Flu Season

It's flu season here. I did get my flu shot, but some virus or other seems to have knocked me on my backside, and I'm tired and achey and my stomach hurts, although it doesn't ever seem to object more loudly than a stubborn ache and a vague queasiness (for which I am grateful).

I have, however, finally come up with a herbal tea that seems to ease the stomach cramping and queasiness. I'm not a doctor, I don't play one on TV, and all I know about the herbs I'm using I have discovered from various books and other sources so ... this is just a description of what has worked for me. For heaven's sake, if you have food sensitivities, strong plant allergies (hay fever), or are pregnant or nursing, do not try any sort of unknown foods or herbal remedies - that's just plain common sense. Now, for the rest of us, who have had enough Pepto for the day and want to try something else, here's the recipe:

• 3 parts yarrow flowers
• 2 parts calendula blossoms
• 2 or 3 rose hips
• a generous sprinkling of powdered ginger, or a chunk of ginger root
• a very slight sprinkling of dill

Steep all that in boiling water, strain, and add as much honey as you need to make it taste okay (it's not bad, but it's not anything you'd drink just for the flavour), and drink about a cup of it. Yarrow needs to be used in moderation, so probably no more than 3 or 4 cups in a day, but I find that one in the morning, one at lunch and one at dinner seems to really help.

Yarrow grows wild here, as do wild roses, so we are able to harvest those ingredients quite readily from the land around us. The calendula that I grew last summer was an amazing success, so we have plenty of that now as well. Dill is on the list of things to grow this summer ... but ginger .. hmm, I don't think that even grows in this climate. I'll have to do some research, I do enjoy it and it'd be a great addition to the garden (if it's possible, that is!).