leedy | seasonal "bye bye vampires" recipe corner

Given that many of my friends list are or have been afflicted with hideous seasonal malaises, I thought I would post the recipe for the curative broth that I made yesterday (courtesy of The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks At Home):

You'll need:

A medium sized head of garlic, minced. Yes, that's a head, not a clove. You need about three tablespoons of minced garlic, so, y'know, adjust as necessary.
8 cups of stock - bring it to a simmer before using if it's, eg, from the fridge
A couple of sprigs of thyme
A couple of sprigs of parsley
A sprig of sage (I did it without the sage and didn't miss it much)
1/2 teaspoon paprika (I've substituted a pinch of cayenne for this and it worked fine)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
(Optional) A big pinch of saffron

Saute the garlic in the olive oil in a large pot over a lowish heat until it is golden but does not brown. Add the hot stock and bring to a simmer. Stir in the paprika/cayenne. Tie together the herbs with string into a little bunch and add the resulting bouquet to the stock. Add saffron if using. Allow the broth to simmer for about fifteen minutes (more if you want it to be EVEN MORE GARLICKY). Remove the bouquet and season to taste.

You can then do all manner of fun things with it - cook tiny pasta and peas in it, then top with grated parmesan! Pour over toast in a bowl and top with a poached egg! Add tomatoes and tortellini! Cook rice in it! Repel vampires with it! Pour it out the window on the heads of annoying neighbours! (er, maybe not the last one) It also freezes very well.

Warning: it will make your kitchen smell strongly of garlic for DAYS. But it is very good (and anti-viral!) if you're feeling poorly, and also yummy.