Gemmer (Ginger Beer)

This is a fun, simple, and wonderfully tasty recipe I found in "The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa," by Marcus Samuelsson. It's called gemmer, or ginger beer, and tastes sweet and tangy and spicy - like orange juice plugged into an amplifier. Above is the finished product, and below are some of the ingredients; whole cloves, cardamom pods, some OJ, and lime juice. It is brought to a boil in preparation, and I left if to chill overnight in the fridge. I came back from walking the dogs tonight and poured a glass of this, and was in heaven. This cookbook is very cool too (even has a forward by Desmond Tutu!). Not vegetarian by any means, but there are a number of interesting vegetarian dishes, and gives me lots of ideas for veganizing other things. Beautiful photos, too.

Ginger Beer
Juice of 4 limes
1 cup orange juice
4 cups water
Two 3-inch pieces of ginger, grated
1/2 cup sugar
5 cloves
5 cardamom pods

1. Bring everything to just to a boil and remove from heat. Let cool, and after a couple of hours refrigerate. Strain before serving, and serve chilled.