Shameless Brewery Plug

Here's a quick tip for beer afficianados passing through Albuquerque: You simply must stop in at the Chama River Brewing Co. (pictured above). My husband and I have rapidly converted to the status of "regulars". While we're not quite as enamored with the food (which is good but not amazing), we LOVE the beer. We love it so much, we want to marry it! (Okay, we're already married, but polygamy with a bottle of the most delicious beer doesn't sound too bad. We could move to Utah...)
Anyway, returning to the subject, the standard menu beers (all brewed on location) are good solid choices, but the best beers are the rotating seasonals. Last night we tried the double IPA (hoppalicious!) at a whopping 8.5% alcohol, and the ESB, also very good.
My all time favorite is the pumpkin ale, but I've got to make it until autumn to try that one again. Pumpkin spice just doesn't seem right on a beautiful spring day, when one should be sampling a hefeweizen with fresh lemon. Here's another good tip: Wednesday night is pint night and all pints (except a few special ones) are $2. Where else can you find a deal like that?
While you're there, try the cheese & ale fondue appetizer. Last night, it seemed like everyone was ordering it. And when is cheese ever wrong? I can't think of a single occasion.
Chama is located on the west side of I-25, just south of the Montgomery/Montano exit on the southbound frontage road. Until I learn to brew my own, I will be hanging out there!

Steer clear of the butterbur!

I promise that this will be my last blog entry on the tea subject. One can only flog (or blog, heh heh!) an issue so much, and then one simply must move on to greener pastures and more fascinating themes. But in the meantime, I will share what I've discovered. For one thing, it seems to be much easier to find herbal decongestants that herbal antihistamines. You may not realize it, but you're already familiar with this stuff. Eucalyptus, peppermint and licorice teas are all good decongestants. And as it turns out, I don't have to grow the herbs in my back yard after all, because I already have a delicious Egyptian licorice tea, and a nasal passage-opening peppermint tea right in my very own cupboard. I don't know if they're going to get rid of the bags under my eyes (maybe the antihistamine is what I really need for that), but they sure clean out the old schnozzle. As for herbal antihistamines, I came across a plant called "butterbur". But I must caution you, everything I read said that certain parts of the plant are extremely toxic to the liver and can even result in liver failure. Thanks but no thanks, I say. I'd rather have the bags under my eyes. So... any requests for my next topic?



"Giant Butterbur" from http://www.nic.fi/~hit/digikuvia/kevat2004/DSCN0991.JPG

Maybe Western Medicine Ain't So Bad

I really wanted to be able to say that the herbal decongestant tea worked great, but the truth is that it didn't do a damn thing. I'm still all plugged up, with those fabulous "allergic shiners" and the fluid in my ears. What's the next step? Well, before I give up completely on alternative medicine, I'm going to do a little research to find out which plants offer the best natural decongestants. Then, to ward off all of those potential contaminants that you can get in herbal supplements, I'm going to grow my own plants and make my own tea. Yahoo! Since I've just set up a drip irrigation system for my vegetable garden, and will be sowing the seeds within the next few days, I'll just add my herbs and voila! The experiment continues...



Anon, published by J. L. Marks, 27 Artillery Street, Bishopsgate, London. From the University of Virginia Health Sciences Library.

Tea For Two, and You Can Breathe!

Today was my annual doctor's appointment. I have decided that no matter how old you get, it is never any fun to go to the doctor. In fact, it probably just gets worse, as they break more and more bad news to you about your aging body: "Your cholesterol is too high," "You've gained ten pounds since last year," "You've got arthritis," "You're one birthday cake away from senility," etcetera, etcetera.

This time, I was informed that I had fluid in my ears and "allergic shiners." These are puffy bluish bags under your eyes, not caused by some pop fly ball or a rough night at Fight Club, but by none other than... the dreaded allergies. Who knows which ones? Pet dander, juniper pollen, all that nasty dust from the carpets at work that look like they haven't been vacuumed in 20 years. Any of these could be the culprit. And I am simply not sick enough, nor concerned enough to get a skin test to find out.

You're probably wondering at this point why I'm talking about health-related issues on a food and travel blog. Fair enough. But there is a connection, I assure you, dear reader! My ever-so-cool doctor knows I am not big on taking medications. They're expensive, they're cumbersome (you have to remember to take them every day), they have yucky side effects most of the time, and they have a certain quality not unlike that creepiness of processed foods. You know, kind of chemical-y.

Alternative medicine to the rescue! My ever-so-hip doctor steered me away from all of those expensive antihistamines and recommended, drum roll please... tea! Now you see what this has to do with food. Unfortunately for anyone who is seeking a little more detail on the tea, I read the list at the herb store, and have since completely forgotten all of the ingredients. The label just says "decongestant tea". What's more, I haven't tried it yet. But if it works, I will head back to the store and write down all of those wonderful ingredients and let you know exactly what's in it.

Before I sing the praises of herbal medicines, however, I always feel it necessary to mention a couple of caveats and words of caution. First, beware expensive prices. Depending on the medicine and where you purchase it, you can easily blow as much or more on alternative medicines as you would on the prescription ones. Second, just because it's "natural" does not mean it's safe. Allow me to illustrate a few examples: black widow spider bites are very natural, sasparilla (or sarsparilla) root is a potential carcinogen, banned by the FDA, but still available as an herbal. Many plants have serious toxic properties. My point is to do your research before you dive into something of this nature. Most herbs are not regulated by the FDA, meaning that they haven't been tested, the method of processing is unknown and can occasionally contain other contaminants that may be harmful to you even if the herb itself isn't. Find a trusted source, and do your homework! I'll let you know how the tea works. Stay tuned...