Cumin Ginger Tea

Half pack—not looking so bad.

To make things more interesting, in the wee hours of the morning the day before we left I came down with a stomach/intestinal bug. This made for a very slow day of packing that was not planned to be a slow day…which spilled over into a late departure the next day.  Life and skiing are both about adjusting to stay in balance, so we did, and let go of plans.

The lucky flip to the story that we discovered while driving is that our late departure meant we missed the heaviest part of the snowstorm that was pummeling the middle of Wisconsin. The roads were still a bit gnarly and we drove 35-45 miles per hour turning a 5 hour trip into an 8 hour trip, but we were not one of the numerous poor souls sitting in the ditches with their engines running to give them warmth until the tow trucks arrived.

.

.

Full pack—oh yeah.

Heading out to our first ski in this winter wonderland I was nervous I had forgotten everything I had learned; nervous because I was out of shape; nervous that it was a stupid idea to pilgrimage to this ski-mecca and be ski bums if I couldn’t remember how!  Cable’s North End trails were a lovely corduroy and we skated our first 7K loop without poles, fluid technique emerges easier when there are no crutches to prop you.

And it was good.

whew.

I had thought this Cumin Ginger tea would be great in ABR‘s remote cabin so had planned it for this week’s post….little did I know I would be drinking it to ease my very troubled internals last week!  Six remedies saved me from deep misery with this bug: cumin-ginger tea, chicken stock, gf ener-g crackers, activated (edible) charcoal, bentonite clay and saunas. I think I would still be in bed at home if not for these little wonders.

Heating tea water and drying ski boots with the stove at Rock Fence Cabin.

Cumin and ginger are both digestive aids, and cumin a sleep-friendly ingredient so this is a great after dinner tea.  Read some great information on cumin here, and this site links to studies on the health benefits of cumin.

I have heard cumin tea can also induce labor…just to note….

Ding Ding Ding!

I would like to announce we have a Winner from last week’s name-that-gadget contest!  Colleen from North Carolina—congratulations on seeing with a ski geek’s eyes!  Honorary mention goes to Betsy from Arizona for letting us know the clamp also qualifies for the fuddlegig market.

Cumin Ginger Tea

Add to a pot or sauce pan:

3 cups of water

1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds for 2 minutes

1 teaspoon Ginger, grated or chopped

Simmer for 15 minutes

Strain into a teapot.

Add:

1 teaspoon Honey

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Drink right away!  

For another cumin tea, try the Ayurvedic mixture of Cumin, Coriander and Fennel tea. 

.

.

This is where great sleep happens…