If Life Gives You Lemons

 

You know it - make lemonade!

Isn't lemonade the perfect drink for summer?  I know I have used my fair share of artificial lemonade mixes.  That's fine, but sometimes you just want the real thing.  If you're ready for the taste of real lemonade and have access to fresh lemons (or at least fresh lemon juice), this is the recipe for you.

I can't claim credit for this lemonade recipe - it comes from Paula Deen.  However, it is very simple to remember.  Two cups of sugar/two cups of lemon juice and a gallon of water.  What makes this recipe perfect every time is a trick I call - start HOT and end COLD.  Anyway, here's the recipe:

2 c. sugar (or Stevia/Truvia sugar substitute)

2 c. fresh lemon juice

1 c. hot water

enough water to fill remainder of 1 gallon container

ice

Put the 2 cups of sugar in the bottom of a dry gallon pitcher.  You can use all sugar substitute instead of sugar as long as it is the kind suitable for baking (i.e. Stevia).  I personally think using all sugar substitute adds a little bitter aftertaste, but it isn't overwhelming.  Recently, I've been combining 1 cup sugar with 1 cup sugar substitute because I'm trying to cut back on sugar.  I didn't notice any difference in taste.  If you don't have a problem with sugar, by all means use sugar.

Here's the HOT part that is genius.  Heat 1 cup of water and add it to the pitcher with the sugar (or sugar substitute) and stir until completely dissolved.  As a kid, one thing I always hated about lemonade or sweet tea is that I always seemed to have sugar grains at the bottom of my glass.  If you use Paula Deen's HOT trick, it won't happen again.

After dissolving the sugar in the hot water, fill the remainder of the pitcher with water.  Stir well.  Here's the COLD part that may sound obvious, but maybe not.  Serve the lemonade over ice.  A lot of ice.  The more ice cold, the better.  Lemonade actually tastes better over ice, even when it is cold.  Garnish with a slice of lemon or a sprig of mint.

And that's it - perfect lemonade with 2/2 and HOT/COLD.  Stay hydrated my friends and enjoy the summer!

cindy