lemonade, prosecco and basil cooler

Hello! It’s been awhile since we last chatted, hasn’t it? I sincerely hope you’ve had a wonderful time in my absence, undoubtedly enjoying all summer has to offer. A lot has been going on in our little home, most notably, we have a new one. Well, new to us anyway. We are now the proud renters of an adorably quirky farmhouse apartment, nestled in a small grove of trees on the southern peninsula. There are so many things I love about this place. Just a few include the dashing young man I share it with (of course!), the brand-spanking-new gas range, and all of the natural light. Two of the rooms are completely lined with windows which is something that was on my list of must haves, especially coming from a basement apartment. I can not wait to get back into the groove of blogging so I can spend plenty of time in there with my camera.

The title picture to this post is the very first picture I snapped in our new sunroom using my iPhone since my digital camera was in a box somewhere between here and San Francisco. It’s fitting that it’s the first photo since it’s basically how I made it through the move. You see, we moved from a freakishly cold San Francisco summer to a real one and into an apartment with no air conditioning. So this sweet cocktail has thus far saved me from heat exhaustion and relocation-induced insanity. It’s three parts summer mixed with one part bubbly class, served with plenty of southern charm. I hope that you’ll enjoy a mason jar full of it this summer when the heat is unbeatable, and while doing so, know someone on the southern peninsula is enjoying a jar with you.

Before I get to the recipe, I’ll share with you a few images I took of some beautiful produce from Whole Foods in the new sunroom last Friday. Yep, that’s what I do on Friday nights. I party down with gorgeous produce. I’m living the life.

lemonade, prosecco and basil
lemonade recipe from Elise at Simply Recipes
serves 12

This recipe is pretty sweet. You can dial back the sugar for the simple syrup a little to make it a bit more tart if you’d like, or you can add a little more lemon juice at the end to balance it out as well.

[One quick note about juicers: I did a significant amount of research before I bought one, and what I found was that if you have a Kitchen Aid mixer, the juicer attatchment that goes along with it, is a great deal. It's fairly inexpensive and works like a charm. It's also quite small so you don't have to worry about storing another large electronic gadget somewhere. If you're looking for a juicer and have a stand mixer already, I highly recommend it!]

Ingredients:

For Lemonade:

• 2 cups sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 2 cups water (for the simple syrup)
• 2 cups lemon juice
• 6 to 8 cups cold water (to dilute)

For Cocktail:

• 1 bottle Prosecco, chilled
• 1 bunch basil, washed with stems removed

Preparation:

1. Heat the water and sugar over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside. (NOTE: This is the trick to perfect lemonade. It’s called simple syrup. It makes the lemonade sweet without having a whole cup of undissolved sugar at the bottom of your pitcher.)
2. While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 8-12 lemons, about 2 cups.
3. Add the juice and simple syrup to a pitcher and dilute with cold water, using more or less depeding on desired strength. Refrigerate for 45 minutes, or until chilled.
4. When lemonade is cold, add basil and crush against the bottom of the pitcher with a wooden spoon to extract some of the juices from the basil. Pour in prosecco and lightly stir. Serve immediately over ice, in mason jars.

July 25, 2011. quick and easy, summer. 2 comments.