For the Soul

Now that winter has come full force, I wanted to share my favorite cold weather soup. It's a very simple recipe, perfect for freezing nights!

* chicken drumsticks
* ginger root
* scallions
* shitake mushrooms
* garlic salt
* kosher salt & pepper for seasoning

Wash drumsticks, pat dry. This is to remove excess blood or loose bits. Leave the skin on.

Put drumsticks in pot. Fill pot with enough water to cover drumsticks, plus another 2 inches. Start heating.

Slice mushrooms, ginger root (don't peel), and scallions. Add these to the pot as it's heating. There should be enough mushrooms to fill 1/4 the pot, a thin layer of scallions, and a thicker layer of ginger.

Bring to boil, then simmer. As soup simmers, skim and dispose the floating fat bits. Boil, simmer, skim, at least three times. Add salt/pepper to taste, then serve!

This soup is the ideal vehicle for chinese herbs, which can be added when you add the ginger. I'm no expert on this stuff, I just know what my mom used to add. I don't even know the names, I can only identify these by sight: