Rediscover Summer Fun

"Vacation - an interlude from one's customary duties, a rest, a holiday. Enjoy!"

Summer Lemonade out on the Porch. Mmmmmmm!

"Nothing is more relaxing than an ice-cold fresh lemonade on the front porch on a hot summer day." - Cindy (Yup, that's my porch!)

Before we start with this fresh lemonade thing I have a confession to make. I am cooking challenged. I have burned more cookies than should be allowed, and my family jokes about how often I make supper (not very often). Luckily for me, I have a husband who LOVES to cook - and he is teaching our children how to cook.

Now, don't get me wrong here, just because I am cooking challenged, doesn't mean that I don't try (over and over and over again), and once in awhile, I even amaze myself - the meal is delicious!

Back to the lemonade... in our home, we are trying to get rid of some of the "convenient, instant, over-sugared" drinks that keep showing up in the pantry and the fridge. I am just as guilty of consuming them as the rest of the family. So, this summer, we are introducing the family to "fresh lemonade". I have tried making it before, but I never was happy with the results. So, this past week, I went pouring over a number of cookbooks and found about three lemonade recipes that looked interesting... so I combined them and after a few sour flops and a bunch of seeds, I ended up with my own combination. The secret is to keep the lemonade ice cold. My husband's verdict, "Better than that powdered crap." Enjoy!

---

"Cindy's Fresh Porch Lemonade"

3 Lemons
1 Lime
1/2 to 2/3 cups sugar
1 tray of ice cubes (about 2 cups)
2 cups of very cold water
2 cups of very cold club soda, lemon pop, or more water (you choose)

Set aside one lemon. Squeeze the juice out of two lemons and the lime (you should have about 1 cup of juice and no seeds). Mix the juice with the sugar, stir to dissolve the sugar, and let it sit out on the counter for about 10 - 20 minutes. Slice the remaining lemon into very thin slices (peel and all). Pour the juice into your juice jug, add the ice cubes, water, and lemon slices. Stir for a couple of minutes. Then add the club soda, lemon pop, or remaining water. Gently mix this in. Serve immediately out on the porch!

From the inbox! A tip from Holly: Try adding a fresh squeezed orange to your lemonade (especially mandarins). Just one. It cuts the tart taste just the right amount! A trick I learned from a lady from South Africa.

Next time I am going to try leaving out one lemon, and adding about 1/2 a cup of pureed frozen strawberries...wonder how that would taste...?

Yahoo! Group's Page for: Cindy's Porch Subscribe to cindysporch
Powered by groups.yahoo.com