I bought a huge bag of lemons with the idea that it would be fun to make lemonade with the kids. I only have a hand reamer, nothing fancy, powerful or fast. My son was anxious to get to the good part, drinking it. We tried several ratios to get it just right. First we started with 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice (my son wanted to use all the lemons) plus 1 cup of sugar and 1 3/4 cups water. Then we tried 1 cup sugar and 4 cups of water but the little chef thought it was still too bitter. Finally, we went to the internet and found a recipe and it worked. I think the site was allrecipes.com.

1 3/4 cups sugar
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups lemon juice (about 8-10 lemons)

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Remove seeds from lemon juice. In a pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water.

Alternatives:
Pink Lemonade – 1/4 cup cranberry juice

Ginger ale

Strawberry Lemonade – 1 pint strawberries, 8 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons superfine sugar. Puree strawberries and sugar in a blender.

Try making Lemonade Floats or set up a Lemonade Bar. Set out the simple syrup, lemon juice, water and ice. Grab a glass and make your own cup of lemonade.