Lemonade

Alex’s parents AND grandparents have lemon trees, which at this point in the year (ok, most of the year) make WAY too many lemons. The challenge: find recipes that use a lot of lemons. For a while I was making lemon bars, and while very delicious, only use 1.5 lemons (zest and juice). Well, yesterday I made a batch of lemonade, and it used FOUR lemons. Here’s the recipe:

Juice of 3 lemons (I roll them on the counter a bit to loosen the juices inside)
1 lemon, sliced and ends discarded (make sure to wash this one, as the slices go in the lemonade)
cold, filtered water
about 1/2 cup hot water
about 1/2 cup sugar

Make a simple syrup with the hot water and sugar: stick the water and sugar on the stove and stir until the sugar dissolves. You can add more sugar if you like, until it no longer stays in solution. Mix all ingredients in a pitcher and fill to the top with cold water, adjust sugar content to taste by adding less or more simple syrup. Add ice if you want to serve it right away.