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Read It and Eat It: Summer indulgence with Silver and ginger ale

Return to Treasure Island while sipping homemade ginger ale.

It’s finally summer and all we want to do is relax in a hammock with a really good book and a refreshing drink. If you’re like us, you’ll love this combination that we put together. Andrew Motion’s Silver returns to Treasure Island 40 years after the events of Robert Louis Stevenson’s great adventure. And while you indulge in a fantasy of trekking through the jungle in search of buried treasure, enjoy homemade ginger ale to keep cool.

Eat It.

Ginger Ale
Recipe from True Brews by Emma Christensen
Makes 8 cups – enough to fill a 2-liter plastic soda bottle

2-inch piece fresh gingerroot
1 cup water, plus more to fill the bottles
9 tablespoons / 4 ounces white granulated sugar, plus more if needed
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons), plus more if needed
1⁄8 teaspoon dry champagne yeast

1. Peel and finely grate the ginger (I use a Microplane). You should have about 2 tablespoons of grated ginger root.

2. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan on the stove top or in the microwave. Remove from the heat. Add the sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Add the ginger and let stand until cool. Stir in the lemon juice.

3. Pour the ginger water into a clean 2-liter bottle using a funnel. Do not strain out the ginger. Top off the bottle with water, leaving at least 1 inch of headspace. Give it a taste and add more lemon juice or sugar if desired. The extra sugar will dissolve on its own.

4. Add the yeast. Screw on the cap and shake the bottle to dissolve and distribute the yeast. Let the bottle sit at room temperature out of direct sunlight until carbonated, typically 12 to 48 hours, depending on the temperature of the room. Check the bottle periodically; when it feels rock solid with very little give, it’s ready.

5. Refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 weeks. Open very slowly over a sink to release the pressure gradually and avoid bubble-ups. Pour the soda through a small fine-mesh strainer to catch the ginger as you pour.