Great grandma’s lemon tree was bending under its own weight, so the kids and I did our part to help the poor little tree out and filled a grocery bag full of obscenely juicy fruits.
For the next four days I was asked “When can we make lemonade?” about 8,756 times. Maybe more. Totally more.
Here’s how we made some really yummy lemonade:
Start outside. On a sunshine-y day.
Garden hoses and sprinklers to hose off the sticky may or may not be necessary. (Totally necessary.)
Next, find the cutest helpers in the neighborhood. You don’t even need to brush their hair first.
Halve your lemons and take some pretty pictures of them. Because there’s not much happier and that screams refreshment like a bunch of freshly cut lemons.
Put your helpers to work squeezing.
Remind them to take turns. And not rub their eyes.
Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
Don’t stress if they spill. There’s plenty more lemons in the bag. And there’s that garden hose you’ll be using for clean up, remember?
Licking the lemons gives the lemonade just that extra bit of flavor*.
While the kids are happily juicing, licking, spilling, and giggling, slip inside to boil a cup of water and the sugar until just dissolved. (The original recipe called for 1 3/4 c. of sugar…that seemed like a lot, so I used 1 1/4 c. which was plenty sweet. I might even try 1 c. next time.)
Dump a bunch of ice cubes into your syrup to cool it down quick like.
Go back outside to find your kids still happily juicing with minimal fighting. Be in awe of this, but be careful to not say anything out loud, lest you jinx it.
Make a mental note to plant a lemon tree.
When you have a cup and a half of juice, go ahead and rub the rinds into your table. I hear it helps condition the wood.
Fish out as many of the seeds as you can, but leave the pulp. I didn’t get all of them, but we’re not so fancy that it matters.
Then again, we also lick our lemons before we juice them, so there you go.
Pour little glasses of your concoction as payment for the child labor.
Take a picture.
Because this is cute and kinda artsy too.
And then hold your breath while they take the first taste…
Here’s the recipe in case you want to try. You can click HERE to print it out in all its cute glory.
*Tracy, no need to freak out. I made a second (non-licked) batch for Growth Group. Lucy saliva free. You’re welcome.
Latest posts by jeannett (see all)
- Dirt in a Jar, Laundry Scientists, and Clean Water - October 20, 2015
- Because Cake. - October 11, 2015
- How to design a luxury bathroom for less - August 12, 2015
we love making homemade lemonade. I cheat & use the bottled lemon juice. Not as good for cute picture photo ops. Or the bonus secret saliva ingredient. lol
Anne @ anne b. good´s last blog post ..This Post About Depression Isn’t Depressing
I was expecting a really deep post, like “When life gives you lemons” Kind of thing. Love that it was about genuine lemonade!
Now if the weather would just cooperate with a glass of lemonade,
seriously sassy mama´s last blog post ..The Mighty O
Those lemons are the best! They are Meyer lemons, and if you see them in the store they may charge $1 a piece for them. Glad you are enjoying some of them. Looks like so much fun.
Hey, all that acid kills the saliva germs! LOL Good times and I wish gramma lived next door. I would so help out with picking….
Cheers,
Caryl
“Make mental note to plant a lemon tree.” – You’re the best.
And just like that, jilly is all grown up. She even looked like more of a beebee in your very recent Disneyland pics.Now in these pictures she’s such a big girl! I don’t know what gives, but it’s happening over here too.
And lemonade is the best.
Yum! I love lemonade, but man, that is a lot of work! ;) Looks like the little ones had a blast making it!
Tracey of HaikuYouDo´s last blog post ..Ellicott City Storefronts