Go-for-a-walk Broth

Wild Immunity with Go-for-a-Walk Broth 

With social distancing during these uncertain times, going for walks in the neighbourhood or near by trails can be potent medicine in itself. Nature time lowers stress and cortisol, boosts immunity and has marked effects on our mental health and wellbeing. Spring is also a time where abundant wild foods and herbs are popping up and making themselves available for our tender immune systems. Cooking with wild foods is a cheap and easy way to add wild yeasts, phytoproteins and pollens into our diet which help attune our bodies to the local ecosystem, aid in healthy immune function and help gently detox the body after a winter full of rest and heavy foods. From a TCM view, adding wild foods into your diet now is a way to help attune to the season by moving energy in the body up and out after a winter of energy moving inward and downwards in the body.

The intention for this recipe was to make a cheap, nutritious and tonifying broth with some ingredients you likely already have at home & some that get you outdoors noticing whats growing around you. For my broth, I didn’t have to buy anything, using what I found on my walks and what I had kicking in my cupboards and freezer. Hopefully it will be similar for you. 

*Note, please only use wild foods you are 100% confident identifying.

Go-For-a-Walk Broth Recipe:

Ingredients will vary depending on what you have growing around you and stored in your home but here is a list of options for inspiration:

1) Bones: and/or mushrooms for the base. Bone broth is especially trendy these days for all its purported health benefits. Here is a great article for more on bone broth.

I always save my left over bones from cooking (in the freezer) to have on hand for broths. Chicken, turkey, duck, beef, lamb, bison, deer/elk/moose, all work well depending on your tastes.

**mushrooms are a fine replacement for the heartiness of bones in broth and a good option for vegan and vegetarians. If you aren’t confident with mushroom foraging, shiitake are a lovely addition and found at most grocery stores. Many asian markets will have a variety of fresh or dried mushrooms to experiment with. Common dried mushrooms are wood ear, lions mane, and reishi.

2) Wild Mushrooms: Rich in immune supporting properties and hearty flavour.

Found growing on deadfall tress, common around hiking trails in Victoria

• Red Belted Polypores

• Reishi

• Turkey tails 

3) Aromatic herbs:

These herbs gently move energy in the body and circulate defensive Qi, known to help the immune system. They clear phlegm, congestion and benefit digestion.

These are common culinary herbs that are found in many backyards, community garden commons or growing in balcony pots. 

• Rosemary

• Thyme

• Oregano

• Sage

• Dill

• Fennel

• Chives

• Green onion

• Garlic & garlic scapes

4) Wild greens:

Great for helping to move energy in the body, gently detoxing and incorporating enzymes and phytoproteins from your local biome.

Found in parks, along hiking trails, cracks in sidewalks or in your garden beds. Be mindful to rinse carefully.

• Nettles

• Cleavers

• Miners lettuce

• Chickweed

• Wild garlic

• Wild ginger

• Ramps

• Spruce tips

• Dandelion greens or roots

5) Wild Seaweeds: (used in small amounts to keep flavour mild).

Containing iodine, trace minerals and supporting the kidney and adrenals in TCM.

Found along rocky seashores, and in tide pools. Though be mindful of water cleanliness and algae tides.

• Kelp

• Dulse

• Bladder wrack 

• Sea grass/asparagus

• Sea moss (not local)

6) Veggies:

Broths are a good way to use the discarded ends of veggies from other dishes. These can be saved in the freezer until ready to make broth. You can also freeze wilting veggies to reduce food waste and add them to flavour your broth later. 

• Celery stumps

• Carrot ends

• Outer onion layers

• Garlic scapes 

• Pepper tops and seeds 

• Wilted greens 

7) Other: Common household herbs & spices that help to build a good flavour profile.

• Ginger

• Garlic 

• Apple Cider Vinegar to help pull collagen from bones

• Cayenne powder or hot peppers 

• Tumeric

• If you are someone who has stores of medicinal herbs in your cupboards like me, broths are a way to get extra herbs in your diet. For this one I threw in a few handfuls of milky oat tops, astragalus root, and angelica root. Tulsi, dried nettle tops or seeds, ginkgo, or any mild flavoured herbs usually work well too.

Directions:

Place ingredients in a large pot and cover generously with water. 

Boil water and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for several hours to extract the bones or harder mushrooms. 

Strain and serve as a warm drink or use broth in other dishes. Make this stew, make a soup, cook your rice, make a congee. Or freeze into ice cubes to save for later recipes. 

I often make several batches of broth with the same ingredients before discarding remains into the compost. 

Ingredients in my batch of Go-for-a-Walk Broth:

• Chicken bones left over in my freezer

• Red belted polypores from a hike

• Thyme, rosemary, oregano from the community garden

• Astragalus root (huang qi), Angelica root (dang gui), milky oats, sea moss- found in my cupboard

• Onion, garlic, ginger, celery scraps

• Cayenne and apple cider vinegar