Tis the Season of Cinnamon

Something about autumn and winter just cry out for cinnamon. Just breathing in that lightly sweet spiciness lifts your spirits, invigorates you and warms you right up.  Some of it's properties include stimulant, anaesthetic, antispasmodic, cardiac and aphrodisiac. In general, it's just good for you.

 It is a tonic for the entire system.

As the cold and dark days move in, I think we look for that feeling of sunshine - warm and tingly. That's what cinnamon does - give us a sunshiny feeing.

Here are a few things you can do to spice things up over the cold winter months:

- Infuse cinnamon into some honey. Simply break up a few sticks and put into a honey jar. Let that set for a week or longer and you have cinnamon honey for tea, toast, salad dressing - whatever!

- Cinnamon sugar on french toast - yum!

- Chai tea - another yum. Check the Herb Companion for some wonderful recipes.

- I use it as a warming ingredient in my liniment and also in Téigh Rub.

- Simmer cinnamon sticks on some water on the stove or broken pieces in a diffuser and just enjoy the wonderful bright and warming scent.