Does anyone make lemonade anymore?  If you do, you know how absolutely refreshing it can be on a hot humid day.  It’s delicious in it’s most basic form but can also be the foundation for other delicious summer drinks and cocktails.  It’s imperative that you use the juice of freshly squeezed lemons because the flavour can not be replicated from a plastic fake lemon container. So grab yourself a bag of lemons and squeeze yourself up a batch.

Basic Lemonade

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6 lemons)

¾ cup granulated sugar

5 cups cold water

1. Add the lemon juice and sugar into a large pitcher and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Stir in the cold water and place in the fridge to chill.

2. Add ice to a tall glass and pour lemonade over, serve with a lemon wedge.

TIP:  I prefer my lemonade less sweet so you can use as little as 1/4 cup of sugar if you want.   If you have dietary restrictions feel free to substitute your sweetener of choice.  You might have to play around a bit to get your perfect cup of lemonade.

Zinger Lemonade

1 cup sugar

6, ½” strips lemon zest (zest of 1 whole lemon)

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

5 cups water

1. Add the sugar, lemon zest and 1 cup of water to a medium pot and place over medium-low heat.  Bring the mixture to a simmer and turn it to low, cooking for 5min.  Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to sit for 20min. Remove the lemon zest and discard.

2. Into a large pitcher add the liquid sugar mixture, lemon juice and 5 cups cold water. Chill until ready to serve.

Magical Butterfly lemonade

Serves 8

1 batch basic lemonade

1 tbsp butterfly pea flowers

1. Add the butterfly pea flowers to a 2-cup glass measuring cup and add 2 cups boiling water.  Let the tea steep for 5min and strain the tea, discarding the flowers.  Place the tea in the fridge to chill.

2. Half fill a tall glass with crushed ice and add 1/4 cup of the pea flower tea.  Just before you serve top the glass with basic lemonade and watch the colour transform.

Optional: Serve with 1oz gin

Limoncello watermelon slushy

4-5 cups frozen watermelon chunks

1 cup basic lemonade

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

½ cup plus 2 tbsp Limoncello

1. Add the frozen watermelon, lemonade, lemon juice and ½ cup limoncello to a blender.  Blend at high speed until the mixture is thick and slushy.

2. Divide into two tall classes and slowly pour another tbsp of Limoncello on to each slushy.

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