November 2, 2008

Last weekend, as I was just trying to get back to exercising, I caught a cold.  I haven't had a cold in AGES, so I'm sure it was because my resistance is low, but I was determined it wouldn't drag me down.  I made a beeline for Central Market and got the ingredients to whip up a batch of what I call Immune-Boosting Soup.  I didn't have a recipe because you can really throw in anything you want.  The key is to use shiitake mushrooms and lots of garlic.  Do you know about the benefits of shiitakes?  Studies have shown them to be incredibly immune-boosting and anti-viral.  They're one of the amazing super foods that do so many wonderful things for our bodies.   And garlic is known to be antibiotic, anti-viral and anti-fungal.  Sorry there's no photo, but this soup in NOT very pretty or very photogenic.  Let's just say it's brownish.  But this is not a beauty contest recipe, it's a healing recipe!  Here is what I used for my soup:

5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
8 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/3 large red onion, chopped
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp Penzeys Vegetable Soup Base
Few dashes Penzeys Mural of Flavor (salt-free)
Dash cayenne pepper
Shallot pepper and garlic pepper to taste
Salt to taste (be careful since the soup base has salt and you're going to be reducing the liquid a little)

Saute the onion, garlic and ginger together until soft, and then add the sliced mushrooms and continue to saute until they are browned and tender.  Add about 6 cups of water and the seasonings and simmer for an hour.  Add more water if you like, and adjust the seasonings as needed.  Makes about 3 servings.

I had this soup for dinner three times last week, plus I immediately started taking a supplement called Super Lysine which has really helped me squelch bugs in the past.  Besides l-lysine, it has vitamin C, echinacea, goldenseal, licorice, garlic, and propolis.  Within a day, I literally felt better!  The cold started over the weekend, and on Monday I was sneezing and blowing my nose like a mad woman, but by Tuesday it was better!  Usually a cold can drag on for days and days, so I'm happy that this little combo of soup and Super Lysine did the trick for me.  I'm not a doctor so I can't tell you what will work for you, but if I can get some relief naturally without having to resort to a medicine, I'm happy!

~BigSis