Sick = Tea

Well... we all knew this would happen at some point. I have a bad sore throat and I'm definitely coming down with a cold, which if it gets much worse, puts a crimp in my 'practice every day' goal. I'm going to do a gentle 30 minute practice tonight and go to bed early so I don't get sicker, but in the meantime I needed something hot and delicious to get me through the last stretch of homework (p.s. is it just me or does anyone else really not want to do any work once it's dark outside? kind of problem in the winter in Minnesota...).

The moment I felt a cold coming on, I started craving this amazing honey and ginger tea I had in India... unfortunately I had no idea how to make it. Fortunately... Google machine to the rescue!!! I found this recipe on http://www.learningherbs.com/ and downsized it a bit for a smaller serving. The recipe on the website doesn't have any actual tea in it, but I was pretty sure what I drank in India did have tea in it, so I added a bag of (decaf) Darjeeling for good measure.

Ginger Tea with Lemon and Honey

1. Start boiling some water.

2. Grate a 1/2 inch piece of ginger root (he says to put the ginger at the bottom of a thermos, I just put mine into a tea-ball. Alternatively, you could probably chop off a couple slices of ginger and just let them hang out at the bottom of your tea cup while you drink it)

3. Squeeze some lemon juice into the bottom of your mug (maybe 1/2 -1tsp? I didn't measure, sorry, I'm lazy)

4. Add honey to the mug...and I mean... ADD SOME HONEY. Use a ton. At least a tablespoon. You might think I'm exaggerating but have I ever mislead you? Especially when it comes to using ridiculous amounts of sugary substance? I thought not.

5. When the water is done boiling, pour the water over the lemon juice and honey, add the ginger-ball (that sounds so weird) and tea bag (if you want) and steep for a few minutes. Add the tea bag later if you don't want your tea quite so strong.

6. Remove ... wow I can't even say those two things together. But there it is. Keeping it real here folks...real, and also very mature. Hem. Remove the items that are steeping.

7. Drink the tea. Feel better.

"There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea"

- Bernard-Paul Heroux