Happy New bleeeech!

The New Year is also right in the middle of flu season, and boy what a season it's been. On Christmas I got the cold. You know, the one where you cough incessantly for weeks it seems. Then the first full week of the year I got a ticket on the stomach flu freight train. Don't worry. I'm not contagious anymore. You're safe.
But seriously, if ever you needed proof that the drug industry is a scam it was this year. I had that cough. A spasmodic debilitating cough that wasn't going to go away before my Jan. 1st gig at Jazz at Pearls in North Beach. I went through every Robitussin product on the shelves, then went into Kaiser and asked for ANYTHING to make it stop. I couldn't very well play trumpet if I was hacking like a junkie every 2 minutes. So they gave me cough medicine with Codeine. Nothing. It didn't do squat. Then MaryEllen finds some "old natural remedies" on line somewhere........ hey, at this point I'll try anything!
I have to say, "The Old Ways" are best. Cheaper and about 100 times more effective than any drug product. So if your having issues with the cough, follow these steps. But first you have to put out of your head any goofy little fear or hang-up you may have about anything that doesn't come in a box. Ready?

Thyme and Lemon Tea.

That's it. Killed the cough instantaneously.
Fresh thyme apparently contains the chemical that is extracted for pertussin in cough medication and it has the property of calming those annoying spasmodic coughs that trail for days at the end of a cold. We mixed it with some lemon zest and made it into a quite tasty tea that worked like a charm, stilling the nighttime coughing fits.

2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp lemon zest
2 cups hot boiling water

Let the thyme and lemon zest steep in the water for several minutes, then strain it out and drink the tea. If you want to add a touch of honey or sugar, go ahead, just not too much. The tea tastes great on it's own, which makes it ideal for us no-sugar eaters.

So why the warning before? Well, if you want the full cure, read on.

To loosen up the chest congestion and ease the heat and stress on your throat, use a gargle of room temperature water and cayenne pepper. I found it best to use straight Tabasco; it mixes with the water easily.

Just use about three dashes of Tabasco sauce in 6 to 8 ounces of water, just enough to make the water look like Pink Lemonade. Gargle (and hey if you accidentally swallow there's no harm done) a few mouthfuls and have a cup of Lemon Thyme Tea to follow. Everyone I related this to has reported back that it was a resounding success.

Yum.