Homemade Lemonade

Lemonade. It’s a tower of refuge for the thirsty, the silver lining on a cloudy day, and an oasis in a desert. Homemade lemonade was my favorite beverage of choice growing up. A mason jar filled to the brim with the sweet, tart liquid makes all the worries of the world fade away with every single sip. My little hands could barely fit around the vessel but never once was a drop ever wasted on my watermelon-bibbed dress. Once I got to the bottom of the jar, world peace seemed like a possibility if only enemies could share a jar of freshly squeezed lemonade on a porch swing. It solves every problem, heals all despair, and quenches any thirst.

Lemonade+ porch+ afternoon= eternal happiness.

Recipe: Makes 1 Quart

2 cup of water, divided

½ cup of sugar

1 cup of lemon juice (about the juice of 6 lemons)

1 cup of ice

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of water and sugar over medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool. Juice all of the lemons over a strainer to make sure there are no seeds in the juice. In a pitcher, combine the cooled syrup, lemon juice, remaining 1 cup of water and ice cubes. Taste the lemonade at this point, I prefer mine with more bite, but if you like your lemonade sweeter or more mellow, add sugar or water. Stir with a spoon for just a few seconds, serve over ice and enjoy!

Note: If you want to make the frozen peach lemonade just pour  2/3 cups of lemonade into a blender with ¼ cup of fresh or frozen peaches and 1/2 cup of ice. Add a teaspoon of sugar if you prefer your lemonade a little sweeter and blend until smooth!