Monday, January 27, 2014

Valentine's Foods - Strawberry Lemonade

My husband and I usually get water when we go to a restaurant, but every once in a while, we get raspberry or strawberry lemonade.  I decided to make my own strawberry lemonade for Valentine's.


First I made a simple syrup by heating water and mixing in sugar until the sugar was fully dissolved and then set it aside to cool while I prepared the rest of the mixture.


The next step was to make the strawberry "juice".  I did this by cutting the tops off a pint of strawberries and cutting them in half, or quarters, depending on the size of the strawberries.


Then I put them in the blender with a cup of water and pureed them.  Then I strained this mixture into a half-gallon pitcher before continuing to make the lemonade.





Then I juiced some lemons (6 to be exact) to get about 1 cup of fresh lemon juice.



I mixed the lemon juice with the strawberry juice.  I then added a cup of cold water and the simple syrup.  At this point, taste it, and add more water if desired to achieve the sweetness/bitterness you prefer.  After tasting it, I decided to add 2 more cups of water, but you may like it a little more sour than I do.


Strawberry Lemonade
Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 pint of strawberries
1 cup cold water
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
1 cup cold water (more if desired)
Club soda (optional)

Steps:
1.  Make a simple syrup by mixing together 2 cups water and 1 cup sugar over high heat, cooking until the sugar dissolves and you have a clear syrup.  Remove from heat and set it aside to cool while you do the next steps.
2.  Cut the tops off the strawberries and chop in to quarters.  Add strawberries and 1 cup cold water to a blender and pulse until pureed.  Strain into a half gallon pitcher to remove pulp and seeds.
3.  Juice lemons to get 1 cup lemon juice.
4.  Add lemon juice, 1 cup cold water, and simple syrup to the strawberry juice.  Stir until well combined.  Taste for sweetness and add more cold water if needed to achieve desired taste.  (I added about 2 additional cups of cold water to achieve the taste D. and I liked.)
5.  Refrigerate to chill through or serve over ice.

Optional:  Add club soda to make a sparkling strawberry lemonade.

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