Things have been a little quite around here, it feels like forever since my last post.

I was on vacation for a few glorious weeks – eating good food, carousing with loved ones, marveling at great sites and architecture, and exploring places I’d never been.

I’ve felt a little blue since returning home; consequently, this cloud of melancholy I can’t seem to shake, coupled with jetlag, has me feeling a little under the weather.
It’s gotten much colder in the few weeks that I’ve been away, so I spent the last weekend mostly in bed, with a stuffy nose and a sad heart.

I’m recuperating and hydrating, through bouts of fitful sleep and losing myself in Shondaland, my mom checks up on me, occasionally with a glass of ginger lemonade in hand. “Hydrate, hydrate… you need to stay hydrated” She says.

We’ve been making this lemonade throughout the summer; we can’t seem to get enough of it, bold and refreshing… it’s a cross between lemonade and ginger beer – and lately we’ve been adding cloves to our lemonade, a tip we picked up from B. over at Recipes from a Pantry, who does it with her ginger beer.

The heat from the ginger and cloves warms my sore tired throat and clears my sinuses, it’s calming, and the lemons deliver an invigorating kick and my much needed vitamin C.

The weather has been crisp and dry, sunny and carrying hints of the summer past, which makes this drink still perfect for the season.

I’m sure a few more sips of this lemonade, and some much needed rest will get me back to my old self in no time.

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Ginger Lemonade

INGREDIENTS

• 2 – 3 tablespoons grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/3 cup turbinado sugar (or more to taste)
• Water
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Add the ginger, cloves and sugar to a small saucepan, and add about a cup of water, enough to cover the mixture
2. Bring to a slow boil, and check that the sugar has dissolved
3. Turn the heat off and let the mixture sit 15 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooled
4. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a pitcher, pressing hard on the pulp to get all the liquid out
5. Add lemon juice and pinch of salt
6. Add about three cups of water (or sparkling water) and stir to combine
7. Taste and add more sugar or water as preferred
8. Refrigerate for a few hours, and serve over ice garnished with lemon slices and/or mint or basil
9. Enjoy!

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