Still Life with Special Tea

This week I have come down with the dreaded cold going around town. It starts in the back of the throat and then works its way through the neck and up into the sinuses until your head explodes and you get to start over again.

So since I didn't take any time off work, have been traveling on the bus, and coughing on strangers, the only way I can absolve myself is to share my old family recipe for Special Tea, the only medication that will help make the throat feel better, and chase all the bad bugs away. In addition to Nyquil (for cool and dramatic vivid dreams), this concoction relieves the itch when you want to shove your fist down your throat and scratch.

In a mug of boiling water combine all or some or most of these things: healthy portion of fresh peeled grated ginger (as much as you can stand, it's pretty spicy), dash of cayenne pepper (again as much as you can stand), wedge of lemon (squeezed and then steeped in the cup), big squirt of honey and a big squirt of echinacea tintcture. My husband asked me to add to this that he prefers Special Tea with a bag of Red Zinger tea; I prefer it pure.