The phrase ‘sunshine in a glass’ might be a little hyperbolic, but it is exactly what I need right now! Summer has not been forthcoming in London this year — something about jet-streams being further south than they should, cross-Atlantic weather systems… All I know is that I’m being chased by clouds and pelted with rain every time I step out my front door.
Enough, I say! If I can’t have the sun outdoors, I can at least have the sun in my mouth. Or something less dirty/flamey. Lemonade. I can have lemonade.
This recipe is a by-the-glass affair inspired by my decade-old memories of lemonade at Jet Fuel, a cafe near Riverdale in Toronto, which I would steam up to after a long day of lifeguarding at Regent’s Park Pool. They kept it simple and so have I.
ingredients:
1/2 lemon
fresh, cold water
3-4 ice cubes
2 heaped tsp. sugar (any kind)
method:
Using a lemon juicer (or your fist if you’re Hulk-like), squeeze out all the juice of the lemon half into a glass right to the pith. The pulpier the better.
Top up the glass up with fresh, cold water, leaving enough space to add the ice cubes without the liquid splashing over the sides. Add 3-4 ice cubes. Dump the sugar on top of the ice cubes and allow to sink to the bottom. Now, with a teaspoon, gingerly mix the sugar into the lemon mix and over the ice cubes. Be gentle: undue force will cause irreparable lemonade lossage.
Lemon. Squeeze. Repeat.
Note: I suspect you could do this by the jug-full, but I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you do and how it turns out!
Top Tip: Keep that teaspoon handy as the sugar will form a delicious sediment at the bottom of the glass, which would be a shame to waste.
Alternative Suggestions: Lime! Grapefruit!
Also Note: I think Jet Fuel used the peel and soaked it over night in sugar — I could be making that up, but I seem to recall zest being part of it.
Lastly: Yes, that is a jam jar. This is not an effort to be cutesy or all Depression Era-chic (always hilarious in these times of economic austerity), this is strictly practical. Over the last couple of years we have transitioned from proper glasses to jam jars because I can’t break jam jars; however, as Louisa will attest, show me a glass (especially a nice one, or one with sentimental value of any kind) and I will find a way to break it.
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