Few things are as refreshing as freshly-squeezed lemonade on a hot summer day. Try one of these three easy recipes for a tastebud pleasng homemade treat:
Old Fashioned Lemonade
Ingredients:
1 cup lemon juice (4-6 lemons)
1 cup sugar
5 cups water
Make simple syrup by dissolving the sugar into 1 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Combine the lemon juice and the simple syrup in a two-quart pitcher. Add 4 cups of cold water. Refrigerate.
Lemonade Iced Tea
Ingredients:
1/4 cup lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
two black tea bags
3/4 cup sugar
2 quarts of water
Bring two quarts of water to a boil. Drop two tea bags into the water and remove from heat. Cover with a lid and steep for an hour. Remove the tea bags and add sugar and lemon juice. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour into a pitcher and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
Raspberry Lemonade
Ingredients:
1 cup lemon juice (4-6 lemons)
1 cup sugar
5 cups water
1 10-oz. container frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
Make simple syrup by dissolving the sugar into 1 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Combine the lemon juice and the simple syrup in a two-quart pitcher. Add 4 cups water. Place thawed raspberries in a strainer over small bowl until all of the liquid has drained out of the berries. Do not press the berries through the strainer. Add the raspberry liquid to the lemon mixture, stirring. Refrigerate. Set the berries aside in a separate bowl to use as garnish.
After your work is done, and while you’re sipping away, be sure to read up on the health benefits of lemons.
Jaime McLeod is the Web Content Editor for the Farmers' Almanac. She is a longtime journalist who has written for a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including MTV.com. She enjoys the outdoors, loves eating organic food, and is interested in all aspects of natural wellness.
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.
