Tasty Turkey Soup with Mushrooms

Fix the Autumn Chills!

We’re all feeling a bit punk around here. There is a definite cooling autumn heading to winter chill in the air. Even my students are all showing up sick or Emailing in their absences. I received papers from some of them who looked so unfit that I wondered just what kind of germs were coming in with the papers!

Well, ‘feeling punk’ happens every time there is a major change in the weather. Our daily highs are still in the mid sixties to the low seventies and the night temperatures keep threatening to frost the tomatoes. But the tomatoes have not been hit with frost yet!

So, we are all still dealing with the lingering fall allergies and now we must contend with the daily temperature spread from warmish days (60’s to 70’s) to the nightly lows of just above freezing. That is quite a temperature spread.

It is the kind of weather that my mom said “You will catch your death of pneumonia in this weather! Put your coat on, I don’t care how warm it is right now. Put your coat on.”

While we are a hardy people we are also a pragmatic people. So, we eat the appropriate health boosting foods for this chilly autumn weather.

We had this soup for lunch. It tasted great and warmed us up. It is also so very good for you too!

Turkey and Chicken Broth

For ages turkey and chicken broth have been fed to convalescing patients. Chicken (and turkey) soup are a long standing traditional cold remedy. Folk medicine recommends it and everyone knows it is easy to digest.

There was even a study done by the University of Nebraska that found the soup would help relieve inflammation and relieve many common cold symptoms. Even though the study was ruled ‘inconclusive’ we all know anecdotal stories of how nice hot comfort food turkey or chicken soup fixed what was ailing someone!

Garlic

Garlic (allium sativa) has a long history of health benefits. There are studies that tout garlic as antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal. Garlic is often claimed to help prevent heart disease. Garlic is used by some to help prevent certain types of cancer. Garlic is also thought to reduce the accumulation of cholesterol.

This sounds a bit much, but who am I to disagree, especially since garlic lends such a savory taste to this soup as well as other dishes!

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are more recently (in the USA) being discovered as a healthy food. The mushroom is high in fiber and protein. They also contain vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants.

For more information on the health benefits of mushrooms here is a great link from Dr. Andrew Weil: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400053/are-mushrooms-good-for-your-health.html

Turkey Mushroom and Garlic Soup Recipe

(Good for what might ail you!)

Recipe Ingredients

2 Quarts of turkey broth (homemade preferred but store bought acceptable, see link below)

3 C. reconstituted mushrooms

1 Head of garlic (yes the whole head!)

½ t. nutmeg

1 t. thyme

Salt & pepper

Preparation of Turkey Mushroom and Garlic Soup Recipe

Clean the paper skins off the garlic and finely chop all the cloves in the head of the garlic, remove the root end and the tops of each clove

Wash the dried mushrooms

Cover the dehydrated mushrooms in boiling water and let sit

Slowly bring the turkey broth to a boil

Add mushrooms and the mushroom broth

Add the garlic

Bring back to a boil

Once boiling add

½ t. nutmeg

1 t. thyme

Immediately reduce to simmer

Simmer for 20 minutes

Correct seasoning with a bit of salt and pepper

Enjoy and to your health!