Homemade Bone Broth Soups

During the winter, I like to make soup every week. They are healthy, economical and taste yummy on a cold winters day. I usually start with roasting a chicken for dinner. After using most the meat, I save the whole carcass to make bone broth or stock.

Bone broth is an excellent source of minerals and is known to boost the immune system and improve digestion. It's high calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus content make it great for bone and tooth health. Bone broth also supports joints, hair, skin, and nails due to its high collagen content.

In selecting the bones for broth, look for high quality bones from grass fed cattle or bison, pastured poultry, or wild caught fish. Since you’ll be extracting the minerals and drinking them in concentrated form, you want to make sure that the animal was as healthy as possible.




Fill large pot with water. Add:
chicken carcass or bones
1 chopped carrot
1 chopped stalk of celery
½ chopped leek
salt

Cook for 2-3 hours. Let cool, and then run through strainer and remove all bones, skin and cartilage. Use broth to make your favorite soups.

I like a tortilla soup with greens.

Tortilla Soup:
stock
chopped fresh chili or pepper
chili powder
cumin
cilantro
rice
carrots
spinach or kale

Winter Fun and Games

Winters come and go, but this year winter seems colder and icier than most I can remember in the last decade. It is not that we have had any big snow falls this year, just long periods below freezing with some form of ice and snow cover, making it hard to ride my bike outside regularly. I enjoy the big snowfalls that allow for XC skiing , but this year has been lean on that as well. This winters activities have included a few days out skiing on the county golf course and a few scattered days riding the road or trails when the conditions have allowed, but in all it has not seemed like a lot.

One thing I have noticed is the feeling of real winter when I am outside. The kind of real winter that I have not noticed in a while. Whether real winter just has not been or I have been in too much denial to notice it during the past decade, is something I do not know. It just seems to be here now.

I have been re-acquainted with the squeaky sound of walking on snow, and cold dry air that freezes my snot. There have been days so cold, that cold doesn't feel cold anymore. As long as the sun shines, I am happy. I feel a tad out of sorts not spending time with bikes each day, but the bike has been replaced with my puffy coat. My puffy coat has been a good friend that I never leave home without these days. Right now I can only dream of the day when I strip down to my skin, leave my coat behind and feel the sun and wind once again on my arms. This thought keeps me going.