The warm weather makes you want to enjoy a cool and refreshing drink. Lemonade, iced tea, and flavored waters are all summer drinks. Here are some ideas for the months ahead.

SUN TEA

These containers are available in stores now to make sun tea this summer.

You make a simple syrup and fill with water and tea bags. Don’t use just one kind of tea. Mix up the flavors to make a unique flavor all your own.

Set the container outside and the warmth of the sun brews the tea in a few hours. You can drop slices of orange or lemon to release their citrus taste to your sun tea as it brews.

When the tea has brewed, transfer the container to the refrigerator for about an hour. Serve with slices of lemon and garnish with our reliable sprig of mint.

STRAWBERRY LEMONADE

Nothing says summer in a glass like lemonade. Maybe somewhere in the middle of the season you want to shake up your drinks routine with a version of lemonade known as strawberry lemonade.

You can puree some strawberries in a blender and stir into your pitcher of lemonade. Have some fun and freeze slices of strawberry in an airtight plastic freezer bag.

Drop the frozen strawberry slices in the glasses of strawberry lemonade instead of ice cubes to keep your drinks cool.

Do you need a recipe for lemonade? Here you go.

CLASSIC LEMONADE

1 cup cold water

1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 cup granulated sugar

(To make it pink lemonade add a splash of cranberry juice.)

The key to a smooth-tasting lemonade is to make a simple syrup.

If you mixed the above ingredients in a pitcher the granulated crystals of sugar would just swirl around and fall to the bottom of the pitcher leaving the last person to pour a glass with ALL the sugar in one glass.

To make the simple syrup heat all of the sugar in a portion of the amount of water in the recipe. The sugar crystals melt into the water leaving the taste of sugar behind.

Now when everything goes into your serving pitcher there are no crystals of sugar but the sweet flavor is there to mix with the tart lemon juice.

Chill for a few hours and serve in glasses of ice. If you are serving your lemonade at the table, slice some thin slices of lemons and let them float in the lemonade for a homemade touch.

 

We tend to scale back on the amount of sugar. Play around with the amounts and suit to your taste.

See you tomorrow!