One of my oldest and most fiercely wonderful friends, Diana, used to make this for me about 22 years ago when I began to feel like I was fighting off the crud. Her unflappable presence and wicked humor helped me feel better too, but I don’t know the recipe for that.

What I do know is that this has helped me more times than I can count when I felt that familiar sense of dread that I was coming down with a bad virus or some other kind of infection.

Aunt Di-Di’s Miraculous Garlic Shots

Ingredients

• 🔥 Bragg’s liquid aminos (a few squirts)
• 🔥 1 head of garlic, minced very finely
• 🔥 1–3 shakes of cayenne (to taste)
• 🔥 3 shakes of turmeric
• 🔥 Sesame &/or chili oil, to taste
• 🔥 2–4 cups water (or less)

A Quick Garlic Note (Important)

After you mince the garlic, let it sit for about 15 minutes before cooking.

When garlic is chopped or crushed, enzymes convert alliin into allicin, garlic’s potent sulfur compound. Heat deactivates these enzymes and destroys allicin, so letting the garlic rest gives the reaction time to occur before cooking stops it. This increases both flavor and antioxidant activity.

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan. Bring briefly to a boil, then let it simmer for no more than about 60 seconds. You want the garlic to still have some burn.

That’s it.

How to Drink/Eat It

You can:

• Drink it as a broth 
• Take it in a shot glass
• Scoop the cooked garlic from the bottom of the bowl and eat it with crackers

Modifications

You can also think of it as more of a kitchen sink/what-do-you have-around kind of a recipe and endlessly adapt it:

• Use miso instead of or with Bragg’s
• Use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water
• Skip the cayenne if you don’t want the heat

Serve it however it works best for you.