As I sit here under several blankets in thermals and a hoodie, with hot tea and honey as my sidekick, I feel energized to write about how food can be healing. I am one of the fortunate folks who rarely get sick. I can’t remember the last time I was down for the count. I mean, allergies are different and they took me out for about a day in October but it was nothing like what I am feeling today.

Body aches, fatigue, sweat and chills, sore throat, tight chest and sinuses. Yup, I’m sick.

But this is the first time I’ve been bust-out-thermometer kind of sick since I started on this supporting local lifestyle. Besides fluids and chicken soup, I wasn’t exactly sure what would be good foods to eat while possibly suffering the flu. So I googled it.

Feeling pretty confident about my trek towards eating and drinking more local, I was completely lost on the medicinal map. I remember the first time I encountered elderberry syrup was in a natural living trade group and the creator wanted eggs in exchange. I was happy to oblige and unknowingly asked, “Is it good on pancakes?” She sweetly responded with, “Well, you can but its not that kind of syrup.”

As swigging from a bottle of cough syrup was ingrained in me since childhood, today’s remedies were both foreign and familiar. The foreign was the rest as I am go, go, go and I actually have work, both on and off the farm, that can’t take a sick day. The familiar elements were what natural remedies I had on hand to help coat my throat and make me feel as though I was being cared for by my momma.

Raw honey, fresh tea, elderberry syrup, apple cider vinegar, unpasteurized yogurt, kombucha, chicken broth, garlic, and ginger were all awaiting my medicinal experiment while resting in my culinary cabinets. Even feeling as crappy as I do, it feels really good to access local remedies and not be dependent on store-bought meds that I have no idea what’s in it.

People have their own interpretation of what comfort food is but I find it comforting to use food for more than just an edible experience and allow all its properties to flourish past the first bite. I hope this new year, cold weather and all, finds everyone in good health and if not then join us at the market to cure what ails you. Be sure to come by on Wed, Jan 29th for our annual winter shin dig, Winter Farmacy, celebrating the chilling season. We’ll have live music, a fire pit, a children’s booth and more.