Lemonade

Lemonade,
originally uploaded by jamieanne.

I found this recipe (and pic) on Flickr a while back.  It takes a bit more time than the frozen lemonade that comes in a can, but it's so much better! Unfortunately, everyone likes it, and I don't want to share!

Lemonade
 
Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• Zest of 3 lemons (no pith!)
• 2 cups boiling water
• 4 cups cool water
• 1 1/3 cup lemon juice (approximately 6 lemons)
• 5 or 6 strawberries (optional)
• ice cubes

Preparation

1. Pour the sugar and the lemon zest into an empty pitcher. Pour the 2 cups boiling water onto the sugar and lemon zest and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour in the 4 cups cool water, then pour in the lemon juice and stir. I usually pour the lemonade through a strainer to take out the lemon zest.
2. For strawberry lemonade, put the strawberries into a blender, along with a cup or so of the lemonade and blend until juiced. I strain this as well to get rid of the strawberry seeds. Then pour the strawberry-lemonade mixture into the pitcher along with the rest of the lemonade, and there you have it!
3. Refrigerate until cold, and drink with ice cubes!