Now that we are in the middle of winter and cold and flu season, the folks in my neighborhood are once again relying upon what we call “brew” at the first sign of sniffles and aches. Our general recipe is about a teaspoon to a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger, three to four cloves of smashed garlic, and about a teaspoon, more or less, of cayenne papper, added to about four cups of water. Bring to a boil. Pull off the heat and add lemon juice, lemon zest, and honey to taste. You can also add tumeric, sub in apple cider vinegar for the lemon juice, and sub maple syrup for the honey. Tinker with the ingredient amounts to accommodate your taste buds and tolerances. If you live or travel through the Connecticut River valley, you also might want to stop in at Whistle Stop Café, 108 Main Street, Deep River, where Hedy Watrous offers several healing teas including hot peach, lemon, and ginger; hot elderberry, ginger, lemon, hibiscus, and currant; and Hedy’s favorite, hot lemon ginger with black currant honey. Hedy says she plans to make them available all winter long.

—Pem McNerney