Confession: my life is nothing like those bright and beautifully photographed blogs out there. (But I’m working on it – the photos at least!) I have been feeling quite tired and drained. Although having some sun today definitely helps.
White Teapot necklace by LoriennaDesigns on Etsy
With my lacklustre state in mind, I took stock of how much I have been feeding my addiction lately. My tea addiction. I have been drinking tea. Lots of it. Well with all this cold and the gloomy weather, what else am I to do? I usually lose count of how many cups I’ve had at work by the end of the day. Then I’ll finally get home and reward myself with another cuppa…
So a couple of weeks ago, I toyed with the idea of not having tea for a week. A whole week! Crazy. Setting myself up for a fail before I even start trying. That’s why it took me two weeks to even give it a go…
I woke up Friday morning worse for wear but could not imagine getting through the day on plain cold water and I’m not partial to fizzy, sugary drinks or fruit teas. Then I remembered a drink I had a while ago when I had some stomach problems. So here’s the promised first recipe with lemons in it. It’s really simple and great if you want a drink that’s both warming and refreshing. You can play around with the quantities depending on how much of a kick you want it to dish out – enjoy!
Lemon elixir with cayenne pepper and ginger
- 1 litre (about a quart) of boiling water
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/8th teaspoon of ginger powder
Simply combine the above for a nourishing drink. I add the water last so that I don’t have to stir! I do not have a lemon tree in my garden. Instead I used two lemon ice cubes from a stash I made up a little while back using PLj’s Sicilian lemon juice. I did add a slice of lemon to make it look more cheerful though – I’m stingy with my lemons like that. If it’s too sour, add some honey. It’s best not to use sugar if you want it also to soothe your gut because bacteria thrive on sugar. (Nice.)
I like to filter out all the cayenne pepper and ginger after steeping. I received an elegant Teafusion Teapot from La Cafetière last Christmas, which has a filter at the top that works on a similar principle to a standard French press. Just perfect for serving the elixir. Although if you don’t mind gulping down bits of cayenne pepper, simply stir and drink – you will get a hit at the back of the throat for some added invigoration!
This is also nice served cold straight from the fridge in the summer – a spicy lemonade if you will. Let me know if you try it – I know it’s not anything like tea, but it has lemons in it!
this is lemonade 