If anything says summer, it is lemonade. I drink a lot of water, especially in the summer, but sometimes you want something with flavor. Recently in our house, we have been keeping a pitcher of Crystal Light lemonade in our refrigerator. Not to be a snob, but it’s not a real food. The color isn’t quite right, and I don’t feel right drinking a powdered sugar, unless it’s used to make buttercream.

A few weeks ago, I saw Brooke’s post on homemade lemonade. I bookmarked it and emailed it to Jeffrey, and we made it last Sunday after buying a dozen lemons at Costco.

It was tangy, it was slightly sweet, it was easy. It was exactly what we were looking for in a summer refreshing drink. We even got to make a simple syrup in the process.

I do not know if we will be boiling a cup of sugar each week to keep up this habit, but fresh lemonade is a nice treat.

Homemade Lemonade

(by Plum Pie Cooks)

Ingredients

• 5.5 cups water, divided
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 2 cups fresh squeezed lemons (juice from about 10-12 lemons)
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

Instructions

• Pour 1.5 cups of water into a small saucepan.
• Stir in 1.5 cups of sugar.
• Add half of the mint sprigs.
• Bring sugar/water mixture to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved.
• Remove from heat and let cool.
• Discard mint sprigs. You now have mint infused simple syrup!
• For regular lemonade, skip the mint step.
• In a large pitcher, combine 2 cups lemon juice, 4 cups of water, and 1 cup of mint infused simple syrup. Taste.
• Add more simple syrup if you prefer a sweeter lemonade.
• Add remaining mint sprigs and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Brooke’s pictures are also really much better than mine. I had a very hard time photographing this recipe! You will drool over hers, not mine.

Note: If chilling overnight, remove mint sprigs after an hour or so as the flavor can turn somewhat bitter if the leaves are left too long in the pitcher.

P.S. You may have noticed that I changed my blog header! Sometimes I get tired and want a change, so I play with headers. Hope you enjoy some of my favorite pictures.

Also, I have a Print Recipe feature. It’s only for recipes starting with this week and forward. Maybe if I get adventurous (bored) one day, I’ll add it to past recipes too.

Have a good weekend!