Summertime, and the Livin' is Easy!

It's sunny and beautiful here today. The perfect early summer day. Just a hit of a breeze. The windows are open. Since I had some lemons left over from the cookies that I made on Friday, I made Lemonade. Peaceful looking,  isn't it?  Makes you think about how beautiful and serene my life must be, doesn't it?!

I sat outside on the patio for awhile. Enjoying listening to the birds sing and watching the butterflies on the flowers.

And pretending to be COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS to the fact that, a mere 10 feet away,  my kitchen table looks like THIS:

 and my dining room table looks like THIS:

 Just keepin' it real for ya, people! We now return you to images chirping birds and gentle breezes (and the recipe for the perfect lemonade).
  

I found that the secret to perfect lemonade is to start by making sugar syrup, also known as "simple syrup". Dissolving the sugar in hot water disperses the sugar in the lemonade more effectively, instead of having the sugar sink to the bottom.

Perfect Lemonade Recipe 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)

Directions:

1 Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.
2 While the sugar is dissolving, juice 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.
3 Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, (more or less) to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. (I generally skip this step because I'm too impatient thirsty.) If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more lemon juice to it.
Serve over ice with sliced lemons.

xo,

S