Can you heal me now?

The family are being attacked by some kind of bug this week. Sigh. I guess it is the season for all things bacterial and viral to wreak havoc. One high-point to the week was this soup though, which I would like to suggest has healing powers, not because I have any medical training or, any of that, what do you call it.... proof, but rather because it is extremely yummy and slipped down sore throats with delicious ease. I definitely felt better, for a while at least! The fact that it was easy peasy to make (particularly if you buy ready chopped/shredded vegetables) was a bonus, given that standing over a hot stove is not exactly a desirable activity when under the weather.

I adapted the recipe from one in The Great American Slow Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarborough, undoubtedly one of my favorite go-to books when I reach for my crock-pot. My only critique is that it doesn't have any pictures :-( My tweaks to the original were predominantly aimed at making it a more substantial dish - I find that if I'm serving a soup for dinner, it needs to have something filling in it. If there is one thing I can't stand it is whines of 'But I'm starving!" at bedtime. Fortunately the addition of garbanzo beans did the trick admirably.

In this house, we all love ginger, including when there is enough of it to lend a distinct heat to a dish, as well as a subtle spicy flavor. If you and yours are less enamored with ginger's warming ways, then by all means reduce the quantity I used.

Vegetable 'Penicillin'
Serves 8

10 cups vegetable broth
3 cups small cauliflower florets (if you're cutting up a head, this is about one head)
3 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup shredded/grated peeled sweet potato
1 cup chopped ripe tomatoes (don't bother to skin them)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup grated fresh ginger root (you don't need to peel it!)
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 15oz cans garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained and rinsed

1. Put all the ingredients except the garbanzo beans into the slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on high for 3.5 hours, or low for 5.5 hours, then add the garbanzo beans.
3. Cook for a further half hour, by which time the cauliflower and cabbage should be perfectly cooked.