Friday, August 27, 2010

Recipes - Mint Lemonade

lemonade


I'm using the word recipe really lightly here guys. This isn't an exact science and lemonade is one of those things that everyone has a different taste for.. So, these are my very loose guidelines on how to make it!

So, let me start out by saying that there are about a zillion different ways that you can fix lemonade. I've tried a few of them out and I always find that my favorites are the ones you get at county fairs that are shaken and simply involve a fresh squeezed lemon, water, and sugar. It's just a really nice lemonade that's equal parts sweet and sour and just the right consistency.. So, that's what I was trying to do with this recipe. Simple summer county fair lemonade, but with a little extra fanciness.

I have one of those 1L Weck carafes that has the sealable lid. This is great for both fridge and picnic use and I got mine for $8 from Heath Ceramics (the one at the Ferry Building) but, I'm sure you can find them even cheaper somewhere else... This is a really great thing to use for shaking your lemonade so that the sugar dissolves, but certainly - make do with what you have!

. . .

IMG_8675

Ingredients:
- Lemons - I'd say 1 lemon per cup - I used 5 lemons for my 1L carafe - so I went a bit over .. but you can decide if you like it more mellow/more sour
- A few bunches of mint - you can use as much or as little as you prefer
- Sugar, to taste (I probably used about a cup for the 1L carafe)
- Water

What you'll need:
- Knife
- Lemon squeezer
- A deeper mortar and pestle ... or just a pestle and a bowl (the pestle is pretty important, it's going to be really hard to do your smashing without it, I've tried just using a wooden spoon and it's just not the same)
- A container with a good lid for shaking the lemonade, tupperware would do
- A sieve - this is handy for seed removal

llemonade

To Make:
Rinse your mint in cold water and break it off the stems. I recommend cutting or ripping it down into smaller pieces, otherwise you're going to have a precarious drinking experience later with the large leaves. Set that aside in your mortar, or bowl.

Slice and juice lemons. Add the juice to the mint and add sugar.
Now smash it all to bits taking extra care to try and grind up that sugar into a syrup as best as you can.

Pour that into your carafe, add water until you reach about 1.5" from the top - and shake until you can no longer see sugar crystals.

IMG_8698


That's all... I feel silly for even posting this it's so simple. But, its good and it's a lovely way to spend a summer afternoon!
You can get even fancier and add blueberries when you're smashing up the mint! Or skip the mint and just do blueberries!

32 comments:

Amber said...

I am going to have to try this out.

afreckledlip said...

mmm, looks so tasty!

Vanessa (Australia) said...

Will definitely be giving this a go once the weather warms up where I am! Cannot wait for spring/summer to come!!

That lidded carafe is such a brilliant idea. I'm going to look around the shops to see if they have anything like that around here.

Rubyellen said...

oh i can't wait to try it! thanks for sharing!!!

Skeleton Key Vintage said...

Sounds so lovely. I can't wait to try it out for myself.

Anonymous said...

only marginally topical, but:

Weck!!!

:)

Tilly said...

Yum! I want a jug of this now!

Anonymous said...

lovely. i so want to make some for us here, but think mine won't taste as delicious unless it is poured from that charming carafe.

Secondhand Stella said...

This looks so good! I am def going to try and make it.

LincolnTaft said...

I love making this.

Paul and I have a mint garden, it grows like wild fire.

Refreshing!

http://lesyeuxsansvisage-lincolntaft.blogspot.com

Cateaclysmic said...

Oh yum, I haven't made homemade lemonade in a long time I'l definitely be doing this soon xoxo

Linda said...

yummy!

Rosa said...

Yum! Minty lemonade is amazung! Although I recently had rose and ginger lemonade and that was heaven on earth!! I seriously recommend it...xxx

Shiloh Mae said...

You shouldn't feel at all silly for posting it! Some of us wouldn't have had any idea where to start, if it weren't for you. :) Not everyone has tried it for themselves before, you know; not beyond country time, that is, (which I never drink anymore myself, but haven't tried anything different).

Cate said...

I just came back from a picnic where I made lavendar lemonade which was lovely. Now I think i might have to make lemonade again tomorrow.

Abigail Oliveros said...

what a great help this will be. Next summer I'm planning to start a Lemonade Stand for fun

xoxo
abigail

Lulu said...

ohhh that looks so delish!

Naima Amarilli said...

I love your blog... it's so ispiring, full of beauty!


Kisses from Italy!

esme and the laneway said...

Yum. This makes me look forward to warmer weather :)

Ashlae said...

Mmm, that looks refreshing. I love your blog - and your adorable house! <3

Sarah with an "h" said...

Mmmm...this sounds so refreshing. I think I'll send this to my aunt in Alaska. We made some mint iced tea while I was up there and it was quite yummy.

:o)Sarah

Leire said...

Isn't the lemonade the most refreshing thing for summer? What a nice 'recipe'! ;)

She Can't Decide said...

Mmmm looks delish! [and what a fantastic farm sink you have! jealous!]

Tilly said...

Ooooh! I can't wait to try this out, I may have to buy some more lemons though...i wasted about a hundred squeezing them onto my hair cause apparently it's supposed to make it shiny! It absolutely didn't though and just left me smelling like lemons for a few days he he ;) Thanks for the recipe! xxx

size too small said...

yummm, i'm dying to try this out. i've been craving home-made lemonade and this recipe looks perfect.

Tilly said...

Thank you so much for the tips! I'll be sure to try the coconut oil on my ends as they are quite dead! He he I was a little dubious about the lemon tip too (and rightly so it seems!) but I decided to give it a go! xxx

ps I actually yelped a little (my boyfriend was quite scared!) when I saw you commented as I'm a huge fan of your blog! You're such a huge inspiration! X

Andi B. Goode said...

Ooh, this looks good! I may have to give it a try and deprive the caterpillars of some of our mint. ;]
-Andi x

Syed said...

Ooh yum, totally gonna give this a go!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the suggestion!

Sarah said...

Holy moly this looks great! Must give it a try before the weather gets colder.

Casey said...

Oh yum! I adore fresh lemonade, but am usually too lazy to make it (so it pretty much stays a fair-visit treat ;). I'm going to have to remember this though--I especially love the idea of adding blueberries!

♥ Casey
blog | elegantmusings.com

Nicky said...

I love your juicer... I have one in Jadite that I make OJ with :D Fresh juice is just so tasty!!! Your sink looks super cool too! (I know that sounds weird, but when you own an old home you pay attention to details like that :)

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