Strawberry Lemonade {from-scratch} for #StrawberryWeek

Welcome to Strawberry Week! It's a week...declared as such by me....because I went strawberry picking...and then made a bunch 'o' strawberry things...and thought it would be fun to post all the recipes back to back...and give it a hashtag...and thusly....#StrawberryWeek. And it's summer. Which means it's strawberry season. Which means a happy happy Kayle and Michael! 

These are some of my favorite pictures I've taken. I attribute this to:

1. my new photo set up. 
2. fruit is photogenic.
3. I don't know. Luck?

Making this strawberry lemonade is slightly complicated, messy, takes a bit of time, a good amount of ingredients, and just...is obviously not as cheap or easy as buying it.

But is it totally worth it? YES!

At the end of it you have a gorgeous, refreshing, summery drink that would be a BIG winner if you served it at a party. Michael really loved it (in spite of requests for more sugar, which is not unusual for my sweet-toothed boy) and agreed that I should definitely make it sometime when we have a get together/party. 

Fruity, pretty, tart and sweet at the same time...what more could you ask for from a summer drink?



Strawberry Lemonade {from-scratch}

Adapted from Grandbaby Cakes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (approximately 6 lemons)
• 4 tbsp. honey
• 4+ tbsp. granulated sugar (adjust according to taste preferences)
• 2 cups fresh strawberries
• 4 and 1/2 cups cold water
• Optional-additional slices of strawberries for garnish.

Preparation:

• Whisk together the lemon juice (which I made using the juicer attachment for my food processor) and sugar and honey until the sugar is dissolved.
• Puree strawberries in a food processor or blender until smooth. Run through a fine mesh sieve, combining the strained strawberry puree into the lemon juice and the sugar and honey. 
• Add water to the the rest and stir until fully combined. Pour into pitcher(s) and add in slices of strawberries. 
• To serve pour chilled lemonade into glasses (add ice, if desired), garnish with strawberries if desired, and enjoy!

Michael and I were so perplexed over the vaguely orange hue of this lemonade.

Then our brains were reminded of a lesson from kindergarten....

yellow (lemon juice) + red (strawberry puree)=orange.

ahhhhhh.