Family

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

In Which I Make a Homemade Tonic and We All Get Sick

And no, we didn't get sick from the tonic!

A couple of years ago this tonic recipe would come up repeatedly for discussion on an e-loop that I belong to. Everyone sang its praises as being a natural antibiotic and, in general, just good for what ails you. I finally broke down last week and bought ingredients to make up a batch. The recipe is as follows:

1 part fresh grated ginger
1 part fresh grated horseradish
1 part fresh chopped white onions
1 part fresh minced garlic
1 part fresh chopped peppers--the hotter the better. I used habernero and jalepeno peppers.
Put all into a glass jar and then cover with organic apple cider vinegar.

If you use all organic ingredients it is supposed to be better for you. I made a lot! A gallon! And no, I didn't wind up with equal parts...do you know how long it would take to grate ginger and horseradish to make two cups....or even one cup? I didn't measure, so I don't know exactly how much of anything is in there. I just hope it's enough to do us some good. This tonic mixture needs to sit for two weeks and you must shake it everyday to get it mixed up. After two weeks you strain all the veggies out and bottle up the liquid. Take 1-2 tbs when a cold or other illness hits you.

Some of the ladies mentioned that the veggies make a great relish after being separated from the vinegar. Jeff didn't wait. He has already been eating it straight out of the TONIC jar. He declares it especially good on tomato sandwiches.

Now, I made this up on Friday. We've been having some strange weather for July in MS, so Saturday we started getting sick... sore throats, sinus headaches, drainage, croup. Monday I took four of the children and myself to the chiropractor to get some relief. We did! All of the head junk moved down to our chests. Now we are all coughing and wheezing. My tonic won't be ready for another week, but guess what? The only one of us who is not or has not been sick is Jeff. And he had several helpings of the tonic relish! Hmmm...

8 comments:

Caleb said...

I'll definitely be giving your tonic a try. We use a lot of herbal remedies and homemade salves for medicinal purposes.

Anonymous said...

I used one last year with white onions, honey and lemon juices-cooked til onions soften. I found it on a natural site but it worked. Ha!

2Shaye ♪♫ said...

This same recipe came up a few years ago on a natural foods discussion group I'm a member of and I just never got around to trying it out (thanks for the reminder). However, I have used straight raw garlic as that's been known to be a great natural antibiotic for centuries. And it really does seem to keep me healthy when I remember to eat some--and it also apparently keeps the mosquitos away when it comes through your pores. Amazing! Of course, it's not so great on make out sessions with the hubster. LOL

~Shaye

Laura at By the Bushel said...

Oh this is right up my husbands alley. He's Ukranian, and horseradish & all of the other ingredients are staples in his diet. I am from the 'south' in a household where mayo was the prescribed 'sauce' for everything. ... it's been a fun ride. I'll have to try this for all the prescribed reasons, but I'm sure Eric will dip before it steeps too. This post really made me chuckle. I neeeed to do this mix. Best- always, Laura
p.s. laminating and cutting out for an official school start on Monday. Using the Konos Timeline... :) will post pictures soon! Nothing new on my blog yet, I've just been surfing for inspiration then, back to work!

Cardamom said...

Hmmm, my husband would LOVE this as well. We're trying to grow horseradish.

You poor things, getting sick! It does make you think, eh? Start diving into that "pickle" jar!

I posted about a garlic rub a few weeks ago(it might work for your chests and coughing) it'll only take an hour before it's ready. We find it really breaks up coughs. http://www.cardamomspod.com/2009/07/wfmw-great-garlic/

Praying you're well soon!

Heather Brandon said...

Oh this is SO FUNNY! Thanks for the recipe! It sounds like the poultice we made for Macrae earlier this year when Dr. Moeller said he had croup. (I was wondering if it was the beginning of whooping cough) Anyway, with the raw garlic, you have to constantly keep it moving or else it will burn & blister the skin. Macrae let us know when to move it, too. He only had it 3 days & the first one was before diagnosis! I do like things tinctured better in apple cider vinegar as opposed to vodka, but vodka breaks down the root herbs better. Just sweeten with food grade glycerin! Hannah is posting herbal recipes on her new blog, Adventurers in Zion.

Em said...

Thanks for posting this, Anita! I use a paste of Unrefined coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, and lots of fresh minced garlic for EVERYTHING during "sick seasons", and it works great. I also use lots of the ingredients in your tonic as poultices, as Heather stated. I can see from the ingredient list how this would be an excellent antibiotic and all around great "medicine". I'm definitely going to have to make some up before Fall! Thanks again!

Kimberly @ RaisingOlives said...

Wow, thanks for the recipe. I need to put it on my to do list.

Also, thanks for using the term "mulit-level teaching". You are right, much better than multi-grade teaching. None of my children know what grade they are in either.

Thanks Anita!

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