When I was an undergraduate studying BioChem, I remember my lecturer spent a whole lesson giving us the run-down of why chicken soup is so good at boosting the immune system. From my vague recollections (and I wish I had taken better notes), it had something to do with chicken bones, celery and carrots - and T4 cells, important members of the immune system family that are stimulated into production when certain elements (results of ingesting chicken, celery and carrot broth) become available. There is a chemical reaction - a magical moment in the intercellular spaces - whereby the body wakes up, shakes up and becomes stronger and more resistant to infectious elements, the bacterial, microbial 'baddies'.
My first nourishing meal after my daughter was born was a gift from my next door neighbour. While her husband ran the dog and she did my cloth nappies for three weeks, she also nurtured me with a beef barley soup. She said it was the same recipe she had always used when her kids were young and were sick. It was the same recipe my Gramma used when we would go to visit her and her winter kitchen always smelled of chicken broth, chicken soup. Just the smell made us healthier: inhale the good; exhale the bad...
Winter has come in the southern hemisphere and I am called to the kitchen by the goddess to boil up those organic chicken bones and beef bones. I choose organic cuz I want every little bit of goodness to be just that: goodness. Cuz when I make my broth, it takes days of gentle boiling; cooling; adding a selection of fresh winter herbs from the garden; adding veggies (like celery and carrots but also onions, garlic, ginger); and bringing it to a gentle simmer. The whole house smells like Gramma suddenly - and my heart sings with joy and anticipation.
There is a South American proverb that says: 'a good broth raises the dead'. I know what it is saying: that a good broth makes what was almost dead come alive again. It also takes the soul of the dead animal and makes it a life-giving force. But it also does something even more special: it makes the memories of the dearly beloved dead come to life again. Like my Gramma -
may she rest in peace...
http://haciendasur.com/bone-broth-will-resurrect-dead-south-american-proverb/
