Cauldron Living in the 21st Century
by Jayne Bond 2009

Although you might consider yourself a 21st century kitchen witch one of the best ways to avoid flus and other virus for the upcoming winter is to practice "cauldron cooking" as I like to call it. The premise is that soups, stews and sauces are all similarly prepared through the cooking method of a long, slow simmer, or bubbling cauldron. Many scientific studies over the past 20 years have decided that this primitive method of cooking works for the following reasons.

When you slow cook meats with a bone in them, and plants this breaks down (bursts) the cell walls and membranes of plant and animal cells completely. This usually occurs ONLY after a few hours of cooking time and the entire contents of plant/animal cell are the disd into the surrounding liquid. Through this process you basically liberate all of the non-volatile vitamins and phyto-nutrients that your body craves. By then ingesting the liquid you basically are supplying your body with an extensive source of vitamins, minerals and nutrients that are all the energy sources and building blocks for optimizing health. This allows your body to then fight off viral and bacterial infections more easily, and makes you less susceptible to colds and flus. Soups, stews and sauces are indeed the preferred method for ingesting meat products in such recommended diet plans as the Mediterrenean Diet.

So what are some examples of these proven immune booster foods: Beef Stew with tuber vegetables, bolognese tomato sauce, chile, chicken soup, etc. The basic combination is simple, take a "soup bone" or any type of meat such as chicken, beef or lamb and cook these in a liquid for a long time. You must use an animal bone (sorry vegans) because they have many vitamins and minerals but one of the most important they impart into the liquid substrate is B-12. B-12 complex is incredibly important to optimization of your immune system and proper functioning of your body. Without b-12 from animal proteins your body slowly eats up its own tissue to get it.
Then add tuber plants: onion, parsnips, potatoes, garlic, carrots, turnips, etc. For added zing I also add dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, mustard greens, collard greens, etc. These are incredible sources of many vitamins and minerals such as CALCIUM for women and beta-carotene which helps to destroy free radicals in your body which cause cancer.

The next important aspect is how long to cook it for. The longer the better. Cooking time is important to the release of these into the sauce. A good rule of thumb is to start with a liquid and cook until it basically reduces to a thick sauce. With soups you want to cook for at least 4 hours. Sauces like tomato sauce should also be cooked with the meat bone for a few hours then discard the meat bones. Chicken soup and stews should be cooked with the bones and then bones removed. To make dark, leafy greens easier to eat after washing cut into small pieces.

I'll post some recipe examples of cauldron bubblers that will help your family maintain health during the winter months. So you see the witch had it right cooking in her cauldron, bubble, bubble, make colds and flus no more trouble!

namaste,
JB

Goat Head Stew
(My kids call it this because of the bones in the stew, but it has no goat or head in it.)

2-3 lamb pieces (must have bone)
2 large cans of tomato puree
3 large onions (or bag of cippolini onions)
1/4 head of garlic
3-4 parsnips
1/2 cup of white rice
4 cups of beef stock
red wine
oil
balsamic vinegar (or WW vinegar)
tarragon
bay leaf
sea salt
pepper


Directions
Season the meat with salt and pepper and then brown on all sides within your soup pan in olive oil.

ADd a few splashes of balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup of red wine, let meat absorb liquids and then reduce heat.

Cut onions up into 1/4's and throw into pot.

Put in cans of tomato puree and stock.

Add rest of ingredients except for rice and cook for a few hours until meat falls off bones and is reduced to thick consistency.

Add rice and cup (or more) of water depending on thickness.

Serve with a generous serving of grated cheese.

Make sure to remove bones before serving so you won't scare the children.

Excellent Post, JB !
I love cooking soups and stews this time of year; I just finished a cauldron of Beef Veggie Soup today ! (last week I did chicken, freezing it into Quarts for later use) .
Give me a hearty stew, crusty bread... a goblet of Wine........ and I am a Happy Witch.

Glad you like it Linn,

Here is another recipe for a beef stew I make that might strike your fancy.

Big Belly Beef Stew

STOCK
1/2 lb Cowboy Cut Rib roast bones or a marrow bone
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
1 turnip

Stew ingredients
1/2 lb top sirloin roast
3 carrots cut bite size
1 small parsnip cut bite size
4 small potatoes cut bit size
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley minced
3 large cloves garlic
1-2 large spanish onions
1tbsp fresh ground pepper
salt to taste
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried marjoram
about 1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup of dry sherry or port
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

STOCK
To make the stock I take the already cooked bones from a previous meal and cover them with water, add whole, skin-on but thoroughly washed carrots/celery/turnip. I bring to boil and then turn down heat and slowly simmer for at least 2 hours. Note that you don't add any salt to the stock. When the liquid has reduced by half, strain and reserve stock. I usually save bones after having a roast and then cook a large pot of stock. You can then place liquid in ice cube trays, freeze and then make individual stock ice cubes you can keep in your freezer for whenever you need it. You can use veal or beef bones of any kind.

STEW
Again, I use the remainder of meat after I have a roast the night before. Cut this meat into small chunks that are bite size, or you can leave it whole and then fork split later on.

Cut all veges bite size. Note: do not use stock veges,use fresh ones.

Mince parsley and onion and smash garlic into pulp

Take minced onions and saute in large stew pot with olive oil. Add a small bit of sherry or port and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Allow to carmelize.

Add garlic and all veges and saute for another few minutes until well mixed.

Add meat, herbs and turn heat to low.

Add in about 4 cups of stock, or enough to cover everything.

Add in tomato paste and stir thoroughly.

Then let it bubble, bubble for like 2 hours until the stock turns into a gravy, or thick sauce. Occasionally stir while wearing pointed hat to keep things from settling and burning on bottom of pot.
At end of cooking time adjust salt and pepper seasoning to taste.

This stew will keep for about a week. You can freeze it as well into small containers which can be microwaved.

enjoy,
JB

Chicken/vegetable noodle soup

Cook one whole chicken. I usually cook it ahead of time in my crockpot (usually overnight) and debone the following day. Save some of the juices for the soup too.

Soup:

1 whole chicken (deboned and cut up) with some of the liquid and a couple of bouillon cubes
3-4 potatoes in bite size pieces (I usually microwave a little to soften them up first)
Approx. one-half sack of mixed frozen vegetables
Salt and Italian seasoning to your liking
Add chunks of cheese (I used Velveeta this time but any kind will work) (I think I used about 1 lb.)
Add water to make the amount desired

It should be cooked all day in a crockpot if serving for evening. If serving for lunch, I usually start before I go to bed the night before.

Add noodles after the soup has gotten hot (at least 2-3 hours for serving so they will be cooked.

If the soup is not as thick as you like, you can also add about a cup of instant mashed potatoes a few minutes before serving.

Add some nice people to eat with and enjoy!

This is great Amira, a great example!

sounds good too!
peace,
JB

Momma Mia That's a Spicy Meat Sauce

2 large cans tomato puree
1/2 pound red meat (80% lean)
2-4 lamb neck bone segments
1-2 pork sausage
1 large onion
1/2 red pepper
6 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup or so of olive oil
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1/2 tspn oregano, basil, marjoram, pepper, salt
1 tspn sugar
1/4 tspn of hot red pepper flakes
1/2 cup of red wine or sherry
2 cups of Beef Stock

This makes a great Bolanese style meat sauce that is great over any kind of pasta. My kids especially love it with rotini type of noodles and a little shredded motzerella on top. Tomato sauce is one of those awesome flu-fighting foods because you get two servings of veges plus the b-12 complex. Note if you don't like lamb, substitute in some type of beef bones, it is important to have the bone in the sauce and cook it for at least 2-4 hours.

Directions:

Chop onions, garlic and peppers together in food processor.

Coat bottom of large, deep cauldron-like saucepan with olive oil and allow to heat up.

Add onion mixture to bottom of pan and saute on medium heat.

Add some wine and the balsamic vinegar.

Mix in and wait until onions turn translucent.

Add in groundbeef and brown halfway, crumbling ground beef and browning bones and sausage on both sides.

Then add all of the rest of your ingredients, put on lowest flame and stir often.

Add more stock if it starts to dry up so that you can continue to cook for at least 2 hours.

When sauce has thickened taste, correct for salt and pepper seasoning.

The sauce should be thick enough to coat a wooden spoon without sliding off. Remove bones. Cut up sausage into bite size pieces and serve.

enjoy,
JB

great posted guys. My only problem is I don't like really any veg, carrots I can do cooked, but anything things else no. but I love meat any kind from beef, chicken, lamb anything. How could I balances my taste buds???

Well Windora,

Here is your source of problems regarding health. VEgetables are incredibly necessary for a healthy immune system and organ function. I'll tell you what I tell the kids- grow up and eat your vegetables ! LOL

Seriously, as an adult you need 4-8 one cup servings of either fruits or vegetables. If you don't consume this amount per day there is no way you are getting enough vitamins and minerals in your diet to sustain your body which long term will cause increased frequency of infections, colds, premature aging (through depletion of collagen), even organ dysfunction and potentially cancer. Vegetables and fruits are the ONLY proven way to combat cancer as these are filled with antioxidants and all the vitamins and minerals necessary to have a good functioning immune system.

Think of your immune system like a wall. The bricks of the wall are created by the vitamins and minerals working in concert with your body's workers (immun-system components) to create a wall that prevents disease. If you don't eat fruits or vegetables the wall cannot be built up as fast as it is destroyed by virus, bacteria etc. So without a wall you are susceptible to all sorts of opportunistic intrusions. So in an effort to help you overcome this here are some suggestions:

When you cook vegetables in a soup you can remove them and try emulsifying (blending) them so that they are smooth then reincorporate them into the soup. This will mask the flavor through incorporation with the meat and stock.

You can also drink your fruits and vegetables, although this is not as good, as the plant cells are not fully lysed and don't give you as much nutrition. Most vitamin supplements don't work 1/10 of the way vitamins and minerals incorporated into food such as soups, stews and sauces work because our body has evolved to process them cooked this way much more efficiently over millions of years.

So my advice to you is to find a way you can learn to love vegetables/fruits so that you can optimize your health.

namaste,
JB

thanks jb, The surprising thing is I have a great immune system I get sick like once a year. Knock on wood. I like fruits there is no problem with them I love apples bannas, strawberries.... Just vegs I keep trying them each year cause I know u're taste buds change. I've tried even with dressings on my vegs nope doesnt work. I'll stick to my beef stew & cook carrots. That should help. thanks again jb.