Of Love and Sick Days (and a recipe!)

My youngest child has an amazingly strong immune system.  He always has.  A few years ago, a really nasty flu went around that had the ability to knock the infected into bed and keep them there for a week.  Husband and I felt like death for days and days.  When my little one came down with it, he had it for a few hours, and that's it.

Which leads me to now.  A few days ago, he came down with a mild sore throat, a bit of a headache, but mostly a runny nose.  He wasn't happy, but he was fine.  Yesterday, I came down with the same illness, except mine is a severe sore throat, a pounding headache, nausea, shaky muscles, really painful sneezing, coughing, tightness in my chest, exhaustion, and a runny nose.  Nice.  Mama wants her pillow and to be left alone for a while.

So, last night I went to make my special I-feel-like-utter-crap tea, the key ingredient of which is ginger. When I went to make some, I found my ginger root had gone bad.  My valiant Husband came to the rescue and went out to pick up some ginger root and lemon so I could make it.  How I love him.

Now, on to the recipe for the ginger tea.  I make this every time one of us comes down with a nasty cold or flu.  I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but this tea always makes us feel a little bit better.  Lots of people make a tea similar to this during sick times.  Honestly, I don't care if it's a placebo effect or not, since it allows me to swallow freely for a few minutes and at least think I feel better for a while.  All that being said, here is the recipe

Ginger Lemon Tea

Ingredients:
Fresh ginger root

Lemon, cut into wedges

Honey, preferably raw (optional)

Take the ginger root and cut off a 1-2 inch section.  You can cut more or less to taste.  More will give a spicier tea, less a milder tea.  If you cut too much, it's OK.  You can always add some hot water to your cup to lessen the spiciness.  After you've cut off the section, peel it and cut it into thin slices.

Then, take your thin slices and put them in a pot of water.  I never measure the water, but I'd say it's about 4-6 cups worth.  Bring to a boil.  Once it reaches boiling, turn it down and simmer for about 20 minutes or so.

Strain out the ginger root, or leave it in and just ladle from the pot (I do).  Once in your cup, squeeze a lemon wedge into the cup (make sure you remove seeds).  Enjoy.

Note: Some people add honey to this tea.  If you want to, go for it.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.  I suggest local raw honey, if you have access to it.