Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Chamomile Lemonade

Long story how I got this recipe, but it is from vegetariantimes.com. On Saturday I bought 2 boxes of chamomile tea (98 cents each at Walmart) and 1 bag organic lemons ($4 at Walmart) and I already had some pure cane raw sugar in the cupboard (a recipe I was always going to try, but never did). I made a double batch on Saturday night and Ram and I drank it all before Sunday afternoon. I felt like I was getting a cold on Saturday afternoon and after drinking this I felt great by Sunday morning.
The recipe says that regular chamomile tea drinkers have elevated levels of hippurate, an antibacterial compound that can help fight infections brought on by colds. This recipe also delivers a healthful dose of vitamin C.

1/2 cup cane sugar
2 Tbs. grated lemon zest
6 chamomile tea bags
3/4 cup lemon juice
lemon slices for garnish

Combine sugar, lemon zest, and 2 cups water in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, add chamomile. Cool.
Strain chamomile mixture into a 2 qt. pitcher. Stir in lemon juice and 3 cups water. Serve over ice with lemon slices, or store covered in refrigerator up to 5 days. (I bet you can't keep it in the house for 5 days-we couldn't even keep a double batch in the house for 24 hours!)

I made a double batch on Saturday night and everyone was sad until I made a quadruple batch on Monday night. The Lambs begged to try it. I'll definitely have to ration it until we get into town to a store on Friday to get stocked up on sugar, chamomile tea, and lemons again. I also gave one batch to a friend who has been sick the last few weeks.

This is tart and refreshing at the same time. This will definitely be on the list to make several times a week during cold and sickness season in the winter and perhaps make once a week during the summer as a treat at our house.

1 comment:

Karen said...

Running to the store to get the supplies to make this. My poor 6 year old has had strep 5 times this winter. Antibiotics aren't working, maybe this will help! Thanks for posting the recipe.