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Infused Summer Lemonade + Festive Ice

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Summer is here!

There’s just something about the DC summer heat that makes ice cold lemonade so very good! Here’s a look at a simple 3-ingredient recipe for classic lemonade plus three additional fruit infused alternatives that are equally as refreshing. Whether it’s just a casual afternoon at home, or you’re having guests over – grab a pitcher and try your hand at one of these recipes.

Classic Lemonade

Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 quarts of water
  • 3/4 cup of white sugar
  • 1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx. 7 lemons)
Instructions

In a large pot heat water and sugar while stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice. Garnish with lemon wedge and serve chilled over ice.

Blackberry Lemonade

Ingredients
  • 2 ½ quarts of water
  • ¾ cup of white sugar
  • 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice ( approx. 7 lemons)
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries ( approx. 15 blackberries)
Instructions

In a large pot heat water and sugar while stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice. Chill. Puree blackberries in a blender with 1 tbsp of water. Stir into chilled lemonade. Garnish with a fresh blackberry and serve chilled over ice.

Watermelon Mint Lemonade

Ingredients
  • 1 ½ quarts water
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx. 4 lemons)
  • 5 to 6 cups of watermelon, cubed
  • 2 sprigs of mint
Instructions

In a pot on high heat, bring sugar and water to a light boil until the sugar is dissolved and your mixture is clear—this will be your simple syrup. Turn off the heat and toss in the sprigs of mint. Allow mint to steep for 15 minutes, then remove it from your simple syrup and discard sprigs. Allow mint-infused syrup to cool for about 10 minutes and then pour into your blender with the watermelon. Blend until smooth and then pour mixture through a fine sieve into a pitcher to get rid of any unwanted seeds or pulp. Add lemon juice to the pitcher and stir. Serve immediately over ice with a sprig of mint for garnish.

White Peach Lemonade

Ingredients
  • 1 ½  quarts water
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx. 7 lemons)
  • 3 cups white peaches, chopped (approx. 6 peaches)
Instructions

Place chopped peaches, water and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Allow to cook down, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly, then run through a blender until pureed. Pour peach mixture through a fine sieve and place in refrigerator until chilled. Meanwhile, juice your lemons. Once the peach mixture has chilled in your pitcher, add lemon juice. Garnish with lemon wedge and serve chilled over ice.

Festive Ice

Something extra!

For a little something extra, add any of these infused ice cubes to your lemonade. The flavors and herbs will infuse into the drink as your ice melts. Even if you’re not making lemonade, these infused cubes make a pretty addition to a glass or pitcher of sparkling water. 

What you’ll need
  • Ice cube tray
  • Water
  • Herbs/Florals of your choice (rosemary, mint, lavender or small flowers)

Note: Be sure that whatever you add to your ice cubes can be safely ingested.

Instructions

Fill the ice cube tray halfway with water, add in flowers or herbs, and then freeze. After frozen, cover them with more water and freeze again. Doing this in two steps prevents the flowers or herbs from floating to the top of the water before the ice cubes freeze.

By Dana Ash-McGinty

Dana Ash-McGinty is the Principal Broker of ASH | MCGINTY, a Washington, DC Real Estate Brokerage. This real estate maven has 15+ years experience in residential, commercial and land sales in addition to multi-state residential renovation, re-zoning, and condo conversion projects. A sought after real estate authority, she has been featured on CNN and in various real estate and financial publications. Dana is married to the highly esteemed Dr. Dana W. McGinty, a Washington, DC internal medicine physician and medical correspondent. They are often referred to as "The Danas".