Ginger Lemon Tea

I am home sick today with a very stuffy head and the dizziness and headache that accompany such a misfortune. At present, I am sipping on a cup of hot ginger tea, adapted from a favorite drink made by the good people at Espresso Royale. I'm not able to stay on long today, so I'll make this brief: here's the recipe.

Ginger Lemon Tea (four 12 oz cups)

2 cups lemon juice
4 cups water
3" piece of gingerroot, peeled
honey to taste

1. Slice the gingerroot thinly. Pour lemon juice and water into a saucepan and add the gingerroot.
2. Heat to boiling and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, strain, and stir in the honey.
4. Sip while hot.

This makes a very tart, spicy tea. Add more gingerroot if you like -- spicy! Or use less lemon juice and add more honey if you'd like a more mellow, sweet brew. This is loaded with vitamin C, and breathing deeply of the vapors as you sip helps open up the sinuses. Enjoy!

Spicy Hot Cocoa

Makes one 12 oz. mugful.

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa*
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
dash salt
dash cayenne
dash black pepper
very hot water
whipped cream (if desired)

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large mug. Pour in enough hot water to fill the mug halfway. Stir thoroughly before topping up the mug with more hot water. Add the vanilla and stir. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

*To get maximum flavonoids (the antioxidants found in cacao), avoid Dutch-process cocoa. Flavonoids are good for your skin, as this study shows. Woo hoo!

This is how I make it. You might like more sugar (or a sugar substitute, if you must) or less spice, or you might like to substitute hot milk for the water (try almond milk for a thicker drink -- top notch!). Or you might like to cook it all together in a saucepan (just remember to add the vanilla extract after you've taken it off the heat). Improvise! That's what makes me happy -- you never know what wonder-full thing you'll discover.