Candied Ginger and Garlic

Candied Ginger and Garlic

You can make this recipe dry with just the sugar and spice (the sugar

will form a thin glaze itself) or add water for a thicker syrup which

can itself be added to coffee or a particularly strong tea (it's really sweet). This is wonderful for treating the common cold.

Cut off a hunk of ginger root about half the size of your thumb (or

however much you want to eat). Slice it thin. You can leave the skin on

or peel it. The skin softens in the pan, especially if you use water, so it's no big deal. Slice a clove or two of garlic in similar fashion (but removing all peelings). Place the garlic and ginger in a small saucepan and add a few tablespoons of sugar. You can also add generous helpings of cinnamon and allspice to enhance the ginger's flavor and decongestant property. If you want to make the syrup, also add some water (enough to dissolve the sugar in). Start on medium heat and move to low once the sugar has started to dissolve.

Cold and Fever

Cold, Fever

1 ounce dried Elder Flowers

1 ounce dried Peppermint Leaves

½ pint distilled water

Mix the herbs. Place in a quart saucepan. Pour 1/2 pints of distilled boiling water over it. Cover and allow to steep in a hot place for 10 to 15 minutes (do not boil). When ready, strain into another saucepan. Sweeten with honey if desired.

Note: Once covered for steeping, do not raise the lid, as this will cause it to lose some of its strength.

Recommended Dose:

Take this in bed, well covered with blankets to retain the heat.

For severe colds and fevers, drink one pint as hot as possible, and remain in bed, well covered.

For children: one half to one cup.

After taking this remedy, stay in bed well covered for at least 12 hours to promote free perspiration.

Please note: This remedy is quite harmless and safe. It will induce perspiration 20 to 40 minutes after taking, and sometimes sooner. This will soothe you to sleep, and the perspiration will continue for several hours.

In some cases, the temperature has been reduced from 104 to 99 degrees within two hours!!

According to Dr. Dr. Edward E. Shook, well known herbalist, "there is no remedy for colds and fevers of any description equal to this simple life-saving formula."

Follow-up

The next morning, if the fever or cold is completely broken, take a sponge bath with warm water. Change linens in bed. Take some light nourishment such as fruit juices, (pineapple, orange or prune juices). Keep your body warm and away from all drafts for a day or two.

If one dose does not completely break up the cold or fever, take another dose after 24 hours.

Horehound for Colds and Coughs

I was out shopping for school and realized that the autumn decorations are already out. And then it hit me that next month marks the beginning of fall and it is only a few days away. Jeez, next week it will be Christmas at this rate!

That also got me pulling out my goodie folder of cold remedies. Lots and lots of advice from a lot of different websites, books and ahem, herbalists.

Aside from drinking herbal infusions for colds and flu, there are additional things that homemakers can whip up and create that are less likely to be filled with.. well unpronounceable 12 syllable words. I'd much rather prefer that my ingredient list be as monosyllabic as possible, thank you.

Horehound Drops
published on alt.folklore.herbs 1995

4 ounces of fresh horehound leaves
1/2 tsp crushed aniseed,
3 crushed cardamon seed
2 1/2 c of water, simmer this for 20 minutes then strain

Dissolve 2 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 c of brown sugar in the tea liquid. Boil until reaches hard crack stage pour into oiled try. Score when partially cooled.

These can be wrapped in wax paper and then dropped in a ziplock. They will store for a long time but mine have never lasted long enough for me to test the length of time they will keep.

This is a pretty easy thing to do especially if you've ever made your own candy before. It takes a little time but the effort is worth it.

Home Sick

As I lay draped across either my bed or my couch in misery, it occurs to me that I've drank enough herbal infusions to heal a small country of a cold. The hot liquid brings a relaxed comfort that not only helps the healing process as far as I'm concerned but it also but also is reminiscent of another time. Yea yea, there I go again romanticizing ... whatever, moving on.

When you're feeling as bad as I do right now, here is a bit of advice.

Vitamin C!
Mix equal parts of red hibiscus and rose hips and make a very bright read infusion. Drink hot or cold. This is a very good tea, you can purchase it prepackaged for like a gazillion bucks a box or you can grow it and make it yourself for a lot cheaper. I'm actually working on a box of this stuff that ran me $5. But that was only because I was desperate, I swear!

Antibiotic
Echinacea, goldenseal, mint... just a minuscule amount of the herbs that you can create healing infusions. These infusions can be complex, consisting of a long list of herbs or they can be as simple as ginger, lemon and honey.

Which, as it happens, Ginger is a very good infusion for colds, respiratory infections, to be exact. Add some cinnamon in for the sinuses. Some garlic for the immune system. Some cayenne for a lot of heat and a good dollop of honey and you've got yourself a really good remedy to help see you through.

While you can take all of this in a tea, you can eat most all of it on toast, too, so don't limit yourself. Garlic toast comes pre-made, but you've not lived until you've tried ginger, clove, cinnamon toast. It actually isn't all that bad and it is helpful to the body. Or sprinkle this across a waffle and top with honey.

Think comfort food.

I've sucked down enough vegetable broth to prevent cancer. And its hot. Hot liquids are good. I add some cayenne into that and I'm getting more help. Actually, one of my favorites is 4 cups of vegetable broth, a sprinkling of marjoram and thyme, black pepper, two or three cloves of fresh minced garlic. Sip as needed.

While I enjoy sharing with you all, I'm still quiet ill and I'm going to go back to flipping through the channels until I can find something that I can sleep too.

Happy cold season.

Bug Bites

Apply baking soda to bug, bee, wasp, ant or any kind of bites for a quicker heal.

Sun-burn Solvent

To relieve minor burns (such as a sun burn), use baking soda and water.

Baby Fever Reducer

Bathe the infant in a tub of lukewarm water with 1/2 cup of baking soda. Use less if you are using a plastic infant tub. This is also an effective remedy for diaper rash.

Clear Up a Stuffy Nose

Add a teaspoon of baking soda to your vaporizer. It will unblock nasal passages and keep the vaporizer clean as well!