It might be spring, but I continue to make my power soup. For me a good soup is an excellent and easy way to provide my body with a large variety of nutrients. Sundays I go to market, choose my root vegetables (makes you strong) and herbs, make a huge pot that will last me for the week.
Umami is what I am after, to me it signifies deep nourishment. Therefore there are some things that are essential and then whatever else I find will provide variety. Yes, because being a very busy lady who likes to eat well, this is my solution these days.
I pick up some meat from an excellent butcher, where I know it is high quality. Please avoid purchasing plastic wrapped, industrialised meat. Remember its all energy, so if we can eat meat from an animal that has been outside in the fields eating grass like they should, and been cared for with love and attention, then that energy is transformed into something good. I might pay a bit more for the meat, but I will seriously enjoy it and I am conscious of the fact that it does come from an animal, so I put love into preparing it.
I will use one piece of meat and one marrow bone and also lots of fresh herbs. The marrow bone will add to the flavour but more importantly it provides a lot of really important minerals and is super good for us and the collagen also is very very good for our skin and beauty. I usually have a whole bunch of fresh thyme, a few laurel leaves, lots of parsley and fresh coriander. I love coriander.
The base will be onion, garlic and ginger and I usually drop some chilli in there too. Then leaks, carrots, a sweet potato, potato and whatever I purchase at the market that day.
The magic touch that add to the umami and makes it a super immune boosting power dish is the piece of Chaga I add in. Chaga is one of the top tonic herbs in the Chinese herbal culture and it grows for many many ears on the birch trees in the north and draws out a lot of the medicinal virtues from the birch. I have purchased this Chaga myself in Norway. Chaga is mostly enjoyed asa tea, but I am pretty sure that adding it to the soup is something the Chinese must have done for a long time. Soon I will make a post about it to share more info.
It is a true magical super herb. I love my Chaga.
Here is a photo from one of my Chaga hunting trips. 
I would be interested in reading more about Chaga. This is a new herb for me.
Nice @cecicastor! I feel the the tonic herbs are such a gift and so important to know about. Chaga is so amazing on many levels. Totally re structures the immune system and is one of the main longevity herbs. I will get around to share more about it very soon.