Burn Baby Burn: Fire Cider for Health

Fire cider...what is is and what is is good for?

Well, essentially its the yummiest, easiest way to get yr immune tonics and modulators in yr system any time of the year but especially in the winter months. Why would i want to "modulate" or "tone" my immune system, you may ask: these specific actions of herbs and foods are what actually keep you from getting sick, worn down and help you maintain a healthier you all around. Generally, they do not strongly stimulate the immune system (though some do to varying degrees) or act as intense anti-microbials which kill bacteria and viruses. Though stronger herbal antibiotics (like the Berberines, such as Golden Seal) may be called for in times of illness, they are not the choice for preventing illness and maintaining health. Your immune system wants to be nurtured, if you will, and nourished so it can do the job it was intended to do: keep you well!

The foods/herbs in a basic Fire Cider elixir recipe are great for the nurture and the nourishing! Fire Cider is very warming, can generate circulation, and get your pores open for you to sweat. Plus it is safe to be taken everyday. Everyone tweaks their own Cider recipe to their taste and body and its fun to add different roots or what not and see how its turns out.

Here's a basic recipe to start with: (makes about two quarts)
*Note: Everyything in this recipe should be finely chopped or grated and the finer you chop or grate the ingredients the stronger the medicine - but, i'm pretty lazy and don't like to grate too much and mine turn out fabulous.

One medium to large onion
6 Cloves Garlic
1 Cup Chopped or 1/2 C Grated Ginger
1 Cup Choped or 1/2 Cup Grated Horseradish (Warning: this will really go to yr head when yr grating and give you that Wasabi burn/high)
One Lemon - Zested
3-6 Medium Chilis (i use Jalapenos from my garden)
1-1 1/2 Quarts Apple Cider Vinegar

Mix all the stuff together and fill two quart jars or a half-gallon jar. Pour in the Apple Cider Vinegar, making sure to cover all the food. Put a piece of wax or parchment paper on the top (prevents the vinegar from corroding the metal lids) and screw on the lid and store out of direct sunlight. Most ppl let it sit for one to two months before straining. I recommend, if you have some dirt you can dig into, to bury the jars (i would just bury it up to the lid so you remember where it is!). This really mellows the elixir and makes it quite palatable.

***Optional: Try adding some shredded burdock root or if you have fresh dandelion root for their liver cleansing properties - dandelion is pretty strong tasting though.

Uses: As a daily tonic - from a few droppers full to a shot to get you started.
Mixed with some honey for a cough
My favorite is as a condiment. Use it as you would use any vinegar: salad, soup, eggs, etc.
***if you add some nettles, alphalfa, rosemary, and raspberry leaf you will
also have a great way to get yr minerals.

Check out this site for more Fire Cider informaition!

Homo Homesteading Tour - Oct. 25th

Hello lovelies!

As i sit and draw out my winter garden, i notice that my three little lady friends are swooping and jumping and generally performing daring feats of chicken madness. i also notice that my fig tree will just not ripen, the huge apples from my neighbors yard are conveniently dropping on my side of the fence, and that i have enough zucchini to make vats of relish to can for a year! i guess i notice that things can be and are good in the City. i'm noticing more and more as each year goes by that San Francisco is my home, that this is the place i want to make "my piece of land," my dream. i know many of us have had or do have visions of "some communal land with our friends" on which to do any assortment of things: art, farming, healing, educating, experimenting, living. This is a complex vision of course and for many of us just may not happen. However, we are all living here, in this Gay Bay NOW and some of us intend to stay around for while - so, what are we doing to make this area our "piece of land," how are we "getting back to the land" without leaving the city.

THIS is the focus of the Homo Homestead Tour that i am organizing for this Fall (and hopefully more). On the heels of the successful Queer Garden Bike Tour that DirtStar organized earlier in the summer, i am now wondering what are we fabulous queers doing in our lives, our homes, our kitchens, our gardens that make us feel more connected to eachother, to the dirt that is there, to our food...

I would like to showcase Gay(ass) Gardens and Witchy Kitchens on this Fall tour with an emphasis on getting our lives ready for Winter in the Bay Area. This could look like planning a winter garden, explaining how yr grey water system works, showing off the stockpile of perserves, ferments, and krauts you are setting up for the winter, teaching about winter herbs to be taking... This initial Tour will be three to four spaces in San Francisco (NEXT one is the East Bay), which will be toured by bicycle - but there will be driving/PT directions and times for those who wish not to bike.

The tour will be Sunday Oct. 25th
and kind of an all day affair (times TBA)