Making Lemonade from Lemons... Literally

To me, pumpkins mean fall, hot chocolate means winter, daffodils mean spring and lemons mean summer. Maybe it's my childhood Countrytime Lemonade stands, or the light, fresh smell and bright, sunshiney color of lemons, but I've always associated this particular citrus with summer.

Since summer is starting to set in, I've been craving lemon. I recently made some Vermontucky lemonade cocktails from my favorite cooking blog, Smitten Kitchen. And for my weekly doggie playdate with my friend Jessica today, I served fresh-squeezed lemonade. I always have some Simply Lemonade in the fridge, but there's something about homemade lemonade that makes it taste a little bit better and feel a little more special (maybe it's the elbow grease expended while juicing all those lemons!). To make my lemonade, I loosely follow this recipe from All Recipes. After juicing my lemons, I tailor the rest of the ingredients to the amount of lemon juice yielded. I usually add about 3/4 as much water and simple syrup as I think I need, then keep adding more splash by splash until I've achieved the perfect tart-sweet taste. Then, of course, I serve it in mason jars. Next on the lemon to-do list: lemon bars.