What are your go-to comforts while you’ve caught a chilly? I’m going straight for tomato soup; my husband likes mint tea. And my daughter? She will get French lemonade. Hear me out.
Anybody who’s taken a sick child to the pediatrician has heard the recommendation: don’t stress about meals; simply hold them hydrated. The primary time Margot bought actually sick (pneumonia at 18 months), the physician firmly instructed me, “Something to maintain her hydrated. Juice, Jell-O, ice cream, actually something with water content material.” I believed he was being dramatic, however I quickly realized simply how hard-headed a sick toddler might be. We actually did strive the whole lot, and every tablespoon of liquid was a battle.
I remembered that recommendation one Saturday, a 12 months later, when Margot had an everyday previous chilly. The three of us had been working errands and popped into a neighborhood French bakery, the place I noticed lemon juice on the menu. Citron chaud, relatively — in any other case often called scorching lemonade. The menu described it as the standard French system: recent lemon juice, steamed, then reduce with a splash of scorching water and simply dab of honey. In different phrases, an enormous mug of highly regarded, very bitter liquid. I checked out my droopy toddler — lips parched from one other week of complete disinterest in something remotely hydrating — and I puzzled if it’d work.
Reader, she beloved it. She virtually choked on the primary bitter sip — then dove proper again in. She beloved it a lot that, after steeling myself, I attempted a style. And immediately, I bought the enchantment. Citron chaud is bracing and warming — a pleasing jolt to the system. It someway looks like taking a shot and cozying up with a cup of tea. And generally it’s simply what the physician ordered.
Right here’s how I make it at residence:
Citron Chaud
Serves 1-2
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4-5 lemons, relying on measurement)
1/4-1/2 cup highly regarded water
1-2 tsp honey
Add lemon juice to a saucepan, and set over a excessive warmth till it simply begins to simmer. Take away from the burner and pour into mugs. You’ll be able to both pour the entire thing into one massive mug (or a small bowl, if you wish to be correctly french about it), or divide it into two. Add 1/4 cup of scorching water, and stir in 1 tsp of honey till it dissolves.
Now, take a deep breath, and provides it a style. If it makes you shout, “Hoo-ah!” like Al Pacino, then you definitely’ve made it accurately. If, after attempting, you need to take it down a notch, then go forward and add the opposite 1/4 cup of water and second teaspoon of honey. However when you’re up for it, I encourage you to strive not less than one cup at hoo-ah degree. It’s like a superb slap on the again, proper when you really want one.
Do you might have a sick-day drink or meals? I’d love to listen to about your comforts or slap-on-the-back recipes!
P.S. Three extra heat drinks for winter days, and two methods to make chai.
