We've been using Instacart for
over a year now, and it has been a lifesaver! Especially in the last few weeks. Since we've been using it, most of our shoppers have been excellent. I can really only remember once or twice when we were brought the wrong thing. Lately, Instacart has hired a bunch of new shoppers, and in the last few weeks I can tell we've had some newbies shopping for us.
For example, on this particular day, we were brought 1 pound of ginger when we requested just 1 piece of ginger. This is the same shopper who also picked out seltzer water instead of tonic water. We laughed about it, but then wondered what the heck we were going to do with seltzer and a pound of ginger. (Our Publix has not been accepting returns of any kind during the pandemic.)
As the saying goes, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. So that's what we set out to do! It took some brainstorming, but it finally donned on us to make ginger ale. It ended up being so delicious, I had to write about it!
Here's the recipe:
Ginger Syrup
Peel and chop 1 and 1 half cup ginger.
Add to 2 cups of water, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes after that.
Strain out the water into a pitcher, squeezing the ginger to get all the liquid out. (A sieve would be useful here, but we just used my lemon juicer.)
Return liquid to the saucepan, add 3/4 cup sugar and a pinch of salt. Cook on medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Chill. (This syrup lasts a week in the fridge.)
Now, here is where you will do something different than we did. We own a
Ukeg, which is a pressurized keg. Usually we use it for beer, but it will also keep soda carbonated. If you aren't putting your drink in something like this you will have to assemble your drinks when you are ready to drink!
To assemble your ginger ale:
1/4 cup ginger syrup
1 teaspoon lime juice
3/4 seltzer water
Over ice!
(This ratio is really to taste. We actually added more seltzer because the ginger was so strong.)
If you have a keg like us, you just mix everything into a pitcher, and then add to the keg.
This drink is just absolutely so refreshing, and perfect for an outdoor picnic or bbq. I may even have had it for breakfast. 😊
Leave a comment below and tell me how you are making lemonade out of lemons? Have you ever accidentally discovered a new recipe?
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