Next Bev Up: Lemonade

In case you haven't noticed, I've been on a beverage kick lately. I know it's really important to make sure you drink a good amount of water every day, but sometimes water just gets boring. So I need to change it up. Granted, my alternatives do tend to be a little unhealthier than water, but I can't help it. Plus, I still make sure I drink at least 5 cups of just water every day (yes, I know. That's nowhere close to enough water, but I'm working on it).

Today, in the midst of spring, the weather here in New Jersey is actually cooler than I'd like. In fact, some parts of New Jersey got snow the other day! In April! I'm not a fan of cold weather, so I keep my fingers crossed for this cold weather nonsense to end. I added to my self-delusion today by making myself a nice cold glass of lemonade. (Actually, it's still in the process of getting made as I type up this blog, but I decided to write about it anyway).

So here's what I did:

INGREDIENTS:

1 lemon
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. brown sugar (or white sugar, if you prefer)
1 cup + 8 tbsp. water (the 8 tbsp. will be for the syrup)

PROCEDURE:

1. On the stove, heat up the honey, sugar, and 8 tablespoons of water in a small skillet. It doesn't need to come to a boil; it just needs to be warm enough to dissolve the sugar completely. Give it a couple stirs at the end to really make sure the water's dissolved.

2. Put the syrup in the fridge to chill.

3. While the syrup is chilling, cut a lemon and squeeze the juice into a cup. I personally like my lemonade to be very lemony, so one whole lemon is a good amount  for me. However, if you don't like your lemonade as lemony, you can use a little less. Adjust according to your taste.

4. Check on the syrup. For me, the syrup wasn't done chilling yet, so I spent some time cleaning up the kitchen and stuff. Then I wet a paper towel with cold water, wrapped the wet paper towel around the cup, and then stuck that in the fridge too. I know there's not really anything in the cup other than the juice of the lemon, but I really like my lemonade cold, so I figured, the colder the cup, the better I'll enjoy it.

5. Once the syrup is chilled enough for your liking, take it out of the fridge. I also took the cup with lemon juice out of the fridge and filled it up with water. Add a bit of syrup to the lemonade. WARNING: The syrup is very sweet. Don't be too tempted to just dump the whole thing in at once without trying it little by little first. You can always save any leftover syrup for the next cup of lemonade.

6 Enjoy your lemonade! :)

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