Well, it’s a cold and windy October day here in Washington. The season is definitely turning. The leaves are turning colors and starting to fall! We had our first fire in the woodstove yesterday, and it’s dark enough to justify lighting a candle at our dinner table.

As hard as it is to let go of the warm, sunny summer, there are things about fall that start little twinges of excitement in my belly. Oh, and I love the food this time of year. Today we’re making applesauce with the apples from the tree we planted on Hailey’s first birthday. This last weekend I made pumpkin muffins, and froze more pumpkin for pies, bread, and pumpkin pudding. Yum!

With all of these wonderful things of fall, I do notice that our family sometimes can get a little sick this time of year. These times of transition in the weather can lead to that. So it’s great to create some warming meals and tonics to help our bodies adjust.

Just this week I made a batch of chicken soup stock, which is one of the best fall tonic foods I know. So, I thought I’d share my recipe with you.

First we bake and eat our chicken. Once the meat is off the bones, I put the carcass and any drippings or pieces of skin into a large pot. (You can use a whole chicken, meat and all, for your stock if you like.)

Besides the chicken, for this recipe you’ll need...

• A couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

• 4 tablespoons dried burdock root

• 5 tongues astragulus root

• 2 tablespoons dandelion root

• 4 or more cloves of garlic.

Oh, and water. Dried berries (like hawthorne) can also be a good addition to this stock if you have them.

To make the stock, fill the pot with the chicken 3/4 full with water.

Add the 2 tablespoons of vinegar. This will help draw the calcium and other minerals out of the bones.

Add your roots and berries.

Peel and crush your garlic and add that too. Stir.

Cover the pot and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 6 or 7 hours. Let it cool, then strain and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

You can add this stock to any of your fall soups and they become wonderful seasonal tonics. Each of the roots we added is very nourishing and the astragulus and garlic work particularly well to boost our immune systems and help to ward off those fall colds.

Another way John and I like to use this stock is to warm it in the morning and add some miso to it. It’s such a nourishing way to start our fall days.