spicy lemon-ginger tea

M is sick. Stuffy, runny nosed, head achey. All that awfulness.
So today I am doing my best to hook him up. I am forcing him to use the neti pot, gargle and later I will make sopa de limon. I am a big proponent of natural remedies. Since it's cold and flu season I thought I would share my favorite one with you.

Start with a health focused type of tea if you have it. I am a big fan of everything that Traditional Medicinals makes. A handy favorite is the seasonal herb tea sampler because it includes a variety of remedies. This time I used echinacea, but if you don't have anything like that use whatever herbal tea you have.


1 tea-bag or diffuser of tea
1-2 Tbsp freshly ground ginger (use a cheese grater or finely dice)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 thick lemon slice with rind
1 Tbsp honey

pour boiling hot water over and let steep covered for 5-10 minutes.
it is very spicy and warming. Drink 4 cups a day and drink tons of water.

rock out.

Maybe it isn't your style, but on cold gray almost winter days I keep finding myself going back to old scratchy Enrico Caruso songs.
Caruso was a famous tenor of his time and one of the early opera singers to embrace phonograph recordings. His recordings can be found on public spaces like YouTube, on commercial recordings or if you are cheap like me you can make a Pandora station. This type of music is being lost, check it out before it is gone. I promise that even if you don't like it, it will be worth your time.



M and I carved our Hallowe'en pumpkins happily sipping bourbon cider cocktails and listening to my Caruso. It was a really good time. You might think that whisky and sharp objects don't mix, but our pumpkins turned out lovely and we managed to not stab ourselves nor each other.



M went with a cyclops, and mine was a pirate. Meaning that both of our jack-o-lanterns had one eye. When you are married things like that just happen.



Recipe, a seasonal take on the classic Manhattan:

Big Apple

1 part bourbon, e.g. Bulleitt or Maker's Mark
1 part cider..... or 2 parts cider if you like standing upright....
dash of cinnamon or mixed pumpkin pie spice
shaken over ice and served in a martini glass
garnish with a cinnamon stick or an orange rind twist

salut!