body needs strengthening. Tonics such as those included in this recipe are great to take especially during two particular changes of season when colds are common. These two periods are the Summer to Autumn transition and the Winter to Summer transition. Another great time to prepare a soup like this is during periods of athletic training and conditioning. Tonics are also beneficial for those with chronic illnesses or those who are recovering from an acute illness (but not during acute infection).

As for me, I made this soup recently to build my strength and energy for my upcoming home birth and delivery. I especially added Red Raspberry leaf for this purpose. You are free to leave that ingredient out if you are not pregnant, post partum, or trying to conceive (Red Raspberry leaf is also beneficial for both men and women with fertility issues). If you wish to substitute Red Raspberry leaf for something else, then you could substitute double the amount of celery or other fresh garden greens. A second alternative would be to substitute the Red Raspberry leaf for additional dried Nettle.

Soup Stock Ingredients with a Few Attributes of Main Tonics:

3 carrots
1 large onion
2 oz dry shitake mushrooms: immune enhancer, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant.
1 cup dried Red Rasperry Leaf: uterine tonic, promotes efficient labor and delivery, fertility tonic for women and men
1 cup dried Oatstraw: nourishes the nervous system, calming, relaxing, especially for those with mild anxiety and insomnia
3/4 cup dried Dulce Seaweed: benefits the Thyroid for underactive Thyroid function, mineral rich, anti-stress, and soothes or lubricates irritated tissues.
1/2 cup dried Nettle: high in vitamins, minerals and protein, benefits the immune system and kidneys, blood building for Iron-deficient anaemics
1/3 cup dried Lemongrass: a flavorful immune system booster, benefits digestive system
1/4 cup dried Astragalus Root powder: #1 energy and immune system tonic used in Traditional Chinese medicine
5 garlic cloves lowers blood sugar, benefits the circulatory system, anti-microbial
1 tsp fresh Thyme (or 1/2 tsp dry)
1/2 tsp Black pepper

Directions:

Add all the ingredients into a large non-metallic pot and cover with water. Make sure all the dry herbs are soaked well. Cover the vegetables and herbs such that there is about 4-6 inches of water over the level of the ingredients (for this recipe around 5 quarts or more of water). Bring the water to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.

Allow stock to cool somewhat. Line a colander with multi-layers of cheese cloth or a natural cotton, hemp or linen cloth. Strain and press out the soup stock into a new pot.

Reserve 3 cups to make miso soup if you would like to make soup right away. The rest can be stored in quart containers or freezer bags in the refrigerator or the freezer. Soup stock stored in the refrigerator should be used within 3 days. Soup stock stored in the freezer can be used within 6 months.

Now here is the easy part:

Miso Soup Recipe

3 cups soup stock from above
3 Tablespoons Miso paste
sliced green onions to garnish

Persons with high blood pressure should reduce the amount of Miso paste by half or more.

Enjoy!