Lemonade

Yesterday, Shannon and I spent our entire afternoon in the yard. We weeded the garden, we pruned the overgrown strawberry plant, we (finally) planted the herbs in their respective planters, and we hung my bird feeders. In short, we did some serious upgrading to the yard. You know what that calls for? Lemonade. Homemade lemonade.

Lemonade
adapted ever so slightly from Food Network Magazine

10 medium lemons
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt

Remove 2 - 3 large strips of lemon zest with a vegetable peeler, careful not to remove the pith.

In a large saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cup water, 1 1/2 cup granulate sugar and lemon zest. Bring to a boil and whisk until all sugar is dissolved. Congrats, you've just made simple syrup. Allow the simple syrup to cool. Remove the lemon zest.

In the meantime, juice your lemons until you have a full 2 cups of lemon juice. It took me nine lemons to make 2 cups of lemon juice. Slice the remaining lemon into slices. Make sure to remove the seeds.

In a large pitcher filled with ice, place the lemon slices. Add the simple syrup, 2 cups of lemon juice, 2 cups of water, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir to combine.