Foodie Friday: Proven cold remedies (hot buttered bourbon and hermit cookies)

As those of you who follow me on Twitter are no doubt aware (@Shufflersunite), I have been down with a cold since last Saturday (exactly how I wanted to spend my long weekend – coughing). I don’t get sick very often but apparently when I do, I go down like a rock. I can count the number of hours I’ve spent off my couch in the last six days with one hand. Mr. Shuffler has been doing an excellent nursing job – fetching me new tissue boxes, taking me for slow walks so I can get some fresh air, saying “poor baby” every hour on the hour. He’s also been very busy in the kitchen making home cold remedies. Here are two of my favourites:

Hot buttered bourbon

1 generous tbsp. Brown sugar

1 cinnamon stick

Lemon peel

6 whole cloves (optional – we had already run out)

Boiling water

2-3 oz. Bourbon (we used Jack Daniel’s)

Pat of butter

Grated nutmeg

Rinse a large mug with boiling water and add brown sugar cinnamon stick and a lemon peel (add cloves at this point, if you have them). Pour in a little boiling water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add bourbon and fill with boiling water. Stir, then place pat of butter on top of drink, and sprinkle with grated nutmeg.

This drink packs a lot of health benefits (she said with her tongue firmly in cheek): the lemon peel has vitamin C, nutmeg has antibacterial properties, cloves contain a compound thought to benefit the heart and the bourbon does an excellent job of soothing and numbing a sore throat.

Hermits (from Company’s Coming Most Loved Cookies)

1 cup hard margarine (or butter), softened

1.5 cups brown sugar, packed

3 large eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. Baking powder

1 tsp. Baking soda

1 tsp. Ground cinnamon

½ tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. Ground allspice

1 cup raisins (we used Golden raisins)

1 cup chopped pitted dates

2/3 cup chopped walnuts (or your favourite nuts)

Cream margarine and brown sugar in large bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Combine next 7 ingredients in medium bowl. Add to margarine mixture in 3 additions, mixing well after each addition until no dry flour remains.

Add remaining 3 ingredients. Mix well. Drop, using 1.5 tbsp. For each, about 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets. Bake in 375°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes until golden. Let stand for 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

1 cookie: 130 calories; 5.5 g total fat; 19 g carbs; 1 g fibre; 2 g protein

Again, lots of health benefits here: the walnuts have omega-3 fatty acids, dates and raisins have fibre that help lower cholesterol, allspice has anti-inflammatory properties.

So you can see, I’m in good hands. It’ll be no time at all before I’m back on my feet and shuffling through my runs.