I had such great plans for today. My intention was to head down to visit the sustainability folks at Occupy Wall Street and then go hear a discussion by the Reverend Billy, Savitri D and Jeff Sharlet about about religion and politics in the Occupy movement and beyond.
But instead, I woke up to find that Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD had cleared out the park where Occupy Wall Street had been occupying in the wee hours of the morning. In addition, my chest totally hurts now. Last week’s head cold was moving into becoming this week’s chest cold. Not good.
Jason's Bronchial Blaster: contains mullein, licorice, ginger, cayenne, wild indigo and much much more.
I headed over to Jason Elias, my healer, acupuncturist and herbal expert for some help. He set me up with some spicy but yummy herbal tonic to help the congestion in my chest.
Being an expert on five element theory and an author of many books on the topic, he reminded me that the lungs are connected with grief in Chinese medicine. I’ve had my share of grief lately with losing my dog Edgar but also grief for our environment. The weird weather continues to be a powerful messenger about climate change. Despite my advocacy and activism around the issues of fracking and the Tar Sands, its hard not to grieve for our future on this planet.
So today, I’m taking a sick day. I’m sipping spoonfula of Jason’s Bronchial Blaster in a cups of hot water. And I’m making a pot of Miso Onion Soup.
This soup is easy to make, and its ingredients help with a chest cold. Make yourself a pot next time you feel a cold coming on.
Soup ingredients: Onions, garlic, ginger, chicken stock, miso
Miso Onion Soup
2 medium onions, sliced
1 tablespoon coconut oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed
thumb sized piece of fresh ginger root, minced
2 tablespoons miso ( any variety) dissolved in 1/3 cup water
1 quart chicken stock (good thing I made that the other day!)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1. Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onions and sauté over medium-low heat until golden. Add the garlic and continue to sauté slowly until the onions are lightly browned, stirring often, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Add chicken stock and the ginger. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
3.Remove from the heat, add the dissolved miso and season.
Allow the soup to stand for 15 minutes, covered, and serve.
Miso Onion Soup
