Super-Nourishing Chicken Soup - This stock can be made in a large crock pot or soup pot

1 bag of Fenwood Farm legbones

4 litres pure water, cold or room temperature

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

1 strip wakame

1 large onion, skin left on, cut in quarters

2 stalks celery with leaves, coarsely chopped

2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, left whole

3-6 strips astragalus root

2 heaping tbsp flowering green oats

1 tsp sea salt

Let the chicken sit in the cool water and vinegar for up to an hour, adding other ingredients as they are ready. Then bring slowly to a boil and simmer on low for 6 to 24 hours. After the hours of simmering, pour the broth through a fine strainer.

• Acidic wine or vinegar added during cooking helps to draw minerals, particularly calcium, magnesium and potassium, from the bones into the broth.
• Starting with cold water allows better extraction of collagen/gelatin.
• Stock will reduce as you cook it, so wait to add salt until the stock is used in another recipe to avoid excessive saltiness.
• The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavourful it will be. Longer cooking also extracts beneficial minerals and nutrients from the bones.
• The key indicator of a good stock is it gelling when cooled. While it looks unusual, the stock will liquefy again when heated. The collagen/gelatin drawn from the bones is incredibly healthy and is used to treat many intestinal and blood disorders.
• Use the stock as a base for soup (just add whatever is desired: rice or pasta, beans, chopped vegetables), as a substitute for water when cooking rice, or as a base for savory sauces.

Wakame Seaweed is a source of Vitamin A.

Astragalus Root: Oriental herbalists have used it for centuries to maintain healthy blood sugar levels, treat coronary heart problems and lower blood pressure. Many people also use it as an overall good-health tonic to support healthy digestion and to help increase energy levels and stamina.

Flowering Green Oats: nourishes the nerves, improves circulation and stabilizes blood sugar.

For more information on the benefits of soup stock go to: http://www.jadeinstitute.com/jade/bone-broth-health-building.php