Lemon Love

It's January and that means in California the lemons are in season. So are the oranges. I am so happy that we have a dwarf Meyer lemon tree, as well as a navel and valencia orange tree in the yard. Time to get juicing. And, with all the illness going around a big glass of OJ sounds perfect this morning. 

Nothing beats fresh squeezed orange juice, unless it is fresh squeezed lemonade.

Temperatures went below freezing over the weekend but the trees 

seem to be okay (including our avocado trees.)

our dwarf Meyer lemon tree is bursting with fruit

We tend to think of Lemonade as a summer drink, but now is the time to make fresh lemonade! It is really so easy. 

1 cup simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water heated until sugar dissolves and cooled down)

1 cup lemon juice

3-4 cups water (to your taste)

I have found this recipe to be a good standard and adjusted to your liking with more or less of any of the ingredients. You get more than 1 cup of syrup when it is dissolved, so measure out just 1 cup and refrigerate any leftovers to make more. I try to keep simple syrup in the fridge and can make a glass anytime by squeezing one lemon, adding the same amount of syrup, and filling the glass with water and ice. Enjoy!

 

 The simple syrups starts with equal parts cold water and sugar in a small saucepan.

Heat until sugar dissolves.

What you will need to make one glass of lemonade

a wooden citrus juicer really takes care of business if you're making one glass of lemonade

If you are making a lot of juice, which we do when we use oranges, 

a heavy-duty juicer is a handy item to have around. (And, for vegetables and other non-citrus fruits, 

we have a Power Juicer.)

yum, ready to drink (needs to be stirred first!)

I think I love lemon more than chocolate - if there is a choice between something lemon and something chocolate, I am more inclined to select the lemon. Chocolate is a close second. 

I even have a board dedicated to lemons on pinterest.