tea potion from a musical theatre gal

Tis the season…for runny noses, sore throats, coughs, and overall blah-ness. I like to think that, as a teacher, my immune system has built up something of an Elven fortress against little viruses and bacteria. My first year at work, I was sick with what we refer to now as “the plague” (although it was probably just the flu).

Recently, a friend of mine blogged about being sick and asked for suggestions for throat-potions. I was quick to comment with my go-to recipe, and then woke up a day later with a sore throat and cough of my own. What is this? Some kind of backwards karma? A little “lolz gotcha!” moment from fate? Not cool.

This is also terrible timing because I potentially have a voice lesson and an audition on the same day this week. What are the chances of hitting a high b-flat with a voice that sounds like it belongs to a 2-packs-a-day smoker? Yeah, that’s what I thought too.

Anyway, considering this is the time of year when everyone and their mother gets sick, I decided to post this aforementioned recipe. Now, to give proper credit where credit is due, this was a recipe that was passed down from actress to actress, in a very official place: the dressing room. I learned of this recipe from a college cast-mate in the midst of a show; she was the lead and woke up one morning with almost no voice at all. A few swigs of this magic voice-potion, and she was ready to belt her little heart out. I’m not sure why or how, but it works.

Before I post the recipe, I must warn you dear readers: this is so gross. Oh so disgusting. In fact, you’ll probably get a little queasy just reading the combination of ingredients. (Another friend of mine makes something similar called “Gollum Juice”, to give you an idea.)

The star ingredients?

Cayenne Pepper…

…and olive oil!

Disgusted yet?

M’s Throat Potion

• 1 mugful or cupful hot tea (any kind you want- but preferably not caffeinated)
• 1 – 2 tbsp honey
• 2 – 3 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tsp olive oil
• dash of cayenne pepper

Enjoy…?

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