Ginger Basil Lemonade

We’ve been having temperatures between 28 and 38 (for the Celsius-impaired, that is 82 to 100 Fahrenheit) degrees every day since I got back from England. Whev. It’s tiring to be out in this kind of weather. But, on the plus side, it gave me an excuse to experiment with my recipe for ginger basil lemonade, and perfect it enough that I can post it here. Ginger and basil take regular, delicious lemonade and make it unbelievable.

This is literally the best lemonade I have ever had, and believe me, I’m a bit of a connoisseur. The ginger and basil just set off the lemon perfectly, and the resulting drink is less of a sweet treat than it is a delicious every-day drink. I like to have a glass after a hard day of teaching (more about that in a later post), before getting back to studying for prelims. Writing the word regular up there gave me topology-flashbacks. I can’t wait for when prelims are over, and I can start with some real graph theory work.

Ingredients (makes 10 cups of lemonade).
6 medium lemons, washed.
1 inch of ginger
10-15 fresh basil leaves
1/2-1 cup of sugar
3+6 cups of water

Start by peeling off the yellow part of the lemon peel. I recommend using a potato peeler, but you can also use a knife for this. Try to avoid the white rind, because it will make your lemonade bitter. Peel the ginger and cut into 4 or 5 large pieces. Place the lemon peel, ginger, basil leaves, sugar, and 3 cups of water in a pot. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, press the lemon juice from the lemons into a large pitcher. Strain the lemon-ginger-basil syrup into the pitcher. Add the remaining 6 cups of water. Chill overnight, and enjoy poured over ice.

PS: Does anyone know how to take good pictures of drinks? Mine always come out terrible, and I have no idea what to put in the background…