RECIPE CORNER 

Cold and Flu Recipes

Elder Flower / Peppermint Leaf Recipe

Elder Flower whole

Peppermint Leaf cut

Make a tea using equal parts of these dried herbs. 

Dr. Edward E. Shook writes about this recipe in his book “Elementary Treatise in Herbology”. His recipe is to pour 1½ pints of boiling water over the herbs, using one ounce of each herb.  “Cover and allow to steep in a hot place for 10 to 15 minutes. When ready strain into another saucepan and sweeten with honey. Before taking, the patient should be in bed, well covered with blankets to retain heat.  Drink one pint as hot as possible, and remain in bed, covered for at least 12 hours. A hot water-bottle covered with a towel dipped in vinegar, applied to the feet and allowed to remain there, will be of great benefit.  For children take one half to one teacupful” of the tea.

Shook says this is  “…an amazing, yet perfectly safe and effective remedy for all forms of colds and fevers.  It is simple to prepare, easily obtainable, and so quickly effective that it astonishes those who use it for the first time.”  Now isn’t that a great statement!

In his book “The Way of Herbs”, Michael Tierra also writes about this very same recipe.  He says “Take one or more cups of the infusion and follow immediately with a hot bath.  Then go to bed with several covers to provoke perspiration.” 

Alexa’s Suggestions – The directions Shook gives for this tea uses a pretty large quantity of herbs, yet not enough water to really cover them.  I would definitely want a strong cup of tea to break a fever.  Therefore, if you didn’t want to use quite that amount of herbs, I might make a tea using 1-2 Tbsp. of each herb for every cup of water.  For an even more medicinal hot bath try Cheryl’s Herbs Sweat Bath Herbs, 5-10 drops of Eucalyptus Essential Oil, and 1-2 cups Sea Salt (Granulated or Coarse) added to the water.  Soak for 20 minutes.