alchemy.

All has been gloomy here the past few days, so when I spied a big basket of lemons and limes on offer in the shop, I couldn't resist. I picked them up and traipsed home to make something delicious. My cloudy mood began to lighten with the seriously important decision I found laid out before me on my kitchen bench: 

Lemon curd or lemonade? 

Ah, an age-old question. 

I am a sucker for a good lemon curd, it's true. However, I couldn't resist the thought of a tall glass of sweet, tart, golden lemonade for a change. 

Now, I think the recipe for lemonade is pretty simple, and nearly impossible to mess up, which suits me just fine. The ratios are always easy, one cup of lemon juice (or in today's case, lemon and lime juice), one cup of sugar, and then three to four cups of water (to taste). Add ice. Combine. Enjoy. 

Easy as. 

However, I do things a little differently. Because there is one glaring problem with the recipe above: it is a pain in the backside trying to get granulated sugar to dissolve into cold liquid. I always end up losing the epic battle between myself and the sugar. Without fail. It (literally) puts a sour taste in my mouth. 

Enter a magical solution. Two words: Simple. Syrup.

The recipe for simple syrup is, you guessed it, simple. Combine equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan and heat gently just until the sugar is dissolved fully. Once cooled, you end up with what is essentially liquid sugar. It can be used in countless drinks recipes, including this one. You can make big batches of it at one time and store it in the fridge for future use. 

I tend to use less sugar than most in my lemonade. Feel free to double the amount of sugar for yours, or hey go crazy, play with your own sugar/lemon/water ratios. The world is your lemonade stand. 

Sunshine In A Glass

1 1/3 cup of lemon/lime juice (freshly squeezed -- splurge on nice, ripe, fresh fruit. It's worth it)

1/2 cup of simple syrup

3-4 cups of water (or to taste)

Combine all three ingredients and stir thoroughly. Add plenty of ice and a few slices of fresh lemon if you're feeling especially brave. 

And there you have it. Alchemy. 

I felt a bit rebellious today and put my white lemonade in a recycled *pink* lemonade bottle. Watch out, world.