Lemonade

We had lemon trees and mint all over our ranch when I was a kid. I don’t remember when I tasted the two together for the first time, but since then I’ve never liked lemonade any other way. For kids or anyone not drinking alcohol, it’s a fabulously festive and beautiful nonalcoholic treat. Or add a shot of rum or vodka to each glass and make a cocktail out of it!

Inspired by my daily “free lemonade” that I used to make at the old KFC in grade school, here’s a recipe so simple and refreshing that you’ll be shocked there are only four ingredients!

Juice bar smoothies have justifiably gotten a bad rap because they’re often chock-full of added sugar and calories. This twist on traditional raspberry lemonade uses only 1 teaspoon of honey, and the rest of the sweetness comes from real fruit. Note that it’s important to use frozen fruit in smoothies because if you use too many ice cubes to try to get that thick consistency, you’ll end up with a watery, not-as-good-as-the-juice-bar’s smoothie in minutes.

You can use regular lemonade to make this Southern refresher, but we like to use the tart Italian Limonata made by San Pellegrino (it’s available in most grocery stores).

A perfect summertime cocktail. Because it's a combination of iced tea, lemonade, and booze, we've dubbed it the Tipsy Arnold Palmer.

Aromatic sprigs of rosemary smooth out vodka-spiked lemonade, providing a bracing counterpoint to the lusty flavors of the many antipasti dishes. It's a great addition to anyone's cocktail canon. To make a kid-friendly quaff, simply omit the vodka.

Each squeezed lemon yields about 1/6 cup of juice.

Those abstaining from the cocktails will appreciate this equally refreshing use of basil and lemon, two flavors that pair beautifully.

This delightfully tart drink with a hint of gingery spice is one of several nonalcoholic cocktails that mixologist Duggan McDonnell serves to customers at Frisson restaurant, in San Francisco.

Editor's note: This recipe is from Brini Maxwell's Guide to Gracious Living. For Maxwell's tips on throwing a summer pool party, click here. This simple, refreshing drink really is easy to make and much better than a mix. By the way, these measurements are approximate. Adjust the recipe to your own taste, whether that's on the sweet or the tart end of the spectrum. You can also perk this up for your drinking friends with a dash of Bacardi Limon.

We've spiked this lemonade with vodka to make a refreshing summer cocktail, but you can omit the alcohol. One batch will completely fill your blender, so if you need more, make multiple batches rather than doubling or tripling the recipe.

For an extra kick, add a dash of vodka to this refreshing drink.

Take this lemonade along on a picnic in a large Mason jar or a plastic container, stowed in the cooler with the other drinks.

A lovely drink for a picnic.