Bone marrow is a critical ingredient in my homemade stock. My Slovenian grandmother Antonjia would suck the marrow out of the bones after our roast chicken meals. She was a bastion of health and wellness her entire life. So rather than having a clarified stock, I have my butcher cut the chicken bones up so the marrow extracts more easily into the soup. This leaves a cloudy stock that I believe has more nutrients than a clear stock. However you can also start from an organic stock and go straight to the soup recipe.

If you don’t have all the ingredients list below – don’t worry – use what you have. Be creative.

Stock recipe:

5 lbs organic chicken parts or chicken from a butcher (If using a whole chicken, remove chicken meat just after stock is brought to boil and reserve.)
10-12 cups fresh water
3 carrots, cut into thirds
2 parsnips, quartered
5 celery stalks, cut into thirds
2 onions, quartered
1 oz astragalus root
4 inches of kombu seaweed, leave as a large piece
3 bay leaves
1 leek (optional), cut into thirds
1-2 tsp salt

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Skim the top layer of the stock and discard. Then cover and simmer for at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Strain and keep stock. Discard veggies and chicken carcass. Transfer astralagus and kombu to stock.

Soup recipe:

Add to stock:

Reserved chicken
Reserved astralagus
Kombu from stock, cut into small pieces
8 – 12 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms
1-2 burdock roots, sliced into bite-sized rounds
2 inches grated ginger root, or enough to taste
6-8 cloves garlic

Simmer 15 minutes to ½ hour. Serve immediately.

You can freeze extra stock for times when you need a boost. I tend to eat from the same soup for several days. I simply add the veggies and herbs I like for each bowl. Carrots, corn, broccoli, tomatoes, and cabbage are among my favorites. Some immune herbs you can add to soup are fresh or dried sage, thyme, or parsley. These herbs can be added generously for their antioxidant and antibacterial properties.

Use 10 drops of Yerba Mansa tincture and one drop of peppermint oil in some warm water. Irrigate each nostril. If you don’t have access to Yerba Mansa, use a pinch or two of salt and a drop of peppermint oil. It is always less painful to use the Neti pot at the first sign of congestion. Use Neti pot 3x a day until sinuses clear.

Mince a few cloves of garlic and simmer with olive oil on the lowest heat that you can. Make sure not to brown the garlic. After simmering the garlic as long as you can without it turning brown, remove from the heat. I generally simmer for 5-10 minutes. Strain garlic out and cool the oil. Put into a clean dropper bottle.

Use 5 drops in each ear, hold head sideways for a bit to make sure that oil sinks in as deep as it can. Tug on your ear lobe to open the canal. Stuff part of a cotton pad in your ear to keep the oil in place. Do the other side. Keep in cotton pads in place for an hour or so.

Use this oil at first sign of ear congestion. Use as needed. It generally takes a few nights of use to clear the congestion.

This tea has a mixture of herbs to assist with sweating, relieving muscle spasms, clearing mucus, microbes and increasing circulation. All these actions helps your body feel better and clear the fever sooner. Make sure you are covered-up in layers when using this tea as it opens up your pores.

Get organic ingredients if you can, and, the most potent, freshest cayenne that you can find.

Onion – chopped: 1/2C
Ginger – Grated: 1/2C
Horseradish Root grated: 1/4C
Garlic – chopped: 1/8 C
Cayenne: 1 Teaspoon
Apple Cider Vinegar: 1 Quart

Place the above ingredients in a Quart jar and cover with Apple Cider Vinegar. Use wax paper with a rubber band on top of jar as the vinegar will eat through metal lids.

Leave to steep for 4-8 weeks. Shake daily for best results. I prefer to steep a full two months but it can be used anytime before that if you need to.

Use a strainer to separate herbs from vinegar. Then, take the remaining herbs and put in a thin cloth and squeeze that last vinegar out.

Pour into a clean container. Store in a cool dark place.

At the first sign of a cold take a shot or a half of shot a few times a day.

Medicinal Properties of Fire Cider:

Ginger – Zingiber officinale is antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and settles the stomach. It helps stimulate digestion.

Garlic – Allium sativum improves immune function; antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. It is a diaphoretic (opens pores to reduce fever).

Horseradish – Armoracia rusticana is an anti-bacterial herb, mildly antibiotic, stimulating herb, stimulates mucus surfaces throughout entire body, and topically is a rubefacient (increases circulation).

Onion – Allium cepa is an expectorant and relieves congestion, antiseptic, antifungal, anticoagulant (reduces hypertension), rubefacient (when externally used dilates capillaries, and has analgesic or pain relieving properties).

Cayenne – Capsicum spp. stimulates circulation blood flow and heats body to clear out the mucus.

Apple Cider Vinegar – balances your body’s ph

1 C. Oatmeal
1/4 C. Lavender
1/4 C. Almonds
1/4 C. Roses

You can also use chamomile or lemongrass instead of lavender
Grind up each ingredient in a blender:
Grind the oats and herbs as finely as possible – you are looking for a powder consistency.
Grind the almonds but leave a bit of coarseness to them
Don’t overheat the herbs by leaving the blender on too long.
Use a teaspoon at a time – wet and make paste to scrub.
Caution: Don’t get water into your powdered scrub or the whole batch will mold.