Easy Homemade Lemon-Limeade Recipe

When Will returned to school on Monday, he wasn’t as excited as usual. “I want it to be summer, Mommy,” he told me. After a week of spring break, the sun finally emerged on Sunday and we had an amazing day filled with egg hunts and family and good food.

I totally understand what he’s talking about — and I want it to be summer too. But it’s not quite yet.

Spring has arrived here. It’s finally warm. At the first sign of the upturn in temperatures, I threw open the windows and didn’t look back. A cool breeze comes in nearly all day long … and I love it. It’s that divine intersection of warm air and brisk wind.

Spring, so late in its arrival this year, is glorious. The birds are chirping, the flowers blooming, the grass growing (ok, maybe the grass, which already needs to be cut, isn’t that glorious). I’m inspired again.

Yesterday, I turned up the music and scrubbed the kitchen before testing four recipes. Then, I visited with my cousins for a little while before picking up the kids from school.

When evening arrived, the sun was still bright and strong so I prepared a picnic. Will and Paige spread out a big blanket in our backyard and we sat around, eating hard-boiled eggs, Lemony Pasta Salad, strawberries, homemade bread spread with butter and ice-cold Lemon-Limeade.

The Lemon-Limeade seemed like the perfect drink to accompany such a simple, spring-y meal outside. The flavor falls somewhere between a tangy lemonade and a mild limeade. Served with lots of ice, it’s so refreshing — the perfect sip at the end of a long and busy day.

And in case you are wondering, it’s pretty darn easy to make too. Score.

Note: Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes’ Perfect Lemonade Recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Easy Homemade Lemon-Limeade Recipe

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Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 3 limes
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup organic sugar
• 4 cups cold water
• ice

Instructions

1. Juice the lemon and limes together. Pour into a pitcher and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup of water with the sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly. You are making a simple syrup to flavor the Lemon-Limeade. Once the sugar is fully dissolved into the water, remove it from the heat and pour into the pitcher.
3. Add the 4 cups of cold water to the pitcher and stir well. Add ice, as desired, to chill or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

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