Did you know January is National Hot Tea Month, National Oatmeal Month, National Slow Cooking Month, National Soup Month, and National Baking Month? Me neither.

Makes sense, though, considering how nasty cold January can be (and this year it sure is). Notice how all designations are focused on something nice and hot?

So let’s talk about the first designation on the list, herbal teas. These are a delicious and easy way to increase your fluid intake and sneak in some extra nutrients. Unlike coffee (whose health benefits are highly debated) herbal teas offer the benefits and nutrients without the caffeine (and pesticides in non-organic coffee).

There are literally thousands of combinations of herbal teas, so there’s one for every palate. For instance, there’s chamomile (this flower tea is one of the most consumed teas in the world behind regular black tea), mint, raspberry leaf, sleep easy blend, lavender, chai, and stomach soother, just to name a few.

And besides the wide variety you can concoct, these teas can be very inexpensive if you buy the ingredients in bulk and mix up your own combinations! A favorite online bulk herb site is Mountain Rose Herbs (https://www.mountainroseherbs.com). I’ve mentioned these folks in other articles. I love their promise to their customers: “From product quality and sustainable packaging, to fair trade practices and watershed conservation, we take pride in doing business right. Our core belief that people, plants, and planet are more important than profit guides everything we do.” Their prices are fair and their product quality is outstanding. (I have no connection with this company—I just like to pass on good stuff when I know about it).

If you aren’t already an avid herbal tea drinker, there are some good reasons why you ought to consider it. Take chamomile. It has a naturally sweet taste with a hint of an apple flavor. It’s a good herbal source of magnesium, and is known as a soothing and relaxing herb. Because it’s mildly sedative and highly soothing, it makes an excellent drink for the evening or in times of stress. Chamomile is also an excellent herb for children and can even be an effective remedy for pink eye.

And mint tea is probably second to chamomile in popularity. Peppermint tea soothes the digestive track and is helpful for heartburn, nausea and indigestion. While it’s especially helpful during illness, peppermint combines well with other herbal teas and increases their effectiveness.

One such tea that’s made even better with peppermint is raspberry leaf tea. Alone, it has a taste similar to regular black tea and can be combined with Stevia leaf. It’s not just good in the winter, it’s great iced in the summer. Add chia seed to this tea and you have a filling power drink. Herbalists often recommend raspberry leaf tea for women suffering from infertility, PCOS, endometriosis, or painful menses.

Finally, another herbal tea we use a lot at our house is the Stomach Soother. Whether it’s a stomach ache or chronic digestive trouble, this tea is a calmer.

STOMACH-SOOTHER TEA

2 ½ teaspoons mint leaf

¾ teaspoon fennel

Pinch of dried ginger (or a little freshly grated ginger root)

Fresh lemon juice, to taste (or grated lemon zest to taste)

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over it, steep, covered for 5 minutes and consume.

Add Recipe to Cook'n

And in closing, and as a by-the-way (but with no connection to herbal teas), January 20 happens to be National Butter Crunch Day. Butter Crunch is another name for toffee, a hard candy made essentially with lots of butter (hence the name). You can go to https://www.marthastewart.com/918174/making-old-fashioned-buttercrunch to watch a very helpful video on how to make this candy that’s been around for a hundred years. It’s so easy to make that it’s often a common Christmas gift. Maybe you received some this year? We did, and it was devoured!

But in case you’ve never made this, here’s the basic recipe. I’m not sure why a day in January would be devoted to making this candy, unless it’s simply because the weather’s too nasty to do much else!

BEST BUTTER CRUNCH

Candy Base

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 pinch (hefty) salt

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

First Optional Topping

6 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped (you can easily substitute chocolate chips here)

1 ¼ cups chopped pecans

Second Optional Topping

6 ounces milk chocolate bar, chopped (again, you can substitute chocolate chips)

1 ¼ cups roasted, chopped, salted peanuts

Pinch (several) coarse sea salt (to taste)

1. Prepare a rimmed cookie sheet by lining it with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick spray; wipe with a paper towel, so that grease is not thick.

2. In a 2-3 quart heavy stainless steel or copper sauce pan melt butter at very low temperature. When butter is melted, add sugar and salt, stirring constantly. As butter and sugar blend, gradually increase heat to medium, stirring with a wooden spoon. When mixture is blended, add corn syrup. Continue to cook, using a candy thermometer to know when you’ve reached 300°F. Stir often, so mixture doesn’t burn.

3. Working quickly, pour mixture onto prepared cookie sheet. It will spread out and cover the pan in a fairly thin layer. Wait 1-2 minutes, then sprinkle chopped chocolate over the top of the toffee, spreading it out as it melts. Next, sprinkle topping choices over the chocolate, pressing quickly and lightly to encourage the nuts and salt (if using) to stick. Chill until hard and cold. Break into edible pieces and store in cookie tin or other container. Store in the refrigerator or other cool location.

Add Recipe to Cook'n