Garden Lemonade

Whenever we go out to eat, and the waitress takes our drink order, I ALWAYS ask for water with “obscene amounts” of lemon. I’ve noticed there is a direct correlation between the amount of lemon a waitress brings me and the size of a tip I leave her. I LOVE LEMON! And in my water, the more lemon the better. I realize not everyone would appreciate the tartness, but with a meal, or for quenching my thirst, nothing is finer!

This is not true when I garden, however. I think the hot weather and physical exertion makes me yearn for something sweeter. While gardening, I want lemonade with PLENTY of sugar. And since I need to continually replenish liquids on hot days, I usually take a quarter Mason jar full of lemonade out to the garden with me. Besides holding lots of lemonade, it also has a handy, dandy lid in case you knock it over or to prevent bugs from partaking of your beverage. Below is my recipe for yummy and refreshing lemonade. Definitely have the kids make their own!

Garden Lemonade

1 quart Mason jar with lid
1 lemon
0 – 2 tablespoons sugar (I use 2 T for garden lemonade)
1 quart cold water
ice cubes

Fill 1/3 of the jar with ice cubes.

Roll a lemon back and forth until soft. You can actually hear it swishing. Kids LOVE this part!

Cut the lemon in half.

If you have a juicer, use it. I don’t so I squeeze both lemon halves over a strainer into the jar to remove seeds.

Remove the rest of the seeds from the lemons, cut into eighths, and put in jar.

Add sugar to taste. I use 2 tablespoons for my garden lemonade.

Add cold water to the neck of the jar.

Screw on the lid and shake well to mix.

Now you are ready to take your lemonade in the garden. While there, why not add a sprig of fresh mint? Double yum!

I ask you… what could be better than a tall glass of lemonade in the garden? The answer… keeping it cold longer! Here is a sneak peek of a project I’ll be sharing in a couple days. Enjoy!