Cherry Lemonade

Cuisine: American

Inpsiration: I was so excited when I walked into the grocery store last week and saw the first batch of fresh cherries in the produce section. To me, cherries just scream summer time, and there’s nothing like a bag of fresh cherries in my lunch on a sunny day. They’re one of those foods that just improve my mood by being so tasty and so summer. I always just eat them by the handful, but this year, I’ve been thinking of trying some recipes using fresh cherries. A nice cherry lemonade sounded like a perfect treat for a long holiday weekend.

What we Loved: B and I both agreed that this was the best lemonade we’ve ever had. It was tart and sour like you’d expect a lemonade to be, but also so sweet and cherry flavored. It was just delicious. And isn’t the color beautiful? We enjoyed this as an afternoon snack on Memorial Day after a nice bike ride. Perfect.

Helpful Hints: My only advice here is to make a lot! The below recipe just barely makes enough for two 8 oz glasses of lemonade (with ice), but B and I both really wished that we had more. I would double the recipe, or even make enough for a pitcher. This lemonade would be great for a summer party or BBQ.

Cherry Lemonade
Source: New York Times

1/2 cup cherries, pitted
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup cold water
4 tablespoons sugar

1. Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender.

2. Pour the lemonade through a sieve in order to collect the bits of cherry peels that remain unblended.

3. Serve over ice, garnished with fresh cherries.

Hot Apple Cider

So far we’ve resisted turning on the heat at home…and over the weekend, we had a couple of mornings where it was pretty freezing in our house. I picked up some cider at the grocery store and we heated up this delicious drink on Saturday afternoon while we watched football. The recipe was so sweet and spicy and tasted just like fall should taste. It made for a cozy afternoon. :)

Hot Apple Cider
Adapted from Cooks Recipes

Had I been able to justify spending $13 on whole cloves and whole allspice, I would have, but this recipe worked just fine with the ground spices that I already had at home.

8 cups apple cider
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Heat on medium high heat for at least a half an hour before serving.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Cocktail

Strawberries, bananas, rum, vodka, tequila….delicious and nutritious, right? B’s the bartender at our house, and he mixed up this recipe for us. It was very tasty and refreshing, and don’t you love the color?

 

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Cocktail
Source: Original Recipe

2 medium bananas, chopped
3/4 quart of strawberries
3 shots of rum
3 shots of tequila
2 shots of vodka
1-2 trays of ice, depending on desired consistency

1. Place all ingredients in a blender, blend, and enjoy.