Bone Broth with Burdock Root

 

Lately, I have been focusing a lot of time towards healing. My transition to California life hasn’t been the easiest, but I am learning so much and I am in awe of the beauty here. This week I made a pack with the myself that I would make strides to speak more from the heart, be open in communication, and to just be real. I feel like so many of us hold up the illusion that everything is okay, and you know what…sometimes its not. Every day is different and I am learning to accept both the darkness and the light.

So, part of my promise is being real with you. I love to live, to take pictures of the beautiful things around me, and to share it with all of you. But, a big reason I live my life this way is because I have to. I was first drawn to the plant world to heal my body, and it was then I realized how passionate I am about plants. I now know that a big part of becoming a healer is healing oneself. So, meal by meal I am doing just that.

I'm sharing this with you because I don’t want to have a blog that portrays only one side of life. Our environment is drastically changing and our bodies are beginning to mirror this. I want to learn as a community what practices are healthy to adopt and which ones simply do not work. I am certain that purchasing power is not enough…many of us cannot even afford the price of unadulterated food. Lets get real, Whole Foods ain’t cheap! And, I just can’t believe the revolution begins in the checkout line.

Living close to the earth fills the soul. Nourishing your body with healing plants awakens your consciousness. And, perhaps since so many of us occupy this cosmic floating orb, part of healing the Great Mother does start with the healing thy self. But--it doesn’t stop there.We have a great deal of work to do.

I apologize if I have put off any sort of illusion; we have always hoped the blog is more of an inspiration for you as the plants are to us. For me, this blog is a healing journal, a documentation of what has worked for me and made healing more delicious. And with that said, I give you some deeply healing bone broth.

INGREDIENTS

6 carrots

2-3 onions

6 dates

1 medium burdock root

½ cup of vinegar

3lbs of bones, especially knuckle and marrow bones

Big pot of  full of water, or crockpot

Salt to taste

METHOD

Place the bones and vinegar in a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. I used goat bones because that is what I could afford locally. Once the water starts to boil reduce it down to low and keep it covered. Allow the broth to cook for at least 12 hours or as long as 72. I would add your chopped carrots, onions, burdock root, and whole dates the last 6 hours of cooking.  Strain out the materials from the broth so you are left with a rich and slightly golden broth.

Since you will have so much bone broth to enjoy I encourage you to use it as a base for other soups and freeze it for later use. I like to store about half the broth in the freezer. I suggest placing them in a few quart sized mason jars with detailed labels that include both the date and the ingredients. Make sure to leave a few inches of room at the top of the mason jar so the broth doesn’t expand and break the glass in the freezer. This may or may not of happened to me.

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In our beloved Sally Fallon’s book Nourishing Traditions, she outlines the unique and powerful properties of broths. She notes that raw food compounds are colloidal and tend to be “hydrophilic” and attract liquids, which is why our digestive juices cling to them and allow for rapid digestion. Often times meat gets a bad rap in the health world because of is slow transit time. This is because colloids that are heated generally repel liquid, or are “hydrophopic”. But in bone broths the situation is quite different! When you make this deliciously healing bone broth you will notice that it becomes much like gelitan. This is a proteinaceous gelatin that is hyrophillic even after hours of heating.

Gelatin is remarkably healing to the digestive track. It is used in therapy for people who have chrones, intestinal disorders, IBS, and for many other dis-eases. I like to think of the gooey substance lining the digestive track and calming down all that inflammation. I encourage you to also use it after a prolonged sickness or if you are feeling deficient in nutrients.

There is also burdock root in the soup which is adored by both eastern and western herbalists! It is a great root found wild across America that is a powerful alterative. It can do wonders for the skin.

The best part about this broth is that it so yummy and comforting. Have it right before the main plate whether its breakfast, lunch, or dinner! I usually drink it for a few weeks if I am getting over something major, and then I will use the frozen broth for culinary purposes at a later date.

I hope you enjoy this broth and it brings you the deep nourishment you most certainly deserve.

With lots of love,

Summer Ashley