Ginger Tissane

If you find yourself at your parent's home, and your throat grows ever so sore but you've left your elderberries, astragalus and echinacea at your apartment in Montreal, whip up this tissane using ingredients which you have lying around.

First: eat an orange, or have your mother begin eating an orange and give you half. Everyone knows the vitamin C is good for you, and that oranges taste especially good when you're sick.

Then take:

some of the orange peel

a portion of ginger root

a few pieces of cinnamon bark

water

raw dandelion honey from Meadowview Farms

Fill a small pot with water and turn on the stove. Rip up the orange peel, chop up the ginger, and put in your cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then let steep for ten or so minutes while you load up the laundry machine. Wait until you've poured your cup and let your tissane cool a little before putting your honey in: you don't want the honey to pasteurize, it will lose its healing qualities.

Ginger will do nothing to help your cold, but might help settle your stomach if that happens to be bothering you, and will feel good as it burns your throat on the way down.

Cinnamon will stimulate the circulatory system and produce warming affects. It is thought to be helpful in the resolution of colds and flues. It's also used as a bactericide, a fungicide, a digestive remedy, helpful for wretched menstrual syndromes, and a natural pain reliever.

Orange peel; I haven't a clue but it's darn tasty in this mix and I'm sure it's good for something.

Raw dandelion honey has antibiotic and antiseptic and antiviral qualities, will boost the immune system, reverse aging, cure death and make a better prime minister than Harper. It is also more delicious than everything.