We're delighted to share our Aunt Nettie with you. She's agreed to answer any questions you might ask about food, its preparation, and even clean-up tips. But we have to prepare you. She just might want to come right over to your house and help you fix dinner.

To send any questions to Ask Aunt Nettie, .

Dear Aunt Nettie,

I keep hearing about flaxseed tea and how good it tastes but can never find a recipe for it anywhere in my cookbooks. Thought you might have one.

Sheila

Sheila, darlin',

You li'l rascal, you. You must've been readin' my mind. Why I jes sat down with my cup o' steamin' flaxseed tea, an' it sure feels mighty fine goin' down. The recipe is easy, an' I sure hope you enjoy it much as I do. Thing 'bout it is it's so good fer ya, too.

Yer ever lovin' Aunt Nettie

Many people are discouraged from making their own flaxseed tea because when heated in liquid, whole flaxseeds will become somewhat gummy and slimy. Because of this quality, flaxseeds can often serve as a binder in some recipes. However, this will not happen with ground flaxseeds that are steeped in hot liquid. This unique tea has a rich, yet delicate flavor that comforts the spirits when that craving for a soothing cup of tea comes along.

FLAXSEED TEA

1. Measure the flaxseed meal into a 2-cup (480 ml) measuring cup and fill with boiling water. Allow to steep about 12 to 15 minutes.
2. Using a fine mesh strainer, pour the steeped tea through the strainer into another 2-cup measure or small pitcher.
3. Shake a dash or 2 of ground cinnamon and sweeten to taste with evaporated cane juice. Makes 1 very large cup or 2 generous teacups of delicious flaxseed tea.

---

If You Haven't Met Aunt Nettie. . .

Our Aunt Nettie has a head like a hard disk. It's filled with gigabytes of information about food and cooking. And she's just itchin' to share her learnin' with city folk who live in mortal fear of the stovetop.

Aunt Nettie grew up on the farm. She did not eat out of a can or reach into the freezer. There was no microwave to pop her food into. Everything she made was from scratch. All the food she ate was natural, without pesticides. It was grown right there on the family farm, and she had to cook to survive. At eighty-three years young she still leaps and bounds around the kitchen and can shake, rattle, and roll those pots and pans with the best of them.

Nowadays, Aunt Nettie just shakes her head and complains, "Nobody cooks anymore. They have no idea about puttin' a meal together." She's on a mission. She wants to help those younguns eat better so they can grow up healthy like her own eight kids.

Click here for past Ask Aunt Nettie Columns