The Witch's Brew

This stuff is awesome for colds.

Ingredients:
- 2-3 stalks of lemon grass
- a whole thing of fresh ginger
- 3-4 tomatoes
- 1 sweet potato
- half head of red cabbage
- 1-3 jalapenos (depending on your tolerance for hot)
- 3-4 carrots
- many cloves of garlic up to a whole head
- mushrooms, not sure how many, the bag of them would be a little smaller than a cantaloupe
- good amount of black pepper
- cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes (as much as you think you can stand)-
- 1 bunch of spinach
- any amount of other vegetables that make YOU feel good
- enough chicken broth/stock and/or water to cover all the other ingredients
- couple of lemons (don't cook these, they are added at serving time)

- Clean and then cut up all the veggies into chunks that are big enough such that they will be easy to strain out later, but are small enough to make sure all the goods get leached out during cooking.
- put it all in a big pot and cover with the chicken stock and/or water. bring to a boil then reduce to the lowest simmer you can. simmer for one hour.
- pour the mixture through a colander and catch the sweet nectar that comes through.
- serve in a soup bowl or large mug with 1/4-1/2 of a lemon for each serving
- drink it hot, inhale the steam that comes off it, and drink as much as you can
- regarding the jalapenos and cayenne pepper: you want the final mixture to be as spicy hot as you can stand because the capsaicin is good for your sinuses, helps to get rid of phlegm and other nasties, and is a natural anti-biotic.

Please offer up your thoughts on this mixture or modifications that you find to be good.