Lemonade is one of my favorite summer beverages. Growing up in Southern California I remember walking through lemon groves on my grandmothers property. The beautiful bright yellow fruit hanging in the trees seemed to call to us and before I knew it we were picking lemons and heading back to the kitchen.

Grandma loved to make fresh lemonade. I vividly remember standing in the kitchen with the old fashioned citrus juicer trying with all my might to squeeze every last drop of juice from the lemon half with in. She added the lemon juice, sugar and water to the large glass pitcher and gave it a stir. As she gathered the glasses and ice she would send us off to invite the old widow next door or the kids down the street to come and sip lemonade with us by the pool or on the porch. This was a summer ritual we shared.

As the school days have become numbered and I am trying to think of ways to spend the summer days with my kids, making lemonade has been added to my list. Although the lemons from the produce section will have to do, I hope they too will have memories of sipping summer lemonade and sharing it with friends.

Simple Homemade Lemonade Recipe:
Prep time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
1 cup lemon juice about 4 to 6 lemons
3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)

DIRECTIONS:
1 Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan just until the sugar is dissolved completely.
2 While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 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. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.
Serve with ice, sliced lemons.
Yield: Serves 6.