Warm winter drinks and immunity teas + some cool thirst quenchers

I'm lucky that I'm really healthy and rarely get sick. I like to have a few tonics handy during winter though, just in case. I thought some of you may like to try some of these little pick-me-ups if you come down with a cold or just feel a bit under the weather. I think these drinks work because they're hot, so they warm you up, and they often contain citrus, herbs and honey which can counteract cold-like symptoms with their antiseptic properties. I also believe they work partly because of the careful and slow ritual of making them and because you know you're taking time out to look after yourself. The mind plays its own tricks on us at times.

And for all of my northern hemisphere friends, who may we fanning themselves under elder or pecan trees, here are some of my recipes for cold summer drinks and elder flower cordial.

My favourite pick-me-up drink in winter is plain black tea with lemon and honey. You just brew the tea as you like it and add as much or as little lemon and honey as you like.

The immune activating tea and winter virus drink were sent to me by my good friend Susan.

IMMUNE ACTIVATING TEA

• Brew 500mls of strong black tea in a plunger
• Add 1 lemon finely sliced (plus peel)
• 1/2 orange finely sliced (plus peel)
• 1 to 2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• You can add honey to taste

Allow to steep and drink hot to raise the core temperature of the body. Keep warm in a thermos or reheat by adding a small amount of hot water. 

FOR WINTER VIRUS

Take a lemon and slice an indentation all the way around it, so it can expand in the oven. Put it in the oven in a baking dish and bake until the liquid starts to come out. Take it out and let the lemon cool a little. Put the whole thing in a blender and then add the same amount of water to it, so that what you end up with is half lemon, half water. Add honey to taste and take by the teaspoon 3 times a day or more if required.

Warm apple cider with mint leaves and pineapple sage flowers.

APPLE CIDER DRINK

1 cup of non-alcholic cider or good apple juice for every person, zest of one lemon. Put in saucepan and gently warm for five minutes. Serve straight away.

WINTER LEMON TEA - makes 2 cups

• Juice and rind of 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1½ cups water
• Lemon verbena or mint leaves for garnish - optional

LEMON VERBENA TEA

• 6 fresh lemon verbena leaves
• Water
• Honey, if you want to sweeten the tea

Place lemon verbena leaves in a cup and pour over boiling water. Allow to sit for five minutes, remove the leaves, sweeten with honey, if desired.

LEMON MYRTLE TEA AND CORDIAL

Recipes are from Dale's wonderful Dilly Bag site. Dale is a local Sunshine Coast indigenous chef, a good friend of Bev, who has catered for a couple of Neighbourhood Centre events. She's a great cook. Look for her lemon myrtle recipes down the page. Bev tells me that lemon myrtle has more antiseptic properties than tea tree.

 If you have a good winter drink recipe, please share it with us.

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