An all-natural cold and flu remedy courtesy of Hot Knives

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In what can only be described as the most productive sick day ever, Evan George (one-half of the food-blogging/catering outfit known as Hot Knives), whips up his own all-natural version of NyQuil, which he calls KniQuil.

Hot Knives is known for its vegan/vegetarian value system and a love of farmers market produce, so it isn’t much of a surprise that George bristles at the long list of unpronounceable ingredients in a bottle of electric blue-colored cold and flu remedy. His alternative? A blended and boiled mixture of mint, agave nectar, ginger, lemon, olive oil, roasted green chilies, pastis and Southern Comfort.

One of the comments on the post refers to George as an ‘evil genius,’ and I would have to agree. A generous thimbleful of hot whiskey and lemon has long been my go-to self-medication at the first sign of a cold. But the concoction George comes up with is a gorgeous, all-natural highlighter green. It actually resembles something I was once given by a pharmacist in a tiny backroom apothecary in Venice, Italy. I had the kind of cough that sounded like an outboard motor underwater. Two doses of that crazy, alcohol-laced green stuff and I was as good as new.

Of course I can’t attest to the efficacy of George’s recipe, but I promise to try it next time I get smacked down by a super bug (please don’t let it be H1N1, knock on wood three times and turn in a slow superstitious circle).

-- Jessica Gelt