His mother lived in one of the Woburn Abbey
estate cottages deep in the English countryside and she organised tickets for
us to visit the Abbey's safari park. I began to fret when I saw the list of Don’ts:
DON’T Open Car Windows;
DON’T Leave Your Car;
DON’T Antagonise the Lions;
Just DON’T, Ok!
There were just too many DON’Ts
for him to handle.
Straight away he lowered the car window (Don’t Open
Car Windows) and blew a loud raspberry at a passing camel. In a Jurassic
Park moment, the camel’s very large face filled the open window and
the creature cast disdainful eyes at the offending human before raspberrying
right back. It was a most impressive raspberry and was accompanied by about
half-a-gallon of camel spit. There is probably a sign somewhere that says Don’t Laugh
Your Ass Off at the Bloke Covered in Camel-Slobber.
All that laughing makes you thirsty. What
is needed for such an occasion is an appropriately restorative beverage. What
could be more “English countryside” and restorative than Lemon, Mint and Ginger Barley Water. This
is a glorious glassful of summer at any time.
For about 4 servings you will need…
100g pearl barley, washed
Juice and grated zest (yellow part only) of 2
lemons
1 tablespoon grated ginger
50g honey
1 litre of fresh water
a large bunch of mint
a large bunch of mint
To serve
ice
sprigs of mint
thin slices of lemon and fresh ginger
sparkling water / tonic water / sparkling white wine to dilute
sprigs of mint
thin slices of lemon and fresh ginger
sparkling water / tonic water / sparkling white wine to dilute
Place all the ingredients – except the mint
– in a saucepan. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30
minutes without a lid. You want the liquid to reduce by half.
Lightly bruise the bunch of mint and place in a heatproof jug. Strain the liquid over the mint and allow to
cool. When cool, transfer to a glass bottle, seal and store in the fridge for up to a week.
Dilute to taste and serve over ice with a large sprig of mint and slices of lemon and ginger. I like to add bubbles – sparkling water, tonic water or sparkling white wine are all good.
Dilute to taste and serve over ice with a large sprig of mint and slices of lemon and ginger. I like to add bubbles – sparkling water, tonic water or sparkling white wine are all good.
Variation
Use the juice and peel of 4 limes in place
of the lemon.
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4 comments:
This is so interesting! And I love the presentation too.
I would be grossed out by camel slobber but I'll admit to not being good with don'ts too.
I'll have some of this water and contemplate do's. I know the apostrophe looks dumb but dos looked dumber. :)
Simply damn delicious refreshing drink!!!
Dedy@Dentist Chef
Hester...I'm so intrigued by this recipe! I'm vowing to let go of my diet sodas and am trying to find more interesting things to do with water. I would never have thought to incorporate barley. But it looks fabulous! Can't wait to try it! : )
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