Make your own flavored waters as a treat
for yourself and your guests. Photo by
Kelly Cline IST.

Who needs bottled water—serve your guests an elegant pitcher of lemon cucumber water, evoking centuries past.

1. In a two-quart pitcher, cut half a cucumber into 1/8″ slices. If it’s a waxed cucumber, use a carrot peeler to remove most of the waxy peel before slicing, but leave some decorative “stripes” by peeling the cucumber vertically, leaving long strips of peel at 1″ intervals.

2. Cut a lemon and/or lime into 1/8″ slices, removing the seeds. Add to the pitcher.

3. Fill with water. Refrigerate for 4 hours or more to chill and let the flavors infuse. (When you’ve finished all the water you can add more to the same cucumber and lemons, although you’ll get a lighter infusion.)

4. You can also layer the flavors by adding other favorites, such as fresh rosemary.

We drink a quart of this zero-calorie flavored water daily. It’s earth-friendly—there are no bottles to dispose of. And it’s refreshing and delicious!