A Piece of Advice

I'm considering a career change. Sure, being a homeschooling mother and part time lazy blogger is glamorous, but the pay stinks and the hours are horrible. I was thinking about becoming a relationship counselor instead. This would combine two of my favorite things - telling people what to do and listening to other people's problems so that my own problems seem not nearly so bad by comparison.

As a relationship counselor, I could hang out my shingle and people would pay me to listen to them complain about their girlfriend/boyfriend/parent/child/teacher/co-worker/or whoever. This is pretty much what I already do for free. I'm good at it, too. People who paid for my services would get top quality head nodding, concerned and sympathetic smiles, and lots of "tell me more."

Then, when the relationship has been thoroughly examined, the problem extrapolated, and the dynamic explained, I would swing into action and give extraordinary advice. Some people feel that you need letters behind your name before you're qualified to give advice. I disagree. I've got an Mrs. in front of my name and an MOM after it, so I feel supremely qualified to wade into the murky waters of troubled relationships. Plus, I watched a soap opera back in college, so I know exactly what NOT to say.

The easiest clients would involve work relationships. Employee making you nuts? Fire them. Boss making you crazy? Put a laxative in his or her coffee and get a new job. Co-worker driving you round the bend? Watch a few episodes of The Office. I'm sure you'll get some ideas.

I think I might have to go into practice with a partner. Then I would pass off all the parent/child/teacher problems to that person. It's not the I'm not qualified. More like overqualified. I've been there, done that, and have the wrinkles to prove it.

I think my favorite group of clients would be the love-lorn. So easy.

* How do I get a girlfriend (or boyfriend)?
~ You don't. Go make friends, both with boys and girls. Hang out with people whose company you enjoy. Talk to them. Listen to them. Have fun together. Maybe something will come from it. Maybe not. But at least you'll have friends that you can hang out with.

* My boyfriend (or girlfriend) doesn't call me every day. If they really loved me, wouldn't they call every day?
~ Maybe. But more likely not. Unless you're on your honeymoon, you can't expect that other person's thoughts to be on you 24/7. If it's a healthy relationship, that other person has other things going on besides waiting by the phone to talk to you. If they are waiting 24/7, taking the phone in the potty so they don't miss your call (not just to play Angry Birds like normal people do), that's obsessive, unhealthy, and they should get a hobby.

* Where can I find the love of my life?
~ See the first question. When you find a really good friend, you might have found the love of your life. Potentially. So, make friends. Who knows what could come of that great conversation you had on Tumblr when you found out that you weren't the only one who thought a cross-over between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Anne of Green Gables would be the best thing ever? But if you go to a bar looking for the love of your life, you're guaranteed to come home smelling like cigarette smoke and most likely without the love of your life. Unless you've always wanted to be hitched to a drunk.

* My girlfriend (or boyfriend) is super whiny. How do I change her (or him)?
~ You don't. You upgrade to the non-whiny version.

* I want to break up with my boyfriend (or girlfriend). How do I do it without hurting their feelings?
~ Go with the classics. The tried and true "let's just be friends" has stood the test of time. And if you say it nicely enough, it might take him (or her) till you get a new boyfriend (or girlfriend) to figure out that he (or she) has been dumped.

That's just a sampling of the superior advice you'd get when you come to Cookie Baker Counseling services. Interested? Call or email to make an appointment.

Not convinced? Here's a freebie - a solid piece of advice is to try these shakes. They are like everything a GAPS girl or guy wants in a mate: rich, sweet, and satisfying.

Dairy-Free Chocolate Milkshakes
 - adapted from Eat Like A Dinosaur
 serves 4

(Because this recipe calls for chilled and frozen ingredients, you need to plan ahead)

2 dried dates
1 14 oz can full-fat coconut milk, chilled (to be GAPS legal, it can't have added thickeners)
1 cup ice
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1 ripe banana, frozen
1/4 cup cocoa powder (preferably raw)

1- Place dates in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them sit for 15 minutes.

2- Remove the dates from the water and pat them dry. Remove the pit and place them in a blender.

3- Add the rest of the ingredients to the blender. Purée until smooth.

4- Serve in small glasses with straws.

Happy New Year!

Can it be that another year has already whizzed past? It's been a busy year. Between baking, homeschooling, vacationing, hosting cooking camps, and watching my granddaughter grow up, I haven't been posting nearly as much as I would've liked to. I'm not making a resolution of it, but I will try to be a bit more consistent in the coming year.

So here's a toast to the year gone by and the one yet to come. May the joy increase, the inevitable pains be productive, the lessons be learned quickly, and the calories not count.

I'm toasting with a glass of the best eggnog I've ever had. I've never been a big fan of egg nog. My family always got excited when the cartons showed up in the grocery store and I would buy it for them. But the gloopy texture and the odd taste didn't please my palate, so I'd pass.

But this fall a friend told me about his family's tradition of making eggnog. More specifically, Gramma made the egg nog. A gallon at a time. Every Christmas. Even on vacation.

He related how one Christmas the extended family was on vacation together in Mexico and it just wouldn't be Christmas without Gramma's eggnog. So they hiked into to town to buy the supplies for a gallon of eggnog. After hiking back with their burdens, Gramma put together the splendid libation, and they took turns stirring it for the 40-50 minutes needed to thicken it. Then it needed to sit in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavors meld. Having nothing else on hand, she poured the eggnog back into the plastic jugs that had held the milk.

The next morning, arriving back after some frolic time, they were appalled that the jugs were empty and in the garbage can. The cleaning crew told them they'd thrown the milk away since it had obviously gone bad. Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Back to town. More supplies. More stirring. Then after more chilling, the cleaners held at bay, Christmas was back on. There was eggnog at last!

If the eggnog was worth that kind of perseverance, I just had to try. And, yes, it's worth it. Light, delicious, frothy, and not overly sweet. One small glass is never enough. I've become an eggnog fan!

You could make the recipe as written, but then you'll probably kick yourself and say, "Why didn't I make more??" If you want a whole gallon, multiply the recipe by 4.

I used raw, whole milk and farm fresh eggs from healthy chickens. If you are uneasy about using raw egg whites, you can substitute powdered egg whites for that. And if you are not comfortable pouring rum into your eggnog, you can use rum flavoring (which is alcoholic, too). If there are kids at your gathering, you can put the rum on the side so adults can add their own to taste. And if anyone dislikes nutmeg, putting it on the side accommodates their tastes as well.

Gramma Jane's Famous Eggnog 
 - adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 1968 Edition
  serves 6 to 8

1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp salt
4 cups whole milk
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Rum to taste
Freshly ground nutmeg to taste
1/2 cup whipping cream (optional)

1- In a large saucepan beat the 1/3 cup sugar and the egg yolks. Add salt. Stir in the milk.

2- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture coats a spoon. It will not be as thick as a custard. (I timed it while making a gallon. This took about 50 minutes. Taking turns stirring is a good way to make it easier.)

3- Pour this mixture into a medium mixing bowl and set that into an ice bath to speed the cooling. Stir occasionally as it cools.

4- When the mixture is cooled, beat the egg whites until foamy. With the mixer going, gradually add the 3 Tbsp sugar, beating until soft peaks form (when you pull the beater out of the egg whites, they should make little mountains that floomp over at the tip).

5- Add the beaten egg whites to the custard and mix thoroughly. Add the vanilla, rum (unless you'll be serving it on the side), and nutmeg. Chill 3 or 4 hours.

6- Pour the eggnog into a punch bowl or cups. Dot with dollops of whipped cream and add a dash of freshly grated nutmeg.

Thank you Jane for sharing the recipe.

Violet, You're Turning Violet

Next week we start back to school. For most people that means sending the kids off to school and breathing a sigh of relief as the calm descends over the household. Not for me. I homeschool my kids. That means that while other moms eagerly anticipate the start of school, I dread it. I'm not organized enough to do a good job. Will my children end up holding cardboard signs on freeway off-ramps because I didn't do a good enough job? Will they still be living at home when they're 35 because they can't get a job that doesn't involve a paper hat? These are the fears of a homeschooling mother.

One of the choices that I've made in schooling my children is to read to them. A lot. I have a huge list of books that I consider indispensable for a happy childhood. Whatever other mistakes I make with my children, at least they will have happy memories of The Little House in The Big Woods, Taran Wanderer, My Father's Dragon, Half Magic, The Snowy Day, and, of course, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

What child hasn't dreamed of visiting Willy Wonka's fabulous factory, sipping from the melted chocolate river, and coming away with a truckload of chocolates? But when you grow up, and you've had a stressful day, what do you dream of? Probably still chocolate, but perhaps also a little something for happy hour.

I fell in love with this cocktail when I saw it in Elizabeth Faulkner's Demolition Desserts. The name alone is fantastic, but I loved the beautiful violet color, too. I ran out and bought a bottle of vodka (she says use a best quality vodka. I have no clue what a quality vodka is, since they all taste like lighter fluid to me), removed a cup of vodka, and filled it with blue berries. (The remaining cup I put into a mason jar and filled that with raspberries. Perhaps I'll post something fabulous with raspberry vodka sometime.) Within days it started to turn a lovely reddish-purple.

The cocktail turned out beautifully. I carefully measured out the blueberry vodka, holding a spoon over the bottle's opening to keep the blueberries from spilling out, and mixed in the other ingredients, shook it with the ice, poured into a chilled glass, and reverently sipped. Mmmm, lusciously fruity. I tasted the orange, lemon, and blueberry and then....lighter fluid. Rats. It's still vodka. I guess I'm never going to be a vodka fan. I gave the rest of my glass to my husband who doesn't mind vodka at all. He gave it a definite thumbs up.

Violet Beauregard

For the infused vodka:

1 bottle (750 ml) premium vodka
1 cup (about 5 oz) blueberries

To infuse the vodka, pour out 1 cup of the vodka into another container and save for another use, like making raspberry vodka or vanilla extract. Wash the blueberries and dry them on a clean kitchen towel. Drop the berries one at a time into the vodka bottle, cap the bottle, and set it in a cool, dark place for at least 2 weeks or up to 1 year. Leave the blueberries in the bottle and the vodka will just get better.

For the cocktails:

3/4 cup (6 oz) blueberry-infused vodka
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (3 oz) Cointreau
1 Tbsp (1/2 oz) fresh lemon juice
Ice Cubes
6 Blueberries

1- Chill two cocktail glasses in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

2- In a cocktail shaker, combine the vodka, Cointreau, and lemon juice. Fill the shaker with ice, cover, and shake.

3- Strain into the chilled glasses. Drop 2 or 3 blueberries into the bottom of each glass and serve immediately.

Love Letters

My daughter and her fiancee have survived a long distance relationship via technology. For four years he's been at a college on the other side of the state, a 5 hour drive. They've had summer's together and been able to visit each other for the occasional long weekend, but mainly it's been romance by IM and cell phone. Hooray for unlimited mobile to mobile minutes!

Daily chatting on the cell phone keeps them connected, but I worry that she won't have a stack of love letters. Sadly, love letters seem to be a fatality of the information super-highway. A stack of fragile, crackly letters, tied with a satin ribbon, smelling faintly of an old perfume, stored in the lingerie drawer. So old fashioned, but so romantic.

This cocktail came from Demolition Desserts. It is Elizabeth Faulkner's love letter to Pierre Herme. It's delightfully different, heady with the fragrance of roses, and a perfect way to show your romantic side to your someone special.

Love Letter
adapted from Demolition Desserts by Elizabeth Faulkner

1/4 cup (2 oz) raspberry juice
1 Tbsp (1/2 oz) Cointreau
1/4 cup (2 oz) white rum, such as 10 Cane brand
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp rose water
Ice cubes
2 to 4 organic rose petals, preferably red

(You can use bottled raspberry juice or make it from concentrate.)

Chill 2 cocktail glasses in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

In a cocktail shaker, combine the raspberry juice, Cointreau, rum, lime, juice, and rose water. Fill the shaker with ice, cover, and shake.

Half fill the chilled glasses with ice and strain the cocktail into the glasses. Float 1 or 2 rose petals on top of each drink and serve immediately.



(Sarah reassures me that she has a whole box full of love letters from her sweetie. Yeah!)

*You might have come here looking for a decadent, chocolate Valentine's special. In the words of Ogden Nash, candy's dandy, but liquor's quicker! Happy Valentine's Day!

Addiction

I've figured out how to make my fortune. It's a simple product with a broad base of people that need it. I haven't figured out all the fiddly details yet, but you will see my face on the cover of Fortune magazine as the inventor of The Cookbook Patch. Actually, I'm not the inventor. The lovely and brilliant Melinda thought it up, but I will shamelessly rip off her idea, make a fortune and then take her and her husband with us to Tahiti.

What is The Cookbook Patch, you might ask? Simple. It's a pocket-sized cookbook that you can strap onto your forearm. When you are in a bookstore and you reach out to pick up a new cookbook, the patch is there to remind you that you have far more cookbooks than you already need. In fact, you can personalize your patch cookbook to include all the recipes you have bookmarked in your cookbooks at home that you have never made. You could even include a speech module that has a recording of yourself or family member saying, "For heaven's sake- what do you need another one for? We don't even have room for all the cookbooks you already own!"

As you can see, this is sheer genius. I will provide a link at the end of the post to order your own copy. Think of it as an investment.

I mention the cookbook patch because I recently came home from the library with yet another armload of cookbooks. I like to tell myself that borrowing them from the library is better because then I will return them and they won't live in my home, fighting for shelf space with the other cookbooks. But then I fall in love with them, the title sneaks onto my Amazon wish list, and then Poof!, somehow they seem to magically appear in my house at birthday, Christmas, anniversary, and other notable times.

Included in my recent stack is Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts. It's a truly fun cookbook. Filled with seriously good information, it's presented in such a playful way (including anime drawings) that I can tell this woman is a kick in the pants. She takes favorite desserts, deconstructs them, and puts the flavors and ingredients together again in unexpected ways.

Although there are a ton of dessert recipes, one of the first I made from this cookbook was just hot chocolate. But not just hot chocolate. This is a chocoholic's hot chocolate. I wish my pictures could show you how delicious it is. Deep, chocolatey, rich, with vanilla bean and cream. I swoon just thinking about it! This is a hot chocolate to sip and savor with someone special. And if you want it to be a little more adult, you can put a shot of brandy or whiskey in it.



Strong Hot Chocolate

adapted from Demolition Desserts

1-1/2 cups (12 oz) whole milk
1/2 cup (4 oz) heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean
2 Tbsp (about 1/4 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Dagoba Organic)
2 Tbsp (1 oz) firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, preferably 70% cacao, coarsely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
a few grains of fleur de sel
8 homemade marshmallows or whipped cream

Combine the milk and cream in a 1-quart saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and, with the tip of the knife, scrape the seeds into the saucepan and then add the pod. Whisk in the cocoa powder and brown sugar, place over medium heat, and whisk the mixture for 5 to 7 minutes, or until it is frothy and simmering.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Remove the vanilla pod from the hot milk mixture (it can be rinsed and saved to make vanilla sugar). Pour the mixture over the chocolate. Add the salt (not more than 3 grains) and whisk until the hot chocolate is smooth.

Divide the hot chocolate among 4 cups, top each cup with 2 marshmallows or a dollop of whipped cream, and serve. Or, allow the chocolate to cool completely; then cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently just before serving.

Pink Ladies

My best friend growing up was a funny girl named Karen. She was infectiously cheerful and would really get into things. With her it wasn't "Oh, I like this song." It was, "Stop everything and listen to this song right now. I love it!!" She was exhuberently enthusiastic about whatever held her interest at the moment. From music to food to boys to movies, there was never any middle ground. It was love it or (rarely) hate it. It was no surprise to anyone that she went on to be a cheerleader in high school.

When she asked me if I'd seen the movie, Grease, I told her that I didn't like John Travolta. She said, "Oh, go see it! You'll really hate him then!"

I saw the movie and enjoyed it, although I still didn't like John Travolta. One of my favorite elements of the movie was the Pink Ladies, the cool, bad girls with teased hair, tight pants, strut and attitude. I wished I could have had an awesome, pink jacket like theirs to wear.

This is hardly a recipe, more of a throw-together for the end of a hot week. When you've been sweltering and deserve a little unwind time and want something with a bit more kick than lemonade, reach for the blender and try a Pink Lady to start the weekend off with some attitude.

Pink Ladies

1 (6 oz) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, undiluted
1/2 cup rum
1 cup fresh whole strawberries, stems removed
Ice cubes

Combine first 3 ingredients in container of an electric blender; add ice to make 5 cups. Process until smooth. Yield: 4-1/2 cups. Note: you can substitute vodka for rum, if you prefer, and vary the amount of liquor, depending on how tough your week has been.

Fun With Bubbles

When my kids were wee ones, we put in many hours watching Neighbor Rogers together. Maybe you knew him better as Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. My kids loved him. My daughter would even kiss the TV screen when it was time to say "so long." One of the highlights of the show for us was when Picture Picture would show a tour of a factory or workshop and we learned how something was created. I loved seeing how crayons were made and how the toothpaste got into the tube. I'm still that way today. I get excited when I learn how something is made and super-excited when I learn how to do it myself.

While I was doing internet searches for ginger information I came upon a site telling how to make gingerale. I couldn't wait to get to try it! This is so fun and easy you need to do it, too. Really, in just a day you can be sipping your own homemade gingerale!

I tried it several different ways. The original recipe on the web was a little bland so I tried again, adding more ginger and some lemon zest. Then I made it with honey replacing the sugar. They were both outstanding. Neither was a clone of grocery store soda, but that's OK with me. The sugar recipe yielded a clearer, stronger ginger taste. The honey recipe gave a rich, complex flavor with the honey balancing the ginger. I liked them both.

Have It Your Way Gingerale

Clean 2-liter plastic soda bottle with cap
1 cup sugar or 3/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp baking yeast
2 Tbsp finely grated ginger root
Zest of one lemon, finely chopped
Juice of a whole lemon
Cool, clean, filtered water

Using a funnel, pour the sugar and yeast into the bottle. If you're using honey, don't add the yeast yet. Shake to mix the sugar and yeast.Place the grated ginger, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a glass measuring cup and mix well. Add the yeast to this mixture if you're making the honey version.

Pour this slurry through the funnel into the bottle. Rinse the measuring cup with clean water and pour the rinse water into the bottle. Cap and shake to mix well.

Uncap and fill the bottle to the neck with cool, clean, filtered water, leaving about an inch of head space. Securely screw down cap to seal. Shake to dissolve the sugar. Place in a warm spot for 24 to 48 hours, until it feels "hard." If the bottle dents when squeezed, as in the picture, it's not ready. My ginger ale only took 24 hours.

Once the bottle feels hard, place it in the refrigerator. Refrigerate at least overnight to chill thoroughly. Open the lid slowly to release excess pressure. Pour through a strainer into an ice-filled cup. When not in use, keep the bottle capped and refrigerated to maintain the fizz.

Note: Don't leave the bottle at room temperature longer than it takes to feel hard. It can explode! Once thoroughly chilled there's little chance of explosion.

Good For What Ails You

Sometimes stress rolls through your life like a river. Nothing you can do to stop it, divert it, or soak it up. Job troubles, unexpected bills, or just people being nasty to you - they can take their toll on you physically. Headaches, digestive problems, and stiff sore muscles can all be caused by stress.

When I'm stressed my number one way to cope is to bake. Nothing soothes like the familiar ritual of measuring, mixing, scooping, and baking. One of my sister's favorite tales to tell on me is when she dropped by to visit when I was two weeks overdue and as big as a house. It was a scorching August day and I was baking cookies. In the buff. Seriously. It was way too hot to have the oven on, but I was too stressed not to bake.

As I've gotten older another effect of stress has crept upon me. Gastric reflux. Ugh. And combine that with lots of freshly baked cookies sitting around. Double ugh. And once started, it's a cycle that takes a while to subside. Well-meaning friends and family urged me to take drugs, to go to the doctor, to get surgery. But then a kind friend offered me a cup of ginger tea and my life changed.


Ginger has historically been used medicinally to treat digestive disorders, including nausea and gas, and arthritis, among other ailments. Plus it adds a zippy, biting flavor to foods. Bonus! A medicine that tastes good.

I've found so many fun ways to add some ginger to my menu that I'm making this Ginger Week on the blog.

The obvious starting point is Ginger Tea. The tea bags at the grocery store can be tremendously pricey. I looked at the ingredients and thought, "But that's easy!" Plus, fresh is always better.

I store my ginger in the freezer, wrapped in plastic wrap. That way it's always on hand and doesn't get mushy, like it can in the fridge. When I want some tea, I take it out of the plastic and shave off shards of the ginger root, then wrap it up and toss it back in the freezer.

I use Stevia as my sweetener. Stevia is a leaf grown in South America that is naturally sweet. I use the refined powder and it is 200-300 times sweeter than table sugar, with virtually no calories. A tiny bit goes a long, long way. That's a bitsy baby spoon in the picture. Stevia is available at natural food stores.

Soothing Ginger Tea

Ginger Root (fresh, not dried or candied)
Stevia - about 1/16th of a teaspoon, or honey
Boiling water

Pre-warm your teapot with hot water. Fill a tea ball 1/2 full with the ginger scrapings. Discard the water from the teapot. Drop the tea ball in the pot and pour boiling water over the ball. Quickly stir in the Stevia or honey and replace the lid on the teapot. If you have a tea cozy, place it over the tea pot. I am coziless, so I wrap my teapot in a hand towel and let the ginger steep for 10 to 15 minutes.

Pour yourself a cup and sip slowly, enjoying the warmth and soothing powers of ginger.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

It's an interesting experience to wander through a bridal show. The various vendors vie for your attention with eye-catching displays of flowers, cakes, and photography. Some are original, some are cheesy, some are breath-taking, and all at prices that have a mother-of-the-bride muttering under her breath, "How much?? Are they kidding? That's your college education all over again. I don't think so!"

Recently my daughter and I attended a bridal expo. She was gathering specific information so we moved quickly through the booths picking up business cards and flyers. But as we approached the exit our momentum was abruptly halted. A caterer with a beautiful booth was giving out samples, a smart business tactic that none of the competitors were using. They had darling little herbed biscuits which were fine, but it was the lemonade that stopped us in our tracks. One sip and Sarah said, "Oh, mom, we've so got to have this at the wedding!"

Thus began my search for the perfect Basil Lemonade. An internet search yielded plenty of hits - all for the same recipe. I tried it and it wasn't quite what I'd remembered. Not very sweet and not particularly lemony. So I cobbled together a recipe from a couple of different sources and came up with this keeper. After cautiously tasting, the bride-to-be said, "Oh, yes, this is it!"

You can adjust the amount of sugar depending on how sweet you like your lemonade. My husband prefers a less sweet beverage, particularly on a hot day, so I made it with the less sugar amount. The result is a complex flavor that lets the lemon and basil mingle and dance on your tongue with just enough sweetness to make you say, "Another glass, please?"

Wedding Basil Lemonade

1 to 2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups cold water (Use filtered water, not nasty tap water. You don't want your lemonade to taste of chlorine.)
1 Tbsp lemon zest in long strips (don't fret if they're not long strips, just don't chop the zest)
1 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed into measuring cup
1/2 cup lemon juice (I used 4 Meyer lemons)

Zest your lemons. It's worth investing in a zester if you don't own one. They're inexpensive, fun to use, and don't take up much space. After measuring your tablespoon of zest, save the remainder in a small zip-loc bag in the freezer. It keeps beautifully, and you never know when you'll need lemon zest. Although, as a teaser, if you're cooking along with me in the Week of Lemons, you will need the zest for tomorrow.

In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the sugar, water, and zest and bring to a simmer. Cook without stirring until the sugar dissolves and the syrup thickens slightly (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add the basil; let cool to room temperature.

While the syrup cools, juice the lemons. Strain the cooled syrup into a 2-quart pitcher and strain the lemon juice into the same pitcher. Add 7 cups cold, filtered water. Stir, then pour into ice-filled cups. If desired, garnish each cup with a small sprig of basil.

If there's any leftover, it can be stored in the refrigerator for a week. As if!