Brown Sugar Cucumber Lemonade

Start by making a simple syrup. Combine 1 cup of the water with the 1 cup of turbinado or brown sugar. Heat in a small saucepan over medium heat just until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool.

While the simple syrup is cooling, peel cucumber and chop. Place in a blender with 1 cup of lemon juice. Blend until completely smooth.

Strain cucumber mixture through a fine mesh sieve (or cheesecloth) into a bowl, making sure to press as much liquid out through the sieve as possible. (Alternately, you can use a large holed sieve if you don’t mind a little pulp. You mainly just want to strain out the tougher seed pulp).

Mix cucumber juice with brown sugar syrup, and add remaining water (3-5 cups, depending on your tastes and preference for sweetness).

Chill and serve over ice. This makes approximately 1.5-2 quarts of lemonade.