Cucumber Lemonade

(adapted from The Berghoff)

My dearest friend Ali is getting married to a wonderful guy, Patrick, this October. Last winter I had the pleasure of going to a few tastings with them in Chicago as they chose their caterer. They decided on the The Berghoff, a Chicago tradition, which featured, among other things, a wicked cucumber lemonade. I've been wanting to make it since December, and finally got around to it. Lucky for me, The Berghoff features this recipe on its website.

Now, their recipe makes a full gallon of lemonade. Even halving the recipe, I didn't have a pitcher large enough to fit all of it. So I basically left most of the water out (which is why the picture is so very green), and then added water and ice to each glass when I served it.

This is the most refreshing drink. I'm not really that big a fan of lemonade, but this wins me over. The perfect summer beverage. And, if you wanted to really spice things up, I bet it'd be great mixed with some Hendricks gin.

For half a gallon:

3 large cucumbers (technically, halving their recipe would call for two cucumbers, but I wanted more), sliced into a few pieces

10 lemons

6 cups of water

1.5 cups raw sugar

Pinch of salt

Puree the cucumbers in a blender or food processor (you may need to do this in chunks). Strain the liquid through a thin sieve into a large pitcher. Add the juice of the lemons and the sugar; stir to dissolve. Add the water, a pinch of salt, and stir again.

Serve over a glass of ice. You can garnish with a slice of lemon, cucumber, or mint. Sip in the rocking chair on your front porch.