mint lemonade

I know I'm not the only one who thinks that there's nothing quite like a tall glass of cold, fresh-squeezed lemonade on a hot summer day. This recipe comes from my friend, Disco Mom (who, I know I've mentioned here before, has the most amazing baking blog. Seriously, if you haven't clicked over yet, do so now).

Making my own fresh-squeezed juice never had much personal appeal because of all the manual labor it would involve for someone like me whose only juicing tool is a hand-held reamer. But I could handle juicing a small handful of lemons, piece of cake. I could even handle the tedious job of separating the unwanted seeds from the desirable juice and pulp. The seltzer and crushed ice thicken it a tiny bit so that, while the ice lasts, it kind of resembles a slushy. The mint has a glorious cooling quality of its own. The end result was divine -- perfect for the high temperature/high humidity days we've been sweating through here lately.

Mint Lemonade
1 cup sugar
20 fresh mint leaves
1 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 5 or 6 lemons) (Hint: roll your lemons on a hard surface before juicing -- you'll extract more this way.)
16 ice cubes, plus more for the glasses
1 liter lemon & lime-flavored seltzer, chilled
Lemon wedges or mint leaves for garnish

1. In a blender or food processor, blend the sugar and mint leaves on high for several seconds. Add the lemon juice and blend again, long enough to really grind up those mint leaves. Add the ice cubes and blend again, until most of the ice is crushed.

2. Pour lemon mixture into a 2-quart pitcher. Add the seltzer and stir. Pour into glasses over ice and garnish with lemon or mint.