Parsely, sage, rosemary, & thyme's last hurrah

This is actually the beginnings to my chicken soup base. The herbs are from my little garden on the back porch - it is starting to get a bit cold for them at night and so I am trying to find ways to use them before too long.

I love those orange carrots! Ignore the chicken parts floating around...raw chicken is a necessary evil to make this delicious soup base.


A big fat pot on my small stove. Someday, I will have a 6-burner gas stove. But this is not that day and I will be grateful for the stove I do have.

More to come later....

Red Enchilada Sauce

5-6 Tbsp oil

1 large onion, diced

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp mole sauce

2 Tbsp flour

2 Tbsp chipotle chili powder

4 cups chicken stock

3 6oz cans tomato paste

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

In a large saucepan heat oil and then sauté onion & garlic until soft. Stir in mole sauce until well combined. Add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chipotle powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out – you can then adjust seasonings at this point if needed.

Joanne's Magical Super-Fighting Germ Zapper Brew

I am not sure what to call this stuff and don't even know the origins of the recipe other than my friend Joanne brought me some of it while I was in the hospital with the Good Professor in 2007, suffering from one of the worst episodes of the influenza A I have ever had. The Professor ended up at Primary Children's Hospital and I was facing him being down there alone as Mr. Amazing Man was overseas at the time. After a few bowls of this magical brew, I was able to check myself out and go be with the Professor.

It's chock full of natural germ-killing ingredients and will help you get over a cold/flu faster than just about anything else that I have found. But a word of warning: While you might crave this when you are sick, it is pretty darn frightening when you aren't! But when you are sick...nothing soothes you better.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 large head of garlic, peeled (8-10 cloves)
• 1 med onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp cilantro
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp mint

Boil in a pot until onions and garlic are soft. Blend together with food processor until smooth. Add 1-2 tsp lemon juice.