Ginger Lemonade

A few years ago, we lived close to a Trader Joe's (well, we did live close, in miles, but the area of the Puget Sound we lived in was so gosh-darn crowded that it took about an hour to drive the 20 miles to get there!) and we'd make trips there about twice a month. There are many, many fine foods I love from Trader Joe's, but one of my faves was thier Ginger Lemonade, available with the fresh juices in the refrigerated case. Knowing Trader Joe's, there's a good chance it's not available anymore. Right now, that doesn't matter to me anyway, since I'm over 4,000 miles away from the nearest Trader Joe's. Even before I was that far away from TJ's, I started making my own Ginger Lemonade. (I say that like I do this regularly... when in fact, I only made it for the 2nd time a few days ago!) It is soooo, soooo good though, that we should all be making this regularly! In the future, I'd like to experiment with using part honey for the sugar, so it can be honey-ginger-lemonade! Note: Ginger is easy to peel; use a very sharp knife to carefully slice off the outer peel. Also, there are 4 cups of water, twice in the recipe, for a total of 8 cups.

Ginger Lemonade

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 cups water
fresh ginger root, about 3 inches, peeled and sliced into thin slices
2 cups fresh lemon juice

4 cups cold water
1 lemon, sliced

In an large saucepan, combine sugar, 4 cups water and ginger root. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Let boil 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice. Cool 15 minutes. Strain into a pitcher; discard ginger. Add the 4 cups of cold water; stir. Refrigerate lemonade at least 2-3 hours, or until chilled. Serve over ice, and garnish with lemon slices.