Cucumber Lemonade

Here is a very happy, very refreshing beverage which is easy on the stomach.  It is best when cucumbers are in season and cheaper, or whenever you want to gulp and munch at the same time.  This recipe is the reason that I'm planting 3 cucumber vines in my limited garden space... if everything goes as planned, cucumber lemonade will pass my lips daily this summer!

Ingredients
- 1/2 cucumber (but I use the huge ones from Trader Joe's, so if you have small ones you may use a whole cuke)
- 1/2 large lemon, or 1 small lemon
- 1 inch ginger
- 6-8C cold water
- peppermint sprig (optional garnish) and/or a pinch of dried mint

I like to crinkle-cut the cukes... not only is it silly and fun to look at, it also increases the surface area so that it brews more strongly.

Method
- Wash & peel the cucumber... a potato peeler works wonders.  Very thinly slice or even grate your nude cuke... the thinner the slices, the stronger the drink.
- Wash & thinly slice the lemon
- Peel & grate the ginger
- Add everything to the water, and "brew" in the fridge until chilled
- Pour over ice & enjoy!  Eat all the bits in the drink.  :)

A ceramic grater is not necessary but will definitely get the most out of your ginger (just use your water to rinse it into the jug)... thanks Mom!

Notes
- The cucumber's peel is the reason cukes sometimes give people a bad case of the burps, and also tastes a little bitter.  If you like it more bitter or don't care, leave the peel on!
- Drink within 24 hours if you like to eat the cuke slices (yum!), otherwise they start to get soggy.  I have never managed to let a pitcher go longer than 36 hours, it is so tasty.
- If you don't want to wait for this to brew, just put everything (minus the lemon peel, just use juice) into a blender and pour over ice... it'll be thick, but cold & tasty.
- It can be annoying to go through all the effort each time you make it... try making up several batches and freeze each one in a plastic baggie... plunk the frozen cuke/lemon/ginger into a jug in the fridge overnight.  It may turn out stronger, since freezing bursts the plant cells.
- Don't call it Cuke-aid... it just sounds unappetizing, hahaha.

After a few hours, it turns into cucumber lemonade.  Yum!  This pitcher is nice 'cause it lets you strain out the chunks if you're not in the mood for them.

In the interest of full disclosure, about 5 years after I threw this together and started drinking it semi-regularly, someone told me about a very similar drink called Sassy Water, in a book called the Flat Belly Diet.  I did get the book to see, and it is the same but adds twice the amount of lemon and uses spearmint instead of peppermint, with the point of filling you up and reducing bloat.




While I'm sad that I didn't make a ton of money off the recipe like the Flat Belly lady did, I do believe that it's about as filling, healthy, and refreshing as a chilled low-calorie drink can be, and I drank a LOT of it in the days leading up to my wedding.  It (or the corset!) definitely helped quite a bit.





Cucumber lemonade... a little inner beauty ritual for those times when you'd rather put the cuke slices on your tummy instead of your eyes.