Four Branch Healing

Backyard Veggie Soup

June 07, 2009

By Sasha

Soup is a perfect way to celebrate the final fruits and labors of the summer months. 

We say farewell to the peaches as we watch the winter squashes and apples begin to fill the farmer markets.  Soup is a perfect way to acclimate to the shorter cooler days and keep those early winter flus and colds away.

It is no coincidence that grandma’s cold remedy could be found at the bottom of a bowl of chicken soup.  You could say she knew “ancient Chinese secret.”  The Chinese have long used soups as a healing tonic to chase away external pernicious influences like the common cold or deeper set imbalances like bronchitis.  When food cooks together slowly in a pot, it harmonizes creating a readily digestible tonic full of nutritious energy.

The soup recipe below is a guideline.  Use whatever you have on hand or picked up from the farmers market.  The suggested spices are warming.  If you tend to already be a warm person, try using coriander, saffron, or tamarind instead. 

2 medium sized ripe tomatoes
2 tbs local sunflower seed oil (or olive if you don’t have anything local)
1 small butternut squash, 2 cups sweet potato, OR 2 cups pumpkin
2 cups chopped onion
3 medium garlic cloves
1 stalk celery
1/2 bunch kale
4 carrots
1 tsp salt
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp turmeric
5-6 leaves fresh basil
1 bay leaf
3-4 cups water
2 cups cooked local beans

Chop all veggies excluding tomatoes. Bring medium size pan of water to a boil. Core tomatoes and plunge into boiling water for a slow count of 10. Remove tomatoes and peel. Cut open, squeeze out and discard seeds. Chop remaining pulp and set aside. Heal oil in soup pot. Add onions garlic, celery and squash (or sweet potato) and kale and saute over medium heat for ~5 minutes. Add salt and then cook until almost tender. Add seasonings and water, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add tomato pulp and cooked beans. Cover and simmer for about 10 more minutes, or until all the veggies are tender. Taste to adjust seasonings.

Tomatoes help build the yin, regulate the heart and remove toxins.  Sunflower seed oil is considered neutral in thermal nature; it builds qi , supports the function of the liver and is beneficial to the heart. Vegetables like squash, sweet potato and pumpkin are the ultimate Earth element veggies.  They aid digestion and ease worries as they strengthen the spleen, stomach, and qi which is especially important heading into cold winter months.  Onions and garlic are commonly used in various cultures for treating colds and viral illnesses, their pungent quality is great for clearing phlegm and dampness in the body. Celery, though cooling, is bitter and great for dispelling dampness that can often wreak havoc during the changing seasons and cold winter months.  Kale builds the blood and is an excellent tonic for lung congestion in addition to being a great digestive aid for any tummy ache. Carrots also tonify the qi in addition to supporting the spleen, lungs, liver and kidneys.  Beans provide incredible support to our kidneys in addition to being nutrient dense, building the blood, yin and qi.  The salt adds a yin building aspect to the meal by directing the action towards the kidney.

When cooked together, these beautiful foods become synergistic, creating a bitter sweet tonic sure to keep your worries at rest, and illness away during the changing seasons.

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