Better Broth with The Ganesta with Italian Veggie Broth and Tumeric Broth Recipes

April 21, 2017 ♦

Food, Michele the Trainer's Recipes, Sexy Soup, Vegan

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Time to learn to make a better broth! I want to get you rolling with all the ideas for soups and broths that are plant based and healthier for you.

Nope, I’m not a Bone Broth Fan.
http://www.engineeringwellness.com/bone-broth-is-bullshit/

Broth and soup are hydrating and contains minerals. Many of the benefits of broth and soup come from simple hydration. You can read about the MANY benefits of hydration here:

Plant based broths and soups are the HEALTHIEST choices. Here are some ideas for you:

Many of my soup and sauce recipes start with a Mulling Ball. I call it The Ganesta (basket in Spanish). With this ball of wonder, you can rinse your organic herbs and pack the ball full of them, saving a lot of time with herbs like thyme! You don’t have to pull every leaf off the stem, just pack the stem and leaves into this ball and simmer away!

How many plant based broths can you make? The exciting possibilities are ENDLESS:

Every flavor/culture has different broths/soups, so Asian, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Mediterranean, etc.

Further, almost every herb and spice can contribute to the wonders of soup so we have dill, cilantro, parsley, licorice root, star anise, curry, etc.

For example, Asian soup can be tamarind based or miso based or lemongrass based, etc–it’s ENDLESS (Yay!)

I use The Ganesta whenever I can, which is really a giant TEABALL for broth herbs. It makes using herbs super easy for cleanup.

Michele the Trainer’s Italian-ish DIY Vegetable Soup

Start your broth adventure with this recipe and expand from here. This is your base camp.

Please read this recipe through before starting and always use organic produce when possible.

Basics:

Oregano

Thyme

Bay leaves

Onion, chopped

4 Cloves of Garlic

Tomatoes (chopped)

Carrots (sliced)

Zucchini (diced small)

Celery root, chopped (use half if the root is huge)

1-2 potatoes, chopped (just for minerals, less is more)

***DIY Note that these are just the basic veggies, you can add almost any veggie you have to this soup, including spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, bean sprouts, bok choy, green onions, bell peppers, other squash, etc. I would NOT use beets or radishes for this soup.***

Celtic Sea Salt to taste

Organic ground black pepper, to taste

Fill The Ganesta with Oregano, Thyme, and 2 Bay leaves. Pack it full. You can put the garlic in there too if you want.

Fill a large pot of filtered water, put it on the stove and put The Ganesta in there, full and turn on the heat.

Stir until the veggies are cooked to your liking.

Salt and pepper to taste at the end.

Using tongs or a large spoon, as the soup cools, remove The Ganesta and transfer it to the sink for cooling. After it’s cooled unlock it over your trash or compost and remove the boiled herb remnants. Rinse and put in dishwasher.

You can filter this and use as broth OR you can add Floaties (I call them Floaties) to it and serve as a meal. Floaties can be cooked rice, cooked wild rice, cooked barley, organic frozen corn, organic frozen peas, organic tofu squared, noodles, zoodles (zucchini noodles) etc.

Zoodle note: This is the tool to make Zoodles. If you use zoodles you can only add them right before serving. Just heat a bit. If you boil them or simmer over time they will lose their noodle-like quality.

Option: If you like heat, you can add one hot chili to this, then remove before serving or storing , but that heat is up to you. Avoid opening the chili when you stir the soup to avoid the seeds escaping into the broth.

You can add further nutrients by topping with chopped avocado and parsley when serving.

Now You Know

Now that you understand the basics, you can apply this base recipe idea and flair it up.

For example, Asian Broth, one idea could be to fill The Ganesta instead with

2 Star anise

Chopped Lemongrass–fill the basket with this

One tiny square inch of Kombu seaweed

and then use Asian vegetables (Bok choy, Chinese cabbage, Asian brocolli/regular brocolli, a few carrots, sliced celery, and green onions).

Floaties would be cooked rice, or of course noodles. You can also use zoodles (zucchini noodles)!

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This Indian Tumeric broth is more complicated, but it’s also delicious:

TUMERIC BROTH by Michele the Trainer:

Please read this recipe through before starting and always use organic produce when possible. You really have to read this one first.

Shopping:

Tumeric

Tomatoes

Cumin

Cumin seeds

Black mustard seeds (you might have to go to an Indian Market)

Fresh Ginger

Coconut oil

Spinach

Cilantro (Fill Ganesta with Cilantro if you want a broth)

Red chili powder, cayenne or red chili flakes

Celtic Sea Salt

Indian broth requires two burners. You will boil the broth water in large pot, then “fry” the spices, then dump the sizzling spices into the large pot. Choose a tiny frying pan that “fits” into the large pan for easy transfer.

Start with a large pot of filtered water and add one heaping teaspoon of organic tumeric

Add chopped tomatoes

Let it heat to boil while you’re preparing the spices. Boil then take down to a simmer.

Gather the following spices and put 2 TBSP of each into a bowl

Black mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Cumin Powder
THEN just 1/4 Tsp to start of Red chili powder (if you really want to turn up the heat, you can use red chili flakes)

Fresh Grated Ginger, 2 Tbsp (set aside separately)

In a separate pan, heat some coconut oil, make sure there is at least 1/4 inch in the bottom of the pan. Be ready to stir and protect your eyes and face from the steam. When the oil is hot, add the dry spices (from the bowl) to this oil and stir quickly. This is called a chaunce. If you get it right you might feel the chili smoke in the back of your nose and throat (that’s how you know it’s right!). When the cumin starts to darken to a blacker color, dump the ginger into that frying pan, give it a couple quick stirs and then dump the ENTIRE frying pan into your pot of tumeric water. There should be some visible steam.

Add The Ganesta with cilantro and spinach to your soup/broth. Simmer an additional 20-30 minutes.

Salt to taste before serving.

IF you want this as a soup (not just a broth) you can just chop the cilantro and add other veggies like squash or a bit of carrots.

Floaties for this soup would be cooked rice or zoodles (zucchini noodles).

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Here’s a favorite soup of mine, Tortilla Soup, using The Ganesta: