The Medicine Woman’s Roots is having a blogparty! I have no idea what that is, but it sounds like fun. Apparently, to participate, you’re supposed to write a blog post on the topic of “Sweet Medicine” – “the many delicious ways of preserving herbs, from cordials and elixirs to meads to herbal honeys and syrups!” I am the most amateur of amateur herbalists, but I did once take an herbal medicines class at Raccoon Creek State Park where they taught me to make horehound cough syrup. It’s basically just a mixture of horehound tea and honey, it tastes delicious, and it works like a charm. The natural response to trying it out, in my experience, is, “Mmm, this is good! Now, how can we maximize the honey content?”

Honey is amazing stuff. Archaeologists have found 2,000-year-old jars of honey in Egyptian tombs – still edible. It’s antibacterial, antimicrobial, cures coughs and sore throats and wounds and burns, lasts forever, and tastes great as long as you allow yourself to forget that you’re basically eating bee barf. You can put honey in your herbal tea. You can drink cough syrup made partly from honey, partly from herbal tea. Or you can cut out the middleman, dump the herb right in the honey, and just grab a spoon and dig in while nobody’s looking. This has become my preferred method.

Now, mind you, I’ve never infused herbs in honey. I just found out this was possible after about five minutes on Google. But now I must have it. Specifically, I must have this chai honey of which Ananda Wilson speaks:

This is pretty self explanatory! Traditional Chai spices can be added to honey for a sumptuous addition to hot milk. Ground cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove, and nutmeg are herbs that you can add for this blend. Add mostly the cinnamon and cardamom, then you can play with the others, to see what you like the best. Nutmeg should be the least amount added.

I have half a mind to go out and get some raw honey (though where I might find it around here in suburbia, I have no idea) and try a few of these recipes. I’ll come back and tell you guys about it when I do. Although bear in mind, I may end up using evil, pasteurized honey out of necessity. Just a heads-up.