in other words
An Unusual Culinary Column:
Are You Still Living With That Pesky Cough?
By Karen Kain
Over the last six weeks I have
been in four states, Nevada, California,
Arizona and back to Oregon. Every-
where I went I met people that had ‘that’
cough. Before I left Oregon, I knew cold
and flu season was in its prime, if you
didn’t have it yet you certainly knew
someone with it. Now, that it is almost
spring that pesky cough is still going
round. So this week I will try to help you
avoid the bronchial virus or at least bring
you some comfort as you live with it.
The best thing to keep healthy is
to eat well and of course, hand washing.
Juicing is also very helpful. For the last
four years I have been drinking 2 table-
spoons of apple cider vinegar (ACV)
with 1 tablespoon of organic honey in
hot water every morning. I am extremely
sensitive to caffeine and this has become
my morning ritual, replacing coffee.
ACV is a well-known anti-viral natural
master tonic for flu. ACV has been as-
sociated with many health benefits, here
are just a few: helps an upset stomach,
cures hiccups, sooths a sore throat, helps
to lower cholesterol, clears a stuffy nose,
aids in weight loss, clears acne, gets rid
of dandruff, boosts energy, helps with
nighttime leg cramps, helps with bad
breath, whitens teeth, fades bruises, and
helps to control blood sugar. There is no
doubt that getting more ACV in your diet
is good for you. You can drink it in a tea,
add it to your salads, use it in homemade
tonics, as a detox bath and use it in your
skin care regime.
When I heard that making ACV
was easy to do, I wanted to try it. For
this recipe I used whole apples, but you
can use the core and skins only, which is
perfect for the discarded bits when bak-
ing with apples. You can use a combina-
tion of 50% sweet apples, 35% sharp and
15% bitter if you like; I just used large
red apples for my first batch.
I want to also include some other
powerful homemade remedies that may
help. The first is Garlic Syrup. Garlic
Syrup is said to be 10 times more power-
ful than penicillin and it is easy to make
and is also cost effective. You should al-
ways keep a batch on hand. Taking this
syrup will help to boost your immune
system and will aid in lowering your
blood pressure as well as cholesterol.
It will help reduce the number of colds
and infections, and is also effective for
treating gout, arthritis and joint aches.
Honey is an anti-bacterial, anti-viral and
anti-fungal, and also helps with a bad
cough. Garlic has antibacterial and an-
tiviral properties that also help to boost
your immune system.
Here are some natural cough
remedies for you to try.
Thyme Tea – Mix 2 teaspoons of
crushed leaves in 1 cup of boiling water,
cover and allow to steep for 10 minutes.
This will help to relax your tracheal and
ileal muscles, which are involved with
coughing and thyme will aid in reducing
inflammation. This is a German recipe
and used for upper respiratory infec-
tions, bronchitis and whooping cough.
ey in a cup, add boiling water, and allow
to steep for 15 minutes, strain and sip as
needed. This will stimulate the circula-
tion of mucus.
For fast acting cough relief - Suck on
a lemon quarter, sprinkled with salt and
black pepper.
Sipping warm milk with a table-
spoon of honey is also helpful as a cough
suppressant.
Lastly, you can grind up some
almonds and add to a cup of orange juice
to help relieve bronchial spasms and
coughs.
I hope that spring blesses us
with beautiful weather, beautiful flower
blossoms and healthy living.
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Ingredients:
• 5 Large apples, or the scraps of 10 ap-
ples
• Filtered water
• 1 Cup raw, local honey
You will need a wide mouth gallon glass
jar, cheesecloth and a large rubber band.
Directions:
Wash and chop the apples into pieces
no smaller than 1 inch, you can use the
cores, stems and seeds. Put the apples
Make a cough remedy tincture with into a 1-gallon jar, the apples should at
Flax, honey and lemon – Boil 3 table- least fill up to half way. Add room tem-
spoons of flaxseed in 1 cup of water, perature filtered water completely cover-
strain and add 3 tablespoons each of ing the apples leaving a few inches from
honey and lemon juice. Take 1 table- the top. Add the honey and stir to com-
spoon as needed for your cough.
pletely dissolve. Cover with cheesecloth
For a wet cough make a black pepper and secure with a rubber band. Leave on
tea – Place 1 teaspoon of freshly ground the counter for 1 week mixing twice a
black pepper with 2 tablespoons of hon- day; this will form the hard cider. You
2016
9
will see and smell bubbles starting to
form as the sugar ferments into alcohol.
When the apples sink to the bottom of
the jar the hard cider is ready for the
next step. Remove the apple scraps and
keep the cider, putting it into a fresh gal-
lon glass jar. Cover with the cheesecloth
and rubber band. Let the cider sit for 3-4
weeks. This allows the alcohol to trans-
form into acetic acid and good bacteria.
You may see a small amount of sediment
on the bottom. This is your mother cul-
ture. After 3 weeks you can start tasting
it, if the vinegar has the right taste you
can strain it and store it in a clean glass
jar with a lid, if it is not strong enough
leave it for another week. If the vinegar
is too strong add some water to dilute it.
Store it out of the sunlight. Raw apple
cider vinegar does not go bad, if you get
another mother film on the top just strain
it again.
Garlic Syrup
Ingredients:
• 8 Peeled garlic cloves
• 1 Cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 Cup raw, organic honey
Directions:
Put everything into the blender and
blend on high and pour into a glass jar
then seal. Store in the refrigerator for 5
days and stir every day. After the five
days the tincture is ready. Take 2 tea-
spoons in a tall glass of water first thing
in the morning.
Karen Kain can be contacted at karen-
kain8@icloud.com.
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