Ginger the Great.

Originally posted by Compartilhamento de fotos!

Been blogging as a cuppa tee now for nearly three weeks, so I suppose it's about time I actually blog about tea!

It all started last night... Not sure if I just devoured my dinner too quickly, or 'twas jittery nerves as I await important emails from job prospects and cute boys, but I had a tummy ache :(

The solution: Homemade Ginger Tea. Conveniently I had a whole bunch of ginger root just sitting around from my poule au pot au feu...

Here's what I did...

1. I brought about 4 cups (1L) of water to a boil in a saucepan.
2. Took about a 2-inch chunk of ginger root, peeled it and cut into thin slices . By the way do you know the trick to peeling ginger? Gently rubbing the skin off with a teaspoon. Works like a charm!
3. Add ginger slices to boiling water, cover and let simmer on low for 15-20 minutes. (I also added a tablespoon of turbinado sugar a.k.a. raw sugar at this step, since I didn't have honey to sweeten at completion.)
4. You can strain the tea, or if you're impatient like me ladle the the tea into your favourite mug and squeeze in fresh lemon to taste.
5. Enjoy ;)

Spicy and invigorating, a cuppa homemade ginger tea did just the trick!

Ginger by FotoosVanRobin

Not just a tummy ache remedy, did you know "in ancient China, ginger was regarded as a healing gift from God. Ginger has an ornate, long history of both culinary and medicinal use in Chinese, Japanese and Indian medicines?"

Check out these facts I discovered when looking for cool photos of ginger...

1. Good for the respiratory system: ginger treats coughs, asthma, bronchitis, and helps to clear sore throats.

2. Strengthens the immune system's ability to fight infections and lowers fevers.

3. Relieves headaches, toothaches and backaches

4. It is believed that ginger root juice is able to dissolve kidney stones.

5. Offers substantial protection from stroke and heart attack because of its ability to prevent blood clotting. It reduces serum cholesterol, which can slow down circulation.

6. Effective in geting rid of motion/ morning sickness, gas, swelling, and diarrhea, upset stomach and indigestion. It stimulates appetite.

7. Stimulates circulation so it is good for cold hands and feet.

The list goes and on, and can be found here.

Happy Tummy Ache-Free Tuesday!

xo,

tee.

PS - Candied ginger is even better than that those adorable spicy little red cinnamon hearts from Valentine's Day ;)

The power of poulet.

Pot-au-feu, originally uploaded by toshi[G2panda].

Montreal was amazing. Coming back with a terrible bout of the cold/flu not so much.

That's right, that's why I've been MIA. Rarely am I so sick that I don't even manage to turn the laptop on =/

Thankfully lots of sleep (18 hours alone on Monday!) plus home-cooked chicken soup did the trick in telling those pesky cold/flu germs they weren't welcome!

Many times had I heard that chicken soup was not only good for the soul, but the ultimate cold/flu-buster! Craving something comforting, I managed to go pick up the necessary ingredients to make chicken soup French-style poule au pot au feu which I'd learned to cook during my au-pair days. Here is cooking tee-syle:

1 - 6L pressure cooker filled with:

• a whole fresh chicken
• a large onion chopped in quarters
• a couple large carrots chopped in chunks
• a couple stalks of celery
• some small red potatoes chopped in quarters
• some cabbage (what i could fit in the pot)
• some English leeks (again what i could fit in the pot)
• a good chunk of ginger thinly sliced
• half a head of garlic (i peeled the cloves and crushed them slightly ever so gently)
• a couple bay leaves
• a small bunch of fresh thyme
• some black pepper corn
• a cuppa chicken broth

water filled to just over 2/3.

Seasoned to taste after cooking with Fleur de Sel (de La Boutique de Pont-Aven)... A treasured little bottle from my time in France)!

Since I don't use my pressure cooker that frequently, I googled cook time, which thankfully is a mere 12 minutes once pressurized.

While I dream of one day owning a bright coloured enameled cast-iron casserole a.k.a Le Creuset, I gotta admit I absolutely heart my pressure cooker from my Auntie A and Uncle M. It makes waiting when you're sick and hungry unnecessary, and so much better than opening a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup!

Note: Recipe will work sans pressure cooker, and a bit more patience ;)

As the French say... Bon App !
tee.

PS- Found scientific proof of the power of (soupe) poulet here: "Chicken Soup Inhibits Neutrophil Chemotaxis In Vitro"