Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Celebrating the Spring Equinox with Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade



Spring has arrived...though it is hard to believe on this chilly day. There's still snow on the ground and we are wearing winter coats.  Nonetheless, the days are getting longer and the sun feels warmer.

On this first day of Spring, I made Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade that I saw on Pinterest. It led to a recipe on Life's Ambrosia. The picture on the pin is significantly different than the finished product. The pin looks like lemonade with slice strawberries floating in the pitcher. The actual recipe is more of a smoothie-looking beverage that has a soda-beverage type consistency.

Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade
Serves 4
Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 10 min

Ingredients:

6 lemons
1 to 1 1/2 cups simple syrup (recipe follows)
1 (16 ounce) container strawberries, hulled and halved
1 quart sparkling water
Ice cubes
Mint for garnish

For the Simple Syrup
2 cups sugar
2 cups water

Instructions:

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Cool completely.


Roll the lemons back and forth a couple of times on the counter to release the juices. Cut the lemons in half juice into a bowl. Remove any seeds that may have fallen into the juice. You should get about 1 cup of lemon juice.


Put the sliced and hulled strawberries in a blender.


Using a blender, blend the strawberries with the 1/2 cup of the simple syrup, until smooth.


Pour lemon juice, strawberry puree, 1/2 cup simple syrup and sparkling water into a pitcher. Add more simple syrup if you want a little more sweetness. Add ice cubes. Chill until ready to drink.


Place more ice cubes in a glass, pour in chilled lemonade, garnish with mint sprig. Enjoy!

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