Christine’s recommended Pineapple and Ginger natural Cough mixture..

The great thing about having a Facebook page is that you can have a moan – in this case about the virus that ended my Christmas festivities shortly after Boxing day – (it’s been going around; loads of people had it) Not only do you get sympathy, but sometimes you even get helpful suggestions.

This, from my cousin Christine, is one such recommendation.. In my usual spirit of giving credit where it’s due, Christine (actually, Christine’s friend Vera!) found this recipe on a blog called The View from Great Island.

I was impressed with myself that I actually had all the required ingredients to hand, but the fact is that it was shortly after Christmas, and the house was still filled with goodies that I hadn’t managed to use up (due to being – you know – sick).

I enjoyed making this, and I’m sipping it from a shot glass, which seems to be somewhere like the proper-sized dose, but also makes me feel cool. (tragic, I know..) but get this – I’m not coughing!

Can I ask you please to read the all the NOTES before you put this together?

EQUIPMENT:

•  a Food processor, or a blender- we have a Magimix blender, which was bought at great expense by Mr Sat. Night, and has only been used 3 times, each time by me. So I used that; it makes him feel good 😉 If you have a Smoothie maker, it’s ideal for this recipe..

• Sharp knife
• Sterilised jar or clean container to hold your ‘medicine’
• A sieve, if you’re going to strain it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 thick slices of fresh pineapple, skin and ‘eyes’ removed, but core left in. Cut into smallish chunks.

• a thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips.
• juice of a lemon.
• 2 dessertspoons of honey – any kind
• a tiny, tiny bit of Cayenne pepper – optional ( see NOTES)

 

 

METHOD:

• Put everything into your processor and blitz until smooth – this may take a little while.
• Now you can either strain it, or keep it as it is, and transfer into your chosen container. I like that more ‘fruit-pulp’ feel, so I didn’t bother straining it. Addendum: see NOTES!

• Refrigerate, and take it as you feel you need it. Give it a good stir before you use it.

NOTES:

• As regards using this for kids, (and here I mean 10 years old +) It’s important that you ensure that they’re not allergic to any of the ingredients. I remember as a kid, how fresh pineapple made my lips go funny, so just be careful before you feed it to them. There are enzymes in Pineapple that can cause an allergic reaction.
• I don’t know if it’s just the brand of Cayenne pepper that I use, but even the smallest amount will blow your head off. Therefore I recommend that you definitely don’t add it if you’re giving this to kids.. And add just a little to see how it feels to you. Always remembering that you can add more, but not subtract it.. UPDATE: it seems to me that the Cayenne  becomes stronger as you store the mixture. Therefore I’d recommend using only the smallest amount possible
• I’m drinking this from a shot glass. I know I’m too old to be cool, but can I just say that during the time I’ve been writing this recipe that I haven’t coughed once? Impressive or what??
• According to the Blog, it lasts a week in the fridge.
• Update: Once this magic potion has sat in the fridge for a while, the fibrous bits seem to intensify, so I think I’ll probably strain it the next time. I’d certainly strain it for kids – all that ‘fishing-bits-out-of-your-mouth’ wouldn’t go down well with them!