Lazy Whole Lemon(ade)

Lemonade is a summertime tradition.  It brings me right back to my childhood where the best elixir from sweltering summer heat was a tall pitcher of lemonade.  Pearls of condensation run down the outside of the chilled lemonade pitcher.  The ice basks in the afternoon sunlight, you can hear it crackle.  Nothing beats the heat or refreshes the body like ice-cold lemonade, nothing. 

Like many of you, I was at a BBQ over Memorial Day.  My friend Andres introduced me to the “lazy mans lemonade”.  Andres said, this is how we make it in Bolivia.    When Andres says “lazy”, he really means practical and fast.  He had 3 pitchers of lemonade whipped up in less than 7 minutes.

This recipe needs only lemons, water, and sugar.  You can put a twist on this recipe by adding some fresh mint, basil, ginger, or strawberries.  Start simple, then go crazy.   It’s going to be a long summer.

Lazy Whole Lemon(ade)

Ingredients

12 Lemons
3 Cups of superfine sugar (granulated will do, but superfine dissolves best)
Add water to taste, I use about one pitcher of water per 7 lemons

Preparation

1. Cut lemons into wedges.
2. In a blender chunk up wedges from 4 lemons, a few cups of water, and 1 cup of sugar. Don’t over blend, it will be bitter.  I blended too much in the photos.
3. Repeat blending until all lemons are used.
4. Pour mixture through strainer into a pitcher.  Press liquid out of lemon mixture with a spatula.
5. Mix with ice and guzzle!

Tastier Lemonade

Some people find the blended lemon rind causes lemonade to have a slightly bitter taster.  You can cut the peel away and filet the lemon before blending.  If you make this option you can leave the pulp in for a country-style lemonade.  Think ahead and freeze ice cubes with mint, basil, and lemon zest to give this lemonade more depth.

World meet Elliott, Elliott meet the blogosphere!  This is our fluff ball Elliott.  Y’all will be seeing more of this little guy in future posts.

Arlington Virginia, Whole Lemon Lemonade, Arlington