Perfect Soup For A Cold Winters Day-Cabbage Soup

On a cold winter's day when people are stuck in their homes because of snow what is better than a big bowl of hot soup to warm you up? Once you get this started sit down and dream in the winter about your gardens that you want to have.
There are many soups that qualify for this but the one that I am going to be writing my recipe for is the classically simple Cabbage Potato Soup. A big chunk of Chewy Crunchy Bread would go right nice with this hearty soup.
Now most times I will use a ham bone or ham hock or something similar, but this time I won't. I didn't have that when I made this soup so I improvised with thick slab bacon.
So now that I got your mouth watering for this deliciously simple to make dish here is the recipe.
 
6 slices of thick bacon cut into 4ths
I small head of Cabbage chopped into bite sized pieces
I large Potato Cut into bite sized pieces
3 Carrots sliced
1 Small Onion cut into small bite sized pieces
Put all into a Crock Pot, Slow Cooker or large pot. Pour in enough water to cover, Cook in Slow Cooker or Crock Pot for 4 hours. Boil on the Stove for 45 - 60 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Serve in a large bowl with a chunk of the bread that is linked above. While waiting for this deliciously simple soup to get done you can play games with the family. What a cozy way to spend time with the family on a cold winter’s day.

I also make this, but only as a cream soup, meaning I add a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup after the vegies are done, and sometimes canned evaporated milk as well. But I substitute celery for the carrot, and use two or three times as much onion as you do. And I often leave out the ham or bacon and use chicken bouillon powder.

Omit potato. Put in ginger paste liberally. Some garlic paste is useful. Before serving sprinkle black pepper in the soup.

For thickening your soup, put some chickpea flour. It is gluten free. Very good in case of cold.

Ginger, in general, is a very beneficial herb. It is an alkalyser and inhibits cancers. It helps in circulation by thinning properties, and thus is a general detoxyfyer. Fresh ginger promotes digestion. Dry ginger powder is a great cure for colds and respiratory disorders, and thus a great de-congestant.

Quick fire remedy for cold. In a glass of hot water, put in ginger powder, as much as you can bear. A bit of lemon juice too may be added. A little honey may be added. Salt according to taste. It may make your throat tingle, but it’s worth it! This power tea will help reinforce your immune system and help clear your lung and chest area. And, since ginger is a sweat-inducing spice, it can help reduce a fever and expel toxins from the body.

Thank you RC for the ginger stuff!  That will surely keep you from getting all kinds of junk from a Dr.  Iprefer the natural to chemical myself.

rcscwc wrote:

Omit potato. Put in ginger paste liberally. Some garlic paste is useful. Before serving sprinkle black pepper in the soup.

For thickening your soup, put some chickpea flour. It is gluten free. Very good in case of cold.

When I gave my recipe above, I forgot to mention that I always put in garlic paste liberally and sometimes a little ginger paste. Plus I either add ground black pepper just before serving, and sometimes boil jalapenos or other hot peppers with the vegies. But I would never omit the potatoes - they're one of the major staples of the American diet, and are served in one form or another at practically every meal. And i also thicken soups and other dishes with chickpea flour rather than the wheat flour or corn starch that's usually used in this country.

rcscwc wrote:

Ginger, in general, is a very beneficial herb. It is an alkalyser and inhibits cancers. It helps in circulation by thinning properties, and thus is a general detoxyfyer. Fresh ginger promotes digestion. Dry ginger powder is a great cure for colds and respiratory disorders, and thus a great de-congestant.

Quick fire remedy for cold. In a glass of hot water, put in ginger powder, as much as you can bear. A bit of lemon juice too may be added. A little honey may be added. Salt according to taste.  It may make your throat tingle, but it’s worth it! This power tea will help reinforce your immune system and help clear your lung and chest area. And, since ginger is a sweat-inducing spice, it can help reduce a fever and expel toxins from the body.

Yes! I grew up in a family of Western Occultists who had exactly the same opinion of ginger as I do. One of my childhood memories is of my father and I both suffering severe asthma attacks at the same time and drinking a ginger concoction while we took turns breathing through a home-made inhalator full of a vapor that also smelled of ginger.

Lady Guinevere wrote:

Thank you RC for the ginger stuff!  That will surely keep you from getting all kinds of junk from a Dr.  Iprefer the natural to chemical myself.

Well, as I mentioned above, my dad and I both suffered from severe asthma which we tried to keep under control with ginger and similar herbs, but the reality is that neither of us could actually reduce the symptoms to the point where we could engage in normal activities during an attack until the doctor put us both on benzedrine. And at age 73, I still control my asthma with meds that contain drugs in the amphetamine family as well as powerful steroids. Do I recommend this? Only for people who can't get relief any other way and even then, only under close medical supervision.

In case of cold you have an objective: Clear phlegm and NOT give it a remote chance of congealing. So avoid starchy foods like potato, wheat, rice etc. Giving up potato for 2-3 days will not kill you. Anyway, the remedy need not be a gourmet delight.

Green cardamom and mint leaves in the soup will enhance taste and flavor, plus benefits like better digestion.

rcscwc wrote:

In case of cold you have an objective: Clear phlegm and NOT give it a remote chance of congealing. So avoid starchy foods like potato, wheat, rice etc. Giving up potato for 2-3 days will not kill you. Anyway, the remedy need not be a gourmet delight.

Green cardamom and mint leaves in the soup will enhance taste and flavor, plus benefits like better digestion.

One of the steroids I take for my asthma is Flonase, which is supposed to be ... and from me experience, is ... the ultimate phlem clearer, so I won't have to give up potatoes And neither cardamom nor mint are among my favorite spices.

Check this to see about flonase. Welcome to reduced resistance.

http://www.drugs.com/flonase.html

http://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/flonase

rcscwc wrote:

Check this to see about flonase. Welcome to reduced resistance.

http://www.drugs.com/flonase.html

http://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/flonase

I'm aware of this, but since I'm also taking methotrexate for the auto-immune version of uveitis, it's just adding one more drop to a bucket. Are you aware that I was nearly blind a lot of the time during 2013 and 2014? I mentioned this a little on various boards, but try not to do too much posting it.

Realityrebel wrote:

rcscwc wrote:

Check this to see about flonase. Welcome to reduced resistance.

http://www.drugs.com/flonase.html

http://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/flonase

I'm aware of this, but since I'm also taking methotrexate for the auto-immune version of uveitis, it's just adding one more drop to a bucket. Are you aware that I was nearly blind a lot of the time during 2013 and 2014? I mentioned this a little on various boards, but try not to do too much posting it.

I am aware of that and also am aware thet you think Doctor's have all the answers, when they don't.  That is exactly what they want you to do....take more drugs and pay to thir God's.  Wikipedia does not also tell the truth and people do make mistakes.  Pharms sell out to Doctors for some kind of repayment or pay-off.  
Do you know what addiction or the constant need for something is?

I'm aware that doctors don't have all the answers. Hell, if they did, so many of people's ailments would be cured or put under control that they'd have the same relationship with their patients that dentists or optometrists do, meaning mutual respect. I've been taking powerful medications all my life, and my over-all experience with doctors has been very positive. I always shop around until I find doctors I can trust, and as far as I know, I've never been given unnecessary medications.

I'm also aware that Wikipedia doesn't always tell the truth, which is why I go to sites run by medical schools and the like when I want detailed information about either ailments or treatments. I post links to Wiki articles on line because they contain the information I want my readers to know in a compact form, and I always read them first to see that they don't contain errors that would make them useless for my purposes.

And I think you're putting the cart in front of the horse when you say, "pharms sell out to doctors for some kind of repayment or pay-off". It's the other way around: bad doctors over-prescribe certain medications so the big pharm companies that make them will keep on giving them meds free or for special discounts. The way to avoid this is simply to choose good doctors.

As for addiction, the only real addiction I've ever had was to tobacco. I smoked cigarettes for many years and only quit when I started showing symptoms of emphysema. However, I used all the usual recreational drugs except for the opiates from the late Fifties till 1994, and never had any problems with either over-dosing or addiction. The reason is simple: I always knew how much of a drug was safe to take, and I never took any of them regularly or often.

And a constant need for a medication is not the same as an addiction at all. If a given drug stops controlling one of my chronic aliments, I don't increase the dosage, as would be the case with addiction. I simply tell my doctor and change meds, or else I just learn to live with the symptoms. (The latter is true with my COPD symptoms at present: I take only the meds I'm prescribed, but I can't walk as far or work as hard as I could a few years ago.)

Oh, and I almost never take pain medications. I know yogic techniques for controlling most forms of pain, and I take one or two doses of ibuprofen or acetaminophen every couple of months for acute pain from falls or other minor injuries. When I have surgery, I'm always given a prescription for opiate pain killers, but I shred it and throw it away as soon as I leave the hospital or clinic.

Lady Guinevere wrote:

And I think you're putting the cart in front of the horse when you say, "pharms sell out to doctors for some kind of repayment or pay-off". It's the other way around: bad doctors over-prescribe certain medications so the big pharm companies that make them will keep on giving them meds free or for special discounts. The way to avoid this is simply to choose good doctors.

Then you don't see the Pharms Co's visitng those Dr's offices, do you?  They sell to the doctors before the doctors sell them.  They are given incentives to prescribing those drugs.  Why do you think the Pharms have so many commercials?  To sell more of their drugs.  You didn't take notice about my drug vs. natural blood thinners.  Why owuld my doctor, whom I don't have anymore after that, want to prescribe me drugs instead of a natural approach.....Before I was seen and we were sitting in the wating room there was the pharm representative coming out of the dr's office.  

Ironically, the representatives of the big pharm companies visit the offices of good doctors more often than they do bad ones: to try and talk them into prescribing more of whatever they're peddling at that time. The good doc is polite to the rep, who always leaves a bag of free meds, but goes right on prescribing only the types and amounts of medications the patients actually need.

And if the natural blood thinners had already worked for you, the doctor wouldn't have seen any need to prescribe drugs. If they hadn't worked or you hadn't started taking them yet, it's natural to follow "standard medical practice". I don't remember the details of your postings on this subject, so I don't know if the natural thinners are now working, or if you're just living with the symptoms, the way I have to do with some of mine.

Ummmm you need to WAKE UP!  
I didn't say that I started anything.  I said that I had research proving that alternatives worked better than the WARFARIN, which is RAT POISIN.  I also stated that I had not taken any blood thinners for 10 years prior to him wanting me to go back on them again and I did not have another blod clot without taking htem prior to my office visit.
I don't take anything for my DVT's that I have not had since 1995.....nothing and was told that I was to take blood thinner my entire live.

Lady Guinevere wrote:

Ummmm you need to WAKE UP!  
I didn't say that I started anything.  I said that I had research proving that alternatives worked better than the WARFARIN, which is RAT POISIN.  I also stated that I had not taken any blood thinners for 10 years prior to him wanting me to go back on them again and I did not have another blod clot without taking htem prior to my office visit.
I don't take anything for my DVT's that I have not had since 1995.....nothing and was told that I was to take blood thinner my entire live.

Yeah, you're right. I should have gone back and reread the text of your postings on this instead of relying on my memory. But you are still doing what I recommended: either find treatment (establishment or alternative) that works on your condition, or just live with it the best you can.

RR, you are practically living on drugs. Such a person in my country would not have a long future.

Medicare is expensive everywhere, even in USA. In fact, almost every drug is cheaper in INdia.

RR, you need a big, nay mega, detoxification program. And you can't get it in the West. But in S. India there are excellent Ayurvedic clinics for that. A stay of 3-4 weeks may do wonders to you. But the regimen is very, very strict and demanding. Like no alcohol, meat, tobacco, eggs, tea, coffee etc. For sugar requirement they will give you jaggery which has invert sugars and natural minerals. About 2-5 K $ should cover it.

PS: Steam inhalation loosens even a pernicious phlegm of nose and throat/lungs. And results are immediate and you save cost of nasal sprays.

rcscwc, #19, re: "RR, you are practically living on drugs. Such a person in my country would not have a long future."

I'm 73 and in generally poor health, so I wouldn't have a long future in any country. And yes, I'm "practically living on drugs" ... but at least I'm still among the living, and this isn't true of a number of people I've known both on and off line over the last few years who had medical problems similar to mine and switched from modern Western treatment to alternatives.

re: "Medicare is expensive everywhere, even in USA. In fact, almost every drug is cheaper in INdia."

Actually, I'm on Medicare and Medicaid and the most I ever pay out of pocket for a particular batch of medication is a one or two dollar co-payment.

re:"RR, you need a big, nay mega, detoxification program. And you can't get it in the West. But in S. India there are excellent Ayurvedic clinics for that. A stay of 3-4 weeks may do wonders to you. But the regimen is very, very strict and demanding. Like no alcohol, meat, tobacco, eggs, tea, coffee etc. For sugar requirement they will give you jaggery which has invert sugars and natural minerals. About 2-5 K $ should cover it."

I'm contact with quite a number of Eastern Occultists who live in India and operate within the framework of Hinduism. Some of these report knowing people who did you just described ... and as I reported above about Americans, they are no longer among the living.

re: "PS: Steam inhalation loosens even a pernicious phlegm of nose and throat/lungs. And results are immediate and you save cost of nasal sprays."

As I've reported in other messages on these boards, when I was a child back in the Fifties, my father and I both treated our asmtha with steam inhalation and got a little relief, but didn't get significant relief from our symptoms until the doctor prescribed benzedrine for us. And as I've also reported elsewhere, I'm now 73, still living ... and also still taking amphetamines and steroids for my asthma.

Do you know protein foods are harmful in your case? Meat, egg, most dairy products are taboo for you.

Btw, Ayurveda is not occult, but a medical system, only it is holistic. Neither is it some magical mumbo jumbo. It utilizes the therapeutic properties of foods.

PS: Being a Govt pensioner, I too get a fully paid medicare, but it does not mean I should stuff myself with drugs. I may get it it free, but someone HAS to pay. I too pay taxes.

rcscwc wrote:

Do you know protein foods are harmful in your case? Meat, egg, most dairy products are taboo for you.

Btw, Ayurveda is not occult, but a medical system, only it is holistic. Neither is it some magical mumbo jumbo. It utilizes the therapeutic properties of foods.

PS: Being a Govt pensioner, I too get a fully paid medicare, but it does not mean I should stuff myself with drugs. I may get it it free, but someone HAS to pay. I too pay taxes.

I get free medical treatment and medications at minimal cost, but I still have to pay for food out of my own pocket, and can't afford to eat much meat, egg, or dairy products: these are all much more expensive than starches and vegies.

I've read enough Ayurveda literature to know that it indeed is an occult system and uses a lot of magical mumbo jumbo ... and remember, I'm a professional in the occult field and capable of recognizing such things.

And as I said, I take a lot of Western medications, but I'm still alive and a lot of people I've seen use alternatives, both Western and Eastern ... aren't.

You know NOTHING. Moreover you can't.

rcscwc wrote:

You know NOTHING. Moreover you can't.

You might learn something by looking yourself in the eye in the mirror and saying that over and over.

And I'll leave it to the people reading these boards to make up their own minds about who knows what about either the theory or the practice of occultism. But I'll concede that you're my superior when it comes to faith-based belief in organized religion.

Occult means clandestine, secret, hidden etc. What is clandestine about ginger, for example.