Image Source: Manolo Salas
Afro-Dominican herbalist Suhaly Bautista-Carolina likes to make a fire cider in advance of seasonal changes, when our immune systems are likely to be compromised. This medicinal tonic's herbs and vegetables have a full moon cycle (27.5 days on average) to stew in apple cider vinegar. Sipping on some of this remedy is great to brighten your mood and boost your immune system all winter long.
"I recommend 1-2 tbsps daily when you're feeling healthy and using this tonic to build immunity. When I'm feeling sick, I double the dosage. It can be taken straight or mixed into juices," Bautista-Carolina tells POPSUGAR. "Every season, we experience a new fire cider recipe in my home, but it's always sweeter than any other I've tried, because we love sweet medicine in my household. Fire cider is very intuitive, and everyone will have a different version in the end."
Bautista-Carolina believes her journey into plant work has revealed a collective hunger for the ancestral healing more people are seeking. She began formally studying plant medicine eight years ago as an alternative to the seizure medications with "a laundry list of side effects" that Western doctors prescribed for her wife's migraines. In 2018, after the birth of her daughter Luna, she began making and sharing her own herbal medicines under Moon Mother Apothecary.
"I usually make a few big batches, one for my family and loved ones, and another for the online shop at Moon Mother Apothecary. It's also the perfect plant medicine for the creative kitchen witch, since there's not just one way to make it," Bautista-Carolina said. "I start with an old recipe, figure out what we are needing more of, and make the appropriate additions from there."
Ingredients like pungent peppers, garlic, ginger, horseradish and onion fill your body with antioxidants, clear your airways, and improve your digestion. Suhaly grew up with her AfroKisqueyan mother, who often left bubbling pots of food and plant medicines on the stove in their Brooklyn home. She feels the universe has brought her full circle to her starting point as someone returning to the ancestral wisdom that so many people are cut from in the history of migration. Today, she is proud to contribute her medicine and knowledge to new generations.
"As a child, I am told I gravitated naturally to the elements. I loved the beach, was fascinated by the sky, and I could appreciate every living thing in the bustling city around me. I could extract the natural world from the noise. I watch the ways my daughter does this now," Bautista-Carolina said. "I've been on this journey ever since, learning and growing, sharing and receiving, dreaming, and deepening my practice alongside my community, my family, and brilliant, visionary collaborators and friends."
Image Source: Suhaly Bautista-Carolina
Notes
Recommended dosage: 1-2 tbsps daily when you’re feeling healthy to build immunity. When you're feeling sick, double the dosage. It can be taken straight or mixed into juices.
Ingredients
1 large organic onion, chopped2 heads organic garlic, crushed
1 organic lemon, juice and pulp
1 organic orange, juice and pulp
5 star anise
5 dried bay leaves
1 handful dried elderberries
1/2 cup fresh grated organic ginger root (or organic ginger root powder)
1/2 cup fresh grated organic horseradish root (or organic horseradish powder)
1 tablespoon organic turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon. organic cayenne powder
2 tablespoons dried rosemary leaves
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Organic apple cider vinegar (enough to fill the jar)
1/2 cup of raw, local honey (add more depending on taste)
5 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon peppercorns
4 sprigs organic thyme (fresh or dried)
*some recipes call for (2) jalapeño or habañero peppers*
