My Garden Cures

   For the past couple of weeks, some sort of illness settled in as a resident of the Little Bayou House.  It started with Mark and spread on to Son.  Each of them had full blown cold symptoms with sore throat, fever, congestion and a general bit of just feeling blah.  That mess hung around in each of them for nigh on a week or better.  Son is still congested.  There has to be something "going around" because my sweet sister-in-law had it the same time that Mark did and now Darling Daughter has it (and she lives several towns over).  When Mark first said he did not feel well, I was determined not to catch the mess.  Exposure to him meant it was likely but then exposure to his sister and Son put my chance of avoiding coming down sick to slim or none.  Three exposures to any contagious illness is not very good.  Still, I was determined so I headed to the garden.  I gathered herbs and went back to the kitchen to "stir up" a brew.  I am a firm believer that boosting the immune system can do wonders so most of the herbs were chosen because of that.  To the sage, rosemary and ginger, I added my standby of crape myrtle blossoms. (Those I had dehydrated last July.)  Steeping this in a base of fruit juice for Vitamin C gave me just what I needed.  My favorite juice to use was home-canned blueberry.  Crazy enough, the blueberry, sage and rosemary blended well!

  While some ridiculed me about drinking so much of the tisane, I never gave up hope.  For three weeks now, I downed this brew!  I went through several pots a day for the first ten days then eased off to just one pot per day.  Several times during those weeks, I thought sure I was coming down ill.  NOPE!  Not happening!  I made more tisane.  Now, both Mark and Son are mostly well.  Son still has a lingering cough but feels back to his old self.  Mark is doing fine.  My sister-in-law sounds much better and Darling Daughter is on her way to being well again.  Me?  Well, I am still as healthy as I was before all this started.  Perhaps, my garden "teas" are the answer.  I don't have time for that mess!  

On Fire!

  Well, it is that time of year again where folks don't use a lot of commonsense.  Sometimes I get slap frustrated at people who come to the Little Bayou House knowing they are ill.  Usually, they seem all fine and dandy but then will tell me something to the order of "I had the worse sore throat but I took 3 Tylenols so I am not sick."  Oh, come on!  Not sick???  You are still sick!  You just downed pain killers so don't feel it.  You have, now however, just exposed me.  Great.  Head smack!  This year, of all years, STAY HOME if you are sick, think you are sick, may possibly be sick or have even thought about being sick.  I do not want your illnesses!

  I am prepared, however, for the insensitive twerps that have no better sense than to share their sicknesses.  For the past several weeks, the Bayou Fire has been fermenting on the kitchen table and today was the day to bottle it.  Two quarts of the fiery brew is ready to be dosed out to anyone that even sniffles in my presence.  This stuff is good...at "fixin' what ails you".  In fact, one young man insists that all he has to do is "threaten" his colds/flus with a dose.  "I just think about coming to get a dose and suddenly everything goes away."  Well, it may not be that good but, hey, whatever works.

  For now, the two bottles sit alongside of a bottle of hot pepper vinegar.  The Bayou Fire will stand ready for action just in case I feel that telltale tickle in the back of the throat.  The hot pepper vinegar will stand ready for action in the next salad or seafood dish.  Both are fiery delicious...or, at least, fiery!

Flu Stricken and Pondering??

 When a person is sick with the flu, their brain often does not work clearly.  Mine surely does not!  This afternoon, I peeked out the window to see the sun shining brightly and that did it!  I grabbed a jacket, called to the dog and made yet another great escape.  Being confined to a sick house, even when I am sick, is more than I can bear.  While the menfolks were napping like good patients, I was ambling along the path soaking up that glorious sunshine!

  Although I felt well enough for a stroll, the brain kept coming up with strange thoughts such as "How many baby minnows does it take to make a school?"  Do you know?  I do not but there were thousands of the little jokers playing in the shallows.  They were enjoying the bright sun just as much as I was.

  Another thought..."Why do flying squirrels prefer to gnaw hickory nuts from the pointy end while grey squirrels go to work on the side?"  That is another of life's great mysteries at least to a flu-muddled brain.  If you have the answer, it would be great to know.

  Also, "Why do smilax vines so closely resemble a spiderweb?"  Spiders and vines have nothing in common yet their intricate work can be comparable.  (I should have photographed the vine before PJ rent it asunder with his plodding but I was slow on the take and about as befuddled as a cat chasing its tail.)

  The good news?  I felt much better after being out and about.  Fresh air, sunshine, doggy friend and lots of wonders of the world can make all the difference.  Back to the menfolk...they have the three "C's".... crouping, coughing and complaining.  I guess it is best that I escape now and again to try and preserve what little sanity I have left!  Just how many minnows does it take???

One of those "should have" moments

  For more years than I can count, I have been making a brew called Bayou Fire.  This is my home remedy for most every malady that hits during the winter months.  While a lot of folks will not find the results that I have, it works for me.  Each year when folks start to come down sick with bronchitis, flu, colds or you name it, I pull out the large pot and start my brew.  It is merely a concoction of roots and herbs from the garden.  These are fermented in a bath of apple cider vinegar.  Since the brew has a name like Bayou Fire, it stands to reason that it is a bit hot.  Besides the heat that fresh ginger root gives to the pot, I do throw in a mass of jalapeno and habanero peppers.  Every item that is included promotes healing.  I take it at the first hint of a cold or whatever.  This usually does the trick.  One or two doses and I have avoided illness.  Therein lies the problem with others.  Folks often come to the Bayou seeking an herbal remedy but not at the beginning of their illness.  They wait until they are so sick that even doctor prescribed medications have a hard time breaking the sickness.  Folks...with whatever medication you take, do not wait until you have some full blown illness before seeking help and then expect to be healed instantly. It does not work that way.  Go to your doctor and get help.  DO NOT COME TO THE BAYOU AND EXPECT MIRACLES!  If you do, I will give you a couple of heaping spoonfuls of the Bayou Fire and you may not be too happy.  While the Fire will help with symptoms, it is not for everyone. 

  As I was bottling my first batch of the Bayou Fire today, I was figuratively kicking myself for being lax.  While I have been making this concoction for a number of years and freely giving out my recipe or even bottles of the elixir itself, I now find that this stuff is being marketed as a cure all....and it ain't cheap!  The recipe for the marketed "Fire" is almost identical to the recipe that I shared so freely with folks.  I could have been rich!!!  If only I had the foresight to see that there would be this vast interest in herbal remedies, I would have marketed my stuff long ago.  Instead, because I was laughed at, called "Bayou Witch" and otherwise just plain ridiculed for my interest in and use of herbs, I withdrew into my own little kitchen and left well enough alone.  Still, each year, I brew up a batch or two to keep on hand if for no other reason than folks love sharing their illnesses with me.  It fully amazes me how many people will come to visit knowing full well they should be home in bed!  Nope! Ain't happenin'.   Here, open wide and take a dose of Bayou Fire!