Simple Stevia Lemonade

Lemonade—sweet, sour, sitting-under-a-tree-on-a-summer-day lemonade.

A pitcher of lemonade doesn't last long around our family. But I don't think anyone enjoys it more than I do. If we happen to have lemons on hand, I'm sure to make a gallon of it and drink it all up! At least that's what I have in mind.

Since we're on the health conscious side, we use sweeteners like honey, or our latest favorite, stevia.

And here it is! "Susi's Yummy, Dummy, Healthy Lemonade" also known as...

Simple Stevia Lemonade

Makes 1 gallon

4 Lemons

1 tsp. Liquid Stevia

Ice, enough to half fill a gallon size pitcher.

Water to fill

Cut a few lemon slices and put aside for garnishing (optional). Cut lemons in half and squeeze into pitcher. Slice squeezed lemons and add to the juice. Add water, then stevia. Stir. Use more or less lemons or stevia to get it just right. Garnish glasses with lemon slices. Serve immediately....before the ice melts!

Enjoy your lemonade-Susan

Recipe Review: Orange Juice Cocktail

Now this is a teetotaling blog! We don't tolerate any recipes with alcoholic beverages! So don't stop reading at "cocktail" Hehe! :D

Orange Juice Cocktail
2c. orange juice
1/2c. sugar
2T. lemon juice
Ginger ale (iced)
Mix sugar, orange juice and lemon juice and freeze to a mush.
When ready to serve, half fill fruit juice glasses with frozen mixture. Open a bottle of Ginger ale and pour over the frozen fruit juice, filling the glasses. Serve immediately as the first course for luncheon or dinner. It may be served in the living room.

Both Rebecca and I thought this would be a terrific substitute for dessert, on a hot humid day etc. (I was imagining a barbecue :D) It's like a float with, the pop and how the frozen orange juice rises to the top.

Ginger ale is good, but I'm curious to try club soda or sprite? I imagine the club soda might need more sweetening. Going along on that train of thought, wouldn't substituting the orange juice with grape be good?! There are many possibilities.

I think this cocktail is better served to small groups, since the frozen juice melts quickly.

You don't need to worry about it being a mush when you are ready to serve. I let it freeze for most the day. The juice was solid when I took it out, all I had to do was scrape it with a fork, It wasn't difficult! The juice could probably be frozen for a week or more, just take it out when ready.

Isn't Rebecca a great photographer?

Note: This delicious recipe is from Everyday Foods. The same book as below! :D

Recipe Review: Mint Punch

Mint Punch
1 c. sugar
1 c. fresh mint leaves (crushed)
2 c. water
Juice from 6 lemons (which is about 3T each)

Ginger ale

Make a sirup of the sugar and water. Add crushed mint leaves to the hot sirup and let stand until cool. Strain. Add the juice of six lemons.

Fill 1/3 of each glass with the mint-sugar sirup, add crushed ice and fill with ginger ale. Stir well, and serve immediately. Carbonated or plain water can be used instead of ginger ale. A sprig of fresh mint in each glass is attractive. -Everyday Foods, by Harris - Lacey

If you've ever tried mint-lemonade, than you already have a pretty good idea how this punch tastes. Now, I don't know if everyone else felt, or feels, this way, but when I first heard of mint-lemonade, I wasn't very enthusiastic, mint and lemon just didn't mix in my mind. But I was pleasantly surprised, it was actually quite nice.

This punch is like a carbonated version. And it was very tasty, but maybe just a tad sweet for me. And I think I would showcase the mint a little more, so less of the lemon. We definitely want to try it with the plain carbonated water, as suggested.

And here is the book it came from. I'm not sure where we picked it up, but we are always on the look out for old "how-to" books. Everyday Foods, is by Jessie W. Harris and Elisabeth Lacey Speer, and was written for

high-school students. So it's not just a recipe book, it also has a bunch of great info on preserving and storing food, a balanced diet, planning menus, etc.

Bigelow's Darjeeling

The main reason I picked out this tea was because of its pretty purple box. But now, having tried a cup, I'd be happy to get it again. I couldn't call myself a tea expert, but I thought it was pretty good. It's stronger tasting than other black teas, and I liked it iced best. Darjeeling tea comes from the Darjeeling region in India. On the Bigelow tea box it said that Darjeeling is the "champagne of black teas". Makes me want to try some brands to compare.