Increase your Immunity with Soup

Back to Earth's Immunity Soup
Ingredients

8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion - chopped rough
5 carrots - peeled & sliced
5 stalks celery - sliced
2 large bulbs fennel - chopped rough
1/2 package fresh baby spinach or kale - chopped
1 bulb garlic (at least 10 cloves) - chopped fine
1 1/2" fresh gingerroot - peeled & chopped fine
2 chicken breasts (optional) - sliced
5 pieces dried , sliced astragalus root
1/4 cup dried echinacea
2 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms
salt & pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
cheesecloth 

Method

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Saute onion over medium heat till transparent, add celery, carrots & fennel, saute a little longer till vegetables are just starting to soften. Add garlic and ginger. Saute for a few more minutes. If using chicken breast, remove veggies from the pot and add a little more olive oil, saute the chicken until it is firm.  Add the veggies back in and add the soup stock. Place the astragalus and echinacea in a cheesecloth bag and tie firmly, add to the soup pot and simmer, covered, 2 hours. Remove from heat and add the chopped spinach or kale. Let sit off the heat for another 2 hours.
Remove the cheesecloth bag and re-heat on medium-low.  Add salt, pepper & cayenne to taste.  Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt & shavings of parmesan cheese.  
Also serve with these easy to make Chickpea Crisps (gluten-free)

Chickpea Crisps
Ingredients

2 cups chickpea flour
2 tablespoon sesame or poppy seeds
2 tablespoons flax or hemp seeds
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup warm water
coarse sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 350'
Sift flour into a mixing bowl. MIx oils & water in a separate bowl or measuring cup, add to the sifted flour and mix well. Dough will be sticky like cookie dough.
Divide into 3 portions and roll out between sheets of parchment paper till as thin as possible. Peel off the top sheet and slice into strips or triangles
Transfer crisps to a baking sheet keeping the bottom parchment sheet in place, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and pepper.
Bake 15 - 20 minutes till starting to brown. For crispier crisps, turn off oven and leave in for another 30 minutes.