Not all the drink recipes I make are tasty

[xiphias]

Lis came down with a bad cold over the weekend (we were in New York Tuesday to Thursday, and it was cold and raining, and Lis walked around midtown Manhattan with wet shoes for three days). I was fine over the weekend, and was able to nurse her back to health, but started feeling wonky after that, and have been fighting the cold since then.

My weapon.

1 oz/30 ml whiskey
1 oz/30 ml lemon juice
1 tbsp/15 ml honey
1 tbsp/15 ml hot paprika or cayenne or the like
1 tbsp ground ginger
3 oz/90 ml boiling water

Mix. Drink as fast as possible. Because it's unpleasant.

It does not taste good. But I've been keeping myself functional with it. The whiskey is actually optional, and I leave it out during the day.

Comments

[gansje.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting! Hopefully I can cut through my sinuses with it...

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Good luck!

For cutting through sinuses, you may also want to try to build something around horseradish or wasabi, instead of cayenne or paprika. I've done that on occasion, too.

[gansje.livejournal.com]

You know, I was about to ask that! I bought wasabi just the other day, so tonight we made sushi and I could temporarily taste my food, whee!

[bluepapercup]

I have the best luck declogging snot-filled sinuses by steaming my face over hot water with either peppermint or tea tree oil in it. Gives me relief long enough to take a nap, usually.

[gansje.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[bluepapercup]

I make something similar (without the whiskey) - boil lemons, ginger, garlic in a pot. Strain off liquid, add honey and apple cider vinegar. Let cool to non-scalding, then chug. Works a treat, tastes like spicy compost.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

That sounds good. And also horrible.

[yardlong.livejournal.com]

That sounds like good medicine, though that is a lot of cayenne and ginger. I don't so much mind unpleasant meds as long as the ingredients are recognizable.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Well, I ALSO use Western medicine. When I'm doing the skip-the-whiskey version, I'll also do NyQuil or DayQuil. But not with alcohol -- alcohol and acetaminophen means "kidney failure and dialysis for the rest of your life."

[cbpotts.livejournal.com]

Not necessarily on topic, but this is a website that has lots of cooking/drink recipes and articles I think you might enjoy. They send emails full of recipes & food facts; I've made a couple of things & they've turned out well. I haven't made the cocktails, but was thinking maybe they'd be of interest to you: http://food52.com/

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[l33tminion]

A program director at Centauri (theater camp I went to back in the day) made a curin' tea that was rather similar. Substitute strong black tea for the whiskey (the caffeine helps) and replace the "hot paprika or cayenne or the like" with "as much Sriracha Sauce as you can handle". Wasn't the most pleasant tasting, but it sure was effective.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Strong hot tea with lemon and honey is an excellent base for when-you're-sick-tea, adding ginger only makes it better.

And, well, my OTHER go-to sick food is pho with lots of sriracha, so that whole idea sounds good -- well, not GOOD, but USEFUL -- to me.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

What is the cayenne supposed to do? Is it just a reminder that you're drinking medicine, not a beverage? I know lemon juice, whiskey, and vinegar cut mucus (and do so even more effectively when hot.) And ginger relieves nausea. And honey relieves coughing, and soothes a sore throat. But why cayenne?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Clears sinuses and also kills off anything that's nesting in my throat.