I made this soup today, boiling up a ham hock then browning onions, garlic and celery in the skillet. I added carrots, peas, yellow beets, and tomatoes. Then I fried up thin-sliced steak in Worcestershire Sauce and added that. Barley came next, and a few bay leaves, fresh parsley, and an east-Indian spice called 'Paunch Puran'. It is fried with garlic to open the flavors - cumin, fenugreek, yellow mustard, fennel and kallonji.
I made a huge pot so I could freeze some, yet a tiny bowl is shown in the photo here so I could fit everything into the photo - the Sprouted Flaxseed Bread, the Mandarin Oranges and the Beef Barley Soup. It is a perfect meal when someone has a cold, and both George and I do!I make the Flaxseed Bread using my Whole Wheat Bread recipe. I've used this recipe for over 30 years. It yields 3 loaves:
Sprouted Flaxseed Bread
To 3 cups warm water add and mix:
3 Tbs. yeast
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup honey
Let this sit awhile, for the yeast to get busy.
Then stir in 1 scant Tbs. salt
1/4 cup oil
Stir in until moistened:
1 cup whole wheat bran
1 cup sprouted flaxseed
2 cups whole wheat flour
Stir until sheets form, then add more flour:
2 cups white flour
Then add 2-3-or 4 cups whole wheat flour
Knead, adding flour as needed.
Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise.
Punch down, form 3 loaves, place in pans.
Brush egg white over the tops of the loaves,
and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Let rise again (I use a warm oven, to speed
this process up.)
Bake 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes, or until
the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. My oven
runs hot, so I cover the tops with foil mid-way
through the baking period.
Just make sure when you prepare this bread that oil doesn't touch the yeast until AFTER you've added flour. Many cooks ruin their yeast by coating it with oil, and it doesn't work well that way. You can also substitute milk for part of the water, but always dissolve the 3 Tbs yeast in 3/4 cup water, to which a little sugar has been added. Yeast eat the sugar and burp, causing it to activate.
I've been drinking organic Echinacea Plus Herbal Tea. It supports the immune system. There is also another tea that I use when I'm sick called "Throat Coat". It has licorice root extract, wild cherry bark, fennel seed, licorice root, cinnamon bark, orange peel, slippery elm bark, and althea root. soothes a sore throat. Traditional Medicinals carries the kind I use. They say it supports throat health by including herbs traditionally used to soothe the vocal chords, esophagus and the trachea. When released into hot water these herbs form a protective coating on the mucus membranes.Night-time is the worst for George and I, as we can't breathe easily, so we're blowing our noses and getting up. He doesn't take any medication because of his asthma, but I purchased some Children's Dimetapp Cold and Allergy medicine today so I can sleep tonight. I use children's dosages rather than adult dosages because these higher doses make me jumpy.
I'll sure be glad when this bug has run its course. Until then, I'm just hunkered down with a box of Puff Plus, the TV, and Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" .
