National Lemonade Day

Apparently today is National Lemonade Day (is it just me or is there a "national day" for everything?), so I thought I would share some of my favorite lemonade recipes today. Or maybe this is just another desperate attempt of mine to hold onto every last second of summer!

Freckled Lemonade

Rosemary Lemonade

Strawberry Basil Lemonade

Rosemary Peach Lemonade

Freckled Lemonade

Please do me a favor:  go buy a bunch of lemons.  Don't wait for life to hand you those lemons, go out there and get them yourself!  And then make this lemonade.  I promise that this is the best lemonade you will ever have.  I made it this past weekend when we had family visiting, and Lauren and I could not stop drinking it/talking about how delicious it was!  This will definitely be my go-to summer drink!

Freckled Lemonade

zest of one lemon

2 cups sugar

2 cups chopped hulled strawberries

2 cups fresh lemon juice (from about 10 large lemons)

1/4 tsp salt

Make the lemon syrup:  Bring the lemon zest, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.  Let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, make the strawberry syrup:  Toss the chopped strawberries and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl. Gently mash some of the strawberries with a potato masher to release the juices; do not pureé - you want there to still be strawberry chunks.   Let the mixture sit at room temperature until the sugar dissolves, about 45 minutes.  Strain the strawberry mixture with a fine mesh strainer; reserve the strawberry syrup and the berries separately.

Make the lemonade:  Combine the lemon juice, lemon syrup, salt, and 2 cups cold water in a pitcher.

For each drink, put 1 Tbsp of the strawberry syrup in a tall glass.  Fill with ice, then top with the lemonade and some of the reserved strawberries.

source:  recipe from Food Network Magazine, May 2012