Blue John

Maybe it was the stress I've been under.  Maybe it was something I ate.  (I strongly suspect the latter, and I'm fairly sure it was a combination of the two.)  In any case, I was a prisoner of the "small room" for about four hours this evening.  It was awful; you don't want the details, trust me on this.

Now it's late.  I'm tired and empty as a drum.  The wind is blowing a gale outside and there are sheets of rain lashing the house.  No way I can go to sleep like this.  I've got to have something but what?  Ginger ale would be ideal, and that's my favorite but there's none in the house.  An orange or a banana would be a bit too harsh on my stomach, and I absolutely can't face a bowl of porridge right now (even though that's a favorite, too).  My best option is Blue John, and while I'm waiting for the kettle to boil I start wondering if that's another one of my habits (like Extra-Illustration) that nobody else does anymore.

My online search wasn't entirely satisfactory (mostly it took me to pictures of rocks), and that probably means that people have pretty much forgotten.  It's a generally considered a Southern thing, and very often the name Blue John refers to skim milk.  But the way I understand it, and the way I learned it from my folks who grew up in the Depression years, is a little different; it's simple and soothing and kind to a tired tummy.

Blue John

Put the kettle on to boil with fresh water.  

(Did you know that re-boiling water takes the air out of it and makes it stale?  It does.)

In a mug (not too big;

it shouldn't hold much more than a cup), 

place 2 teaspoons of sugar 

and 1/4 cup of milk.

Pour the boiling water in the mug.  

Stir it up.  

Drink and be soothed.

I prefer to make it without the sugar but I figured my metabolism could use the kick-start tonight.  The important thing is the ratio:  1 part milk to 4 parts boiling water.

Sleep won't be far away now.  And things will look ever so much better in the morning.