We're in a heatwave in southern Ontario, not my favourite part of summers here. But I really do love lemonade and I know it tastes best when it's unbelievably hot outside, so I'm choosing to make the most of this opportunity. Last week, during Shira's nap, Alyce and I made some lemonade. Alyce's excitement at the prospect of using the lemon reamer could have reached the moon and back. Every day I'm learning that she's just bursting to learn new things and all I need to do is give her a little responsibility and she's at her happiest. I've never seen someone wash lemons as joyfully as my little one did in preparation for our juicing. After she washed them in the sink she dried each one with a tea towel (her insistence, not mine), I sliced them in half, and then she juiced away. Twenty lemon halves later (and a little extra squeezing from me, since I'm not content to accept six droplets of juice from a lemon), we were ready to add the sugar and water. It was exactly what we needed.
Fresh Lemonade
Inspired, as much as one needs inspiration for lemonade, by Martha Stewart
10 lemons
1 cup white sugar
water
lots of ice
fresh mint or thyme, if you like
Squeeze the juice of 10 lemons, straining for seeds and pulp. Mix lemon juice with sugar before adding water to taste, around four cups. (Some people prefer to make a simple syrup of sugar and a little water so that it dissolves more easily with the lemon juice and water, but we didn't have any problems just mixing the plain sugar in.) Serve over lots of ice (and the herbs if you're using them), find a seat in the shade somewhere, and enjoy.
Alyce enjoyed four glasses, thank you very much.
Mmmm. One of my favourite ways to spruce up plain lemonade is to add some rhubarb syrup (boil rhubarb with sugar and water, then strain the rhubarb bits out, pressing to get all of the juice out).
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