My favorite cure-all is ginger tea, or salabat as we call it in the Philippines. Ginger soothes nausea or any queasy sensations, and also helps digestion. So this is a great drink to have after a meal. I also squeeze a little lemon and add a bit of local honey*, both wonderful ingredients to soothe a sore throat or at the first sign of a cold because honey has antibacterial properties. Tea made with fresh ginger is nothing like those ginger tea bags, and it's so simple to make:
Fresh Ginger Tea
- about a one-inch piece of fresh ginger, in thin slices - use more or less as you prefer and depending on the freshness of the ginger
- about 2 cups water
- lemon, to taste
- honey, to taste
Just simmer the ginger in water on the stovetop for about 5 minutes. Strain into a cup, then squeeze some lemon and add honey for a touch of sweetness.
Technically (if you really want to be accurate) this isn't really a tea because it's not made with tea leaves. But whatever. It's good stuff. And it's easier to call it "tea" than to call it "fresh-ginger-simmered-in-water-with-honey-and-lemon."
*I read that local honey is great also for preventing allergies. It should be honey from a local bee farm (within a 100-mile radius, if you want to be technical) so that you ward off the allergens local to your area.
2 comments:
Here, herbal drinks like this are normally called infusion but I interchange the terms notoriously so... :-)
Hubby learned this drink from me and loved it the first time he tried it. I gave it to him one day when he started having colds and much sore throat. He loved the taste plus the soothing action it brought him.
That thing about local honey is very interesting! First time I've heard of it and it does make a lot of sense. Bees are very interesting creatures :-). Didn't they say when bees became extinct, it's the end of the world? Something to that effect. Well, don't trust my word I often get confused and forget details... Much more now that I'm a mother and underwent CS...you know, the effect anesthesia. ;-)
Spanish Pinay
Spanish Pinay: Thanks for your comment! Yes - infusion was the word I was looking for, but I couldn't think of it then! Thanks for supplying the word for me :)
I do love food as medicine...
Oh I did not know that about bees... very interesting!
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