I was lucky enough, this past week, to camp with one of my best friends. She lives across the country and we talk only a few times a year, but when I do see her we slip into each others’ lives easily, regardless of miles and milestones. These past few days, I snuck into her visit home with a little vacation on the side. We roasted corn and grilled hamburgers over campfires, tried to be brave (like our children) on roller coasters, and talked and talked and didn’t talk. Also, we made Fruited Lemonade in Nalgene bottles, a quick and easy drink recipe I want to share with you this week, as juicy and sweet local peaches and melons arrive on our shelves. It is easy and memorable, can be dressed up with vodka or rum for adults, and is actually fun to make for all involved, because it involved choosing and shaking—always a big hit.
Here’s what you need:
Some sort of container with a tight fitting top.
The juice of one lemon for a single drink, or two if you are making a Nalgene bottle sized drink.
All different kinds of fruit and berries. I used cherries, peaches, and blueberries. I was going to use delicious yellow watermelon too, but someone dropped it in the parking lot.
Sugar
Ice
Water
Rum or vodka, if you want, as we call it at home, an “adult drink”
Here’s what you do:
Take whatever berries you are going to be using and add about a ½ cup sugar. Let them sit for about 30 minutes. The sugar will draw liquid out of the berries and make delicious syrup, which adds sweetness to this Fruited Lemonade. (Since we were camping, I put the cherries and berries into a Ziploc bag and added sugar before we left. I just kept them in the cooler until we were ready.)
Juice your lemon. Pour the juice and scrape the pulp into the container. Add a few spoonfuls of berries and syrup. Cut up your peach into small chunks and add that too. Toss in a few cubes of watermelon as well, seeds removed. If you are making this with kids, they can choose which fruits they want to incorporate.
Fill the container with ice. Add water and as much vodka or rum as you wish, so that the container is full.
Shake vigorously. The ice will help to break up the fruit a bit and will make the drink super cold. Little ones love to help with this part.
Taste the concoction for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary. Another tablespoon is usually necessary for the people in my crowd. Shake some more.
Pour everything into a glass and serve with a straw. Many lemonade recipes tell you to strain the fruit from the drink, but we like picking unassuming pieces out with our sticky camping fingers. If you are serving Fruited Lemonade at a cookout, you might want to pour it into mason jars, where it will look especially beautiful. If you are camping, you will use maybe a Styrofoam cup or drink it directly from a Nalgene bottle.
Serve with sweet corn. Share with friends.
See You at the Market.
