Monday, April 25, 2011

It's Hot Here. I'm Making Gingerade.

Here in Austin, summer leap-frogged (leaped frog?) spring. Hopefully, spring will happen here, if only for a few hours one day, with some strange and miraculous rain. In the meantime, summer has arrived, there's a frightening drought, and it's only going to get hotter and drier.

Feeling powerless, I do that thing people do when they don't know what else to do: I boil water. I have to do something. I make gingerade, or ginger tea. Ginger tea is a staple in many countries, and I first had it in a Korean household. Everything about it is comforting: ginger, lemon, honey. What's not to like? I didn't invent this, of course, and there are many takes on it, but my favorite is this:

Boil water, add ginger, lemon and honey, and let it simmer for an hour or three. Let it cool, and transfer it into pitchers/jars and refrigerate. It's a lovely soft drink that can be as sweet or tart as you want, doesn't have any creepy ingredients, and is cheap and easy to make.

1. Peel and slice fresh ginger (about a thumb-sized chunk)
2. Add to 2 qt. boiling water
3. Add juice from 1-2 lemons
4. Add 1/4 cup honey

Boil for 5 minutes or so, then simmer for an hour, stirring 2 or 3 times. You can add a sprinkle of cayenne for extra bite. A little goes a long way, though.

1 comment:

  1. This just gets better and better every time I make it!

    ReplyDelete