Summertime Lemonade

I don’t know what determinedly cheerful person came up with that.

As for me, I associate lemonade with the good ole summertime.

I live in the South where the summer generally stretches from April to September. If the temperature drops below 80 degrees during that time, it is a welcome and too-short reprieve.

Before most people had either central air conditioning or window units, folks enjoyed their front porches and fans (electric or hand-held paper ones) a great deal.

With no CNN or ESPN to watch, let alone Internet to surf, people took to their porches to exchange stories and news as well as enjoy a cool drink. In the South, that tall glass was often full of iced tea. However, homemade lemonade was also prepared for a treat or just a summery change of pace.

Bring back a sampling of yesteryear by giving a friend a basket full of good things for a lemonade afternoon: fragrant lemons, sugar, fresh mint sprigs for garnish and strawberries or raspberries for a variation on the beverage. For a special gift, add a pitcher (a new one your friend has been eyeing or one that caught your eye at an antique store), a set of glasses or a teaspoon in your friend’s flatware pattern.

Fill a cellophane bag with sparkling sugar and tie with gingham ribbon. Mound lemons around the sugar and tuck in sprigs of mint. Add other fruits if you’d like to. If including a pitcher, fill it with lemons.

For a finishing touch, add several recipes for homemade lemonade.

Classic Lemonade

1 3 /4 cups sugar

8 cups water

1 1 /2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (seeds removed, but not pulp)

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

In a pitcher, stir together sugar syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups of water. Stir well and serve over ice. Garnish with lemon slices, mint springs, or strawberries (slice strawberry from bottom up through the center, not cutting through – perch on rim of glass).

Strawberry Variation:

Add 10 ounces frozen strawberries, partially thawed, or 1 pint fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and crushed, to above lemonade mixture. Stir well.

Pink Lemonade

2 cups sugar

9 cups water

2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup cranberry juice

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