Minty Strawberry Lemonade

If I could make my own t-shirt, it would say,”I went to LA and all I got was lemons.”

My mother in law has an enormous lemon tree in her back yard that is just teeming with softball sized lemons. On our most recent visit, I climbed on a chair and picked enough to fill a small suitcase. It didn’t make a dent in the tree and I can’t wait for our next visit. I might bring an empty duffle to haul my produce across the country.

These lemons even tasted better than regular lemons. The ultimate in organic, the flavor of these lemons is completely unparalleled. A squeeze in a glass of water, homemade vinaigrette drizzled over kale, sliced on top of a fine piece of fish – I used these lemons in everything I could think of and couldn’t use them fast enough.

We had a slight heat wave so it was a perfect time to make some refreshing lemonade!

Fresh lemons squeezed with strawberry juice and a sprig of refreshing mint. We liked it with a few splashes of soda water and it this will be my summer cocktail of choice with a couple shots of Ketel One.

Can you really turn a glass of this stuff down?

Minty Strawberry Lemonade

5 fresh lemons (room temperature) (about 1 1/2 cups lemon juice)

2 cups strawberries (whole, trimmed)

3 Cups cold water

Simple sugar syrup, to taste (recipe below)

1 bunch mint leaves, chopped (optional, but lovely)

Squeeze the lemons using a juicer or hand juicer until you get about a cup and a half of juice. Juice the strawberries and mint leaves, straining with a fine mesh strainer after to remove the pulp. (If you don’t have a juicer, mash the berries then push through a strainer or pop them in a blender and strain any pulp and excess seeds.) Add the lemon juice, strawberry juice and water to a pitcher. Stir in simple sugar syrup by the tablespoon, adding more by the tablespoon if necessary. (You can also easily use a favorite sweetener or regular sugar but simple syrup dissolves and disperses well so you won’t end up with a ring of sugar at the bottom of your pitcher)

I like to make this a little stronger and less sweet so I can water it down with ice cubes and a few splashes of sparkling water.

 

Simple Syrup

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Add sugar to water in a pot and stir. Bring to a boil until the sugar just dissolves. (Don’t let it boil for too long or it will burn.) Remove from heat and store in a jar. Add to teas or lemonades as needed.