3191 Cool idea on the blog and with ice

photo by Stephanie Congdon Barnes

This recipe is from 3191 seen here. We have had some ginger tea iced and hot from a local restaurant and I gushed when I saw this recipe again. You have to check out the site for 3191.com These two friends live 3,191 miles apart in Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon and have made a years worth of morning pictures and now just recently finished a year of evenings. What a great idea for a connection to each other. They are great diptychs. There's a great friendship for you. They claim that they don't converge over ideas before posting. Obviously on the same wave length.

Homemade Ginger Ale

(this makes quite a bit of ginger syrup, it could easily be halved or quartered)

2 cups water

2 cups sugar (I used organic pure cane sugar)

Big knob of ginger (mine was about the size of a baking potato)

Sparkling water

Peel (I find the side of a spoon makes this job really easy) and slice the ginger. Combine water, sugar and ginger in a saucepan and bring to a boil on the stovetop. Simmer until reduced, about 15 minutes. Cover and allow they syrup to cool for 20-30 minutes. Pass through a sieve. Syrup will keep in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

To make ginger ale, mix with sparkling water to taste. Lemon and fresh mint are great additions if you have them available.