Mother Knows Best

by Cheng-Ling Chen — December 4, 2007

Recently my mother emailed me her special home remedy for fighting off colds. I had told her I was starting to feel one coming on and was trying to fight it off. Here is Mom's recipe:

1. a handful of small cloves of garlic, crushed
2. 3 slices of ginger, peeled
3. 3 or 4 stems of green onion heads (the white part of the scallion stem along with the brown roots, or what Mom calls, the whiskers), cleaned and chopped the length of your forefinger

Add 1, 2, and 3 to four cups of water. Bring to a boil. Then brew covered over low flame for 15 minutes. Add a pinch of salt (or not).

If you are motivated (which I was not in my stuffy haze), you can also add a few slices of chicken breast. Tastes better and fortifies your immune system to fend off the germs.

Drink the concoction while hot. (What about the ingredients, you ask. Leave them, silly, Mom wants to ease your cold symptoms, not give you a tummy ache). You'll be sweating up a storm in a few. Mom says to seal in the effects with a hot bath. Then off to bed you go.

You'll probably wake up with stinky breath (who doesn't?), but you'll feel better.