Lemonade

Once upon a time, Boyo and I had a grown-up lemonade stand. We sold freshly squeezed lemonades (shaken, not stirred) at several festivals while my parents did fried veggies. Actually, I spent most of my time with Dad on the deep fryer while M handled the lemonades and ice cream. Dad and I were the only ones who felt really at ease frying stuff.. the others got stressed out. Anyway, M made quite a production out of squeezing the lemons and then shaking the whole thing up. It was a beautifully orchestrated little dance that he had. I think some people bought lemonades just for the entertainment value, because he had it down to an art.

M, helping my cousin Krista squeeze a lemon for herself. Yes, this is a totally gratuitous shot of my boyo being cute. And young.

During the festivals, many, many people told us that we had the best lemonade they'd ever had. Several people came up to us to let us know that we were doing it all wrong. We could make it easier if we processed all the lemons at once, and we could make it cheaper if we followed the recipe they gave us. Through all the advice and comparisons we listened to, not one person ever told us that we could make them better, because what we came up with is simply the perfect lemonade.

The Perfect Lemonade
1 lemon
1/4 C sugar
Water - we always used bottled. Yes, even when it meant carrying dozens of gallon jugs.

Fill glass with ice. Juice one lemon thoroughly. Add sugar. Fill with water--I can't tell you exactly how much but we used a 16 oz styrofoam cup.) Shake well, using a second cup that is just a bit smaller than the glass you're working in. I had environmental objections to styrofoam but they're perfect for this because you can create a better lock to prevent spilling. Drink and enjoy.

We bought the lemon juicer at William-Sonoma for $200 less than we had originally ordered at a restaurant supply store, but we still paid $100 for it. There's no way on earth we would have paid that for it now, but the nice thing about the lemonade business is that after you get out of it, you can keep the equipment.

And that's how it is that we have been relaxing this evening with a glass of concession-quality shake-up lemonade. Come on over, we M will be glad to make you one.