As I was out for my run last weekend, my route brought me past a garage sale. Not so unusual on a Saturday afternoon. But, the thing which caught my attention was the young girl, sitting at the foot of the driveway, selling lemonade. It brought me back to my childhood, sitting with my sisters by the side of the road, selling our wares. We sold just about anything we could think of…painted rocks, watercolor “art”, baked goods (usually cookies from a tube), and of course, lemonade. My sister assures me that there was minimal interest in our painted rocks and that we forced to lower our prices to meet the demand, which inevitably left us standing at the foot of our yard yelling, Rocks! Get your free rocks here!! Ok, so maybe the rocks didn’t sell so well, but we did sell a glass or two of lemonade. We made our lemonade fresh from a bulk-size tub of powdered Country Time Lemonade (which, incidentally, does not list lemons amongst its ingredients). We probably shouldn’t have advertised it as “fresh”. But, people would stop as they drove past and buy our lemonade (and get a free rock). Good people. Good memories. I need to remember to keep a quarter in my shoe when I run, in case I pass another lemonade stand.
So, I’ve had lemonade on my mind. But no more tubs of powdered sugar and ‘Yellow 5 Lake’ coloring for me. Today, we’re making lemonade, fresh squeezed from a bowl full of lemons. And, I can’t resist the urge to infuse it with a bit of ginger root. (I’ve got a tiny, little addiction to ginger tea.) This recipe is refreshing and not too sweet. Perfect for a picnic on a hot day!
Fresh-squeezed Ginger Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 inch piece of ginger root
- 1 cup of lemon juice (juice of about 8-10 lemons)
- 5 cups of cold water
Directions
Peel and thinly slice the ginger root. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of water with sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the slices of ginger root. Bring to a boil. Simmer for a minute or so. Remove the pan from the heat. Allow the ginger to steep in the liquid for about an hour. Strain the mixture. In a pitcher, combine the ginger syrup with the lemon juice and cold water. Refrigerate and enjoy!
The Gourmand Mom 