“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…”
These lyrics have been dancing around my head after a gorgeous weekend here in California. It may not be summer yet, but our beautiful weather has me feeling wistful for the long, sun-soaked days that are right around the corner.
This weekend, I realized how much I am influenced by the weather, especially when it comes to food and beverages. And if you’ve been following my blog posts for some time, it’s not hard to miss the connection with current weather conditions and the content I put out. With that being said, while the sun came out to play this weekend, I was outside picking fresh lemons off our tree in the front yard with the intent of a new recipe.
I started planning a lemon bar recipe, but for once, I didn’t want to confine myself to the kitchen when there was so much that could be done outside. With the warm weather, I need a little something to quench my thirst.
When life hands you lemons, you make some gosh darn lemonade with ’em.
I call this my front porch lemonade for two reasons.
Reason #1, my lemon tree is literally right outside the front porch.
Reason #2, you’ll want to take a glass of this lemonade to the front porch, kick your feet up and let time slow down for a just a little while. Sip and soak in the sunshine, take in the laughter of the neighborhood kids as they play down the street, and watch the hummingbirds gracefully kiss the flowers as they buzz by.
Life is good.
Although a lemonade recipe follows this, I would hardly call it a recipe. I would say it’s more of a starting point or guideline. All you really need are lemons, water, a sweetener and a little ice, then adjust to taste. After many attempts at a naturally sweetened lemonade over the years, I think stevia is my preferred sweetener of choice. In my opinion, honey just didn’t cut the tartness of the lemons, coconut sugar didn’t dissolve well, and maple syrup was all wrong taste-wise. See my notes following the recipe for some fun options to spruce up your front porch sippin’.
Front Porch Lemonade
Paleo friendly, refined sugar free, 100% delicious.
Ingredients:
- 7 lemons
- 6 cups filtered, cold water
- 12 stevia packets * see notes
- Ice
Other Tools Needed:
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board
- Citrus Squeezer (I LOVE this one) *see notes
- Mixing spoon
- Pitcher
Method:
Fill the pitcher about 1/4 high with ice. Using your knife and cutting board, halve each lemon and use the citrus squeezer to remove the juice from the lemons; you can juice them right into the pitcher. Then, add the filtered water and stevia to the pitcher, and mix the lemonade with your mixing spoon. Use the ‘ol taste test method to see if it’s done to your liking. You can add more lemon juice, water or stevia as needed.
*Notes:
I had stevia packets on hand (1 packet=2 tsp if you have it in bulk), but maybe liquid stevia would be an easier route? You’ll have to adjust the measurements accordingly. Additionally, if you don’t have a citrus squeezer, you can juice the lemons the old fashioned way and squeeze them by hand.
If you feel like sprucing up your lemonade a bit, you can add fresh berries (raspberries and strawberries would be amazing in this), or you can make lemonade slushies by blending the lemonade with the ice, and blending berries in as well. You can also make this an adult beverage by adding vodka, rum or tequila. There are so many options, so don’t be afraid to get creative.
It may be a Monday but now you have something to look forward to this week or coming weekend. Post pictures of how you enjoy your front porch lemonade with the hashtag #frontporchsippin and tag @cavegirlculture on Instagram and Twitter!
Hope you have a wonderful week!
Cheers,
*In the spirit of full disclosure (secrets don’t make friends), this blog post contains affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything through those links. I only recommend products that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands!
Steph's in the Kitchen 