Herbal Secrets

My mom has been giving us different teas to take care of many different ails.


I recently saw her give a tea to my aunt, for her swollen eye. I don't know if it was pink eye or "aire", as us mexicans call it. Either way, I went on to search the english name of this plant and found some very interesting facts. "Ruda" or "Garden Rue" has been used for centuries.


It is NOT to be ingested.....please remember DO NOT INGEST! It may cause ingestion problems. If you are pregnant, just stay away from the plant all together. It is believed that the oils from the plant are abortive. Wow, this is something that I bet my mom doesn't know.


Okay, so what do we use it for then. Well, like I said, it is good for hemorrhoids, which means that you must make a tea of it. You can apply it with a cotton on anything that is swollen. It says that it is good for insect bites too.

The only problem with this rememdy is that it is not readily available for everybody. My parents have it here in their yard and they are very happy to give you some to replant or just to use. But, if you are further away, you might have to ask your relatives or friends that have gardens to see if they have the plant.

First Recipe!

Okay, so this is not an actual Tola recipe, but considering that I have been working on a recipe for the past few days (and it is something I make all of the time) and can't seem to get it right, I am going to post this recipe for now...

Caramel Macchiato

16 ounce cup
3 pumps vanilla syrup
Steamed milk
2 shots of espresso
Caramel

In a 16 ounce cup, place 3 pumps of vanilla, then pour steamed milk, with about 1/4 inch of froth at top. Pour the 2 shots of espresso over the froth and then criss cross caramel over the top and enjoy!

To make a Milky Way Macchiato, replace the 3 pumps of vanilla, with 3 pumps of mocha. But, this version tastes better cold. It is soooo good.

Recipes are hard!!

Don't get me wrong! Recipes are wonderful to follow, but very difficult to put together. How do you write down a recipe when you just add the amount of stuff that looks right. It is a pain in the neck to measure stuff and then when I do measure it, it looks like it is too much or too little. Ok, so I will put recipes on here, but give me time as I have to make sure they are correct.

As my brother plainly put it to his wife, "What are you going to do when you lose the little cup that my mom gave you to measure the rice with?" Exactly my point! We don't use measuring cups, we use the recycled plastic bin from our cream cheese to measure our rice in. And, taking the rice that fits in that cup and actually putting in to a measuring cup to see exactly how much we use is..well, too much work!

But, I have taken on the challenge, (I should have thought this through, when I started it), but because I don't want anyone to die from lack of real tamales or pozole, I will rock on!!!

We all have something to share!!!

Adee Wrote "Also, you take about 5 prunes, put them in a glass of water, sprinkle lots of flaxseed, let it sit over night and early in the morning (or at night) drink/eat it. It's sick as all hell but it sure does work. I found this out when I was constipated in Costa Rica! And then after taking it once Manfred's mom thought I had REALLY liked it and made me a glass of that crap every night! It was SICK but it sure made me shit the following day."

This is awesome! See, we can all learn from each other! I'll moderate the comments and if anybody has any great ideas I'll add them to the blog. This is wonderful!!!

We've all heard of this one...

When you have fever and vomit, this is what you do...

In a saucepan, heat 1 tblsp. of alcohol and fold in a scrambled egg. Let it cook on one side and then turn it. On one half place 4 cloves and 2 sticks of cinnamon, then flip the other side of the egg over, kind of like an omelette.

Take the "omelette" and put in a clean cloth and enclose the egg, then when it has cooled down a little, spread another tsp. of alcohol on the egg cloth and place the entire thing on the belly button of the sick person, not yours, unless you are the sick person! Leave it on there until the egg has completely cooled down.

I remember my mom making this for me several times when I was a kid and I do believe that it worked. I don't know exactly know why, but just do it and don't ask any questions!

Ate too much?

If you ate too many tamales or sushi and are feeling really bloated or you have a little bit of tummy pain with a headache then...

Mix in a glass, juice from two lemons (the mexican kind are better =)), two tsps. sugar amd one cup of club soda. Then place a tsp. of Baking Soda in your mouth (on your tongue) and slowly drink the mixture. If it starts to fizz too much, slow down and let the fizzing go down. Drink the entire mixture and the baking soda should be gone.

Lay down and let it work. You should start burping (alot) soon.

Baby Colic

My brother's two month old baby was suffering from colic....not sleeping soundfully because he would wiggle and moan and then start crying as if in pain.

My mom rubbed his belly with baby oil. In a soft rotating motion. Then covered him up really good, making sure that his back was warm. Then she gave him warm chamomile tea and the kid slept really good and he stopped moaning almost instantly.

Chamomile tea is found at any store, (manzanilla)...you can even buy the Calm Tea at Starbucks and you have yourself a remedy.

Constipat**n

When you have this awful feeling that you can't GO, boil about four or five prunes in about one cup of water. You drink this syrupy liquid and the prunes as hot as you can handle it. Then, you just sit back and let it work.

Do this twice a week as needed to cleanse your tummy!

Have a headache? Have a potato?

So this weekend one of my aunt's, you know who you are, was feeling a little under the weather. For her headache, my mother applied a headband, sprinkled with alcohol and placed two slices of fresh potato on her temples, underneath the headband. This was worn for about an hour. Apparently the freshness of the potato helps in some strange way to aleviate the pounding on the temples.

We suggest you don't try this while driving yourself anywhere, as the smell of the alcohol can cause, not only the police officer to think your suspicious of something alcohol related, but if you are wearing a blue or red headband, you can be flagged as a gang member of certain rival gangs in and near the Los Angeles area. So, if you must travel during the treatment, do as the intelligent aunt did this weekend...in the middle of the night, on the passenger side of a dark SUV, with the seat tilted as far back as you can, without squishing the "abuelita" in the back seat!

P.S. If you refer to the bold type, you can easily see the ingredients you will need on any post.

What Secrets?

Well, this blog is actually administered by Cecy, Tola's daughter, at the request of some family members this past weekend. I agree that it is a great idea and therefore, this blog has been born.

Here, I will post all of my mom's secrets on health, beauty and of course, FOOD! This way all of her old school remedies and recipes can have a home!

I will post remedies for headaches, stomach aches, dizziness, hangovers. Actually anything that I hear my mom say. This can also be the home of other people's secrets, of course I will ask for permission before posting.

Okay, so visit us when you are sick or hungry and we'll be sure to have something for you!