When life gives you lemons, well you know...

Life has given me quite a few lemons lately, so naturally I did what anyone would do:  Make lemonade.  One of my favorite things about living in Phoenix is the access to citrus trees and fresh (free) citrus.  I used my frozen lemon juice to make this amazing lemonade.

Truth be told, this is not a photo of my lemonade but it looks exactly like what I made.  I have an issue posting without pictures.  Posting without pictures reminds me of kindergarten, reading those drab books without illustrations.  Do you remember that?  Here's the recipe:

-1 3/4 C. white sugar
-8 C. water
-1 1/2 C. lemon juice
-1 large bunch basil
(optional: fresh seasonal berries)

1. Make a thick simple syrup by combining the sugar and 1 C. water in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil until the sugar dissolves, cool to room temp, and then cover and refrigerate until chilled. In pitcher stir together chilled syrup, remaining 7 C. of water, lemon juice, and the basil leaves. Leave in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.  I added pureed strawberries prior to serving, but any fresh berry would be delicious; I just chose strawberries so I wouldn't have to strain out the seeds.  It was also amazing on its own.  The basil added a subtle but definite flavor.  Perhaps for more of a punch next time I'll try pureeing some basil in with the berries. I also plan to try this recipe with limes instead of lemons to recreate a drink-able version of my favorite sorbet at Sweet Republic.

Speaking of frozen things, I also poured some of the lemonade into popsicle molds with some bits of basil and the strawberry puree, and they made another lovely treat.  

My mom, my son, and I had a picnic at The Farm at South Mountain this week.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to write about that soon.  It was so beautiful under the pecan trees.  If life is giving you lemons, try this recipe.  It helped me.