You loved Dinner S.O.S., so we’re joining with our friends Ceri and Laura of Sweet Potato Chronicles once again for a brand new web series, Simply Summer! From refreshing drinks, to delicious and filling salads, to a frosty dessert your whole family will love, Simply Summer is all about luscious seasonal ingredients prepared simply. Dig in and enjoy!

Is there anything more refreshing on a hot summer day than fresh lemonade? While a glass of tart, homemade lemonade is a great thirst-quencher, why not change things up by adding some mint, strawberries or blueberries? If your kids are in the lemonade business, they can definitely charge upwards of a dollar for a glass of any of these delicious flavours!

Fresh mint lemonade

Ingredients: 

• 1 dozen lemons, juiced
• 2 cups water
• 1 3/4 to 2 cups sugar
• 6 to 8 mint leaves
• Water and ice

Method: 

To make the concentrate: Juice the lemons and then run the liquid through a fine sieve. Set aside.

For the simple syrup: Put water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.

For mint lemonade:

When you’ve finished preparing your simple syrup drop half the mint leaves into the syrup to steep as it cools.

In a Mason jar, place about 1/4 to 1/2 cup lemon concentrate, depending on how tart you like your lemonade. Then add two cups water, ice, and minted simple syrup to taste. Adjust to your personal preference.

For strawberry lemonade:

Place 1 cup of strawberries in a blender or use an immersion blender and whiz until the consistency of a smoothie.

In a Mason jar, place about 1/4 to 1/2 cup concentrate, depending on how tart you like your lemonade. Then add two cups water and ice. Stir in the fruit. Adjust taste with water, syrup or concentrate to suit your sweet or tart tooth.

For blueberry lemonade:

Repeat strawberry lemonade method for blueberry lemonade using 1 cup fresh blueberries.

Two more refreshing drink recipes from Sweet Potato Chronicles:

Watermelon limeade

Strawberry shake

And for your dinnertime solutions, be sure to check out our last series with Sweet Potato Chronicles: Dinner S.O.S