Old Fashioned Lemonade

By Becca

I have a cold… it's really a bummer.  Isn't it weird to catch a cold in June?  It shouldn't be possible, it's not cold out! : (
Anyhow… enough complaining.
One thing that has helped me these few days is lemonade.  It's not just any lemonade, it's a special recipe I sorta made myself.  It's mostly inspired from this lovely little cookbook.

Here is the recipe for "Becca's Special Cold Tonic Disguised as Delicious Lemonade"

4 cups water                             1 1/3 cups lemon juice


Zest of two lemons                  2 cups raw honey

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger (optional. But if you have some, put it in!)

Boil the water, lemon zest and ginger until the water turns yellow, smells wonderful and lemony.
While that boils, you can juice your lemons. Or you can cheat and open a bottle of lemon juice : )  Unless you have spectacularly huge lemons, the two lemons you just zested won't give you 1 1/3 cups of juice and bottled juice makes a fine supplement.
Oh, and while you're waiting for the lemon/ginger infusion you can wrestle two cups of honey out of your honey jar.

When the lemon/ginger tea ( which essentially is what you made ) is done, strain and pour into a two quart pitcher.  Dissolve the honey in the tea then add the lemon juice.
Dilute with cold water to taste. ( I top off the pitcher.)

Lemons are packed with vitamin C and are great for helping colds.
Honey is antibacterial and antiviral, also terrific.
Ginger helps boost the immune system.

You can make this when you're sick, or just when you're craving a refreshing drink on a summer day!