A Recipe: Strawberry Limeade

The following photo is going to make you think I'm pining for summer on this blustery, cool day:

But you would be wrong (OH, ever so wrong!). I am not a summer fan. It is my least favorite season, in fact. I like some nip in the air, some rain in my forecast, some full length pants covering my consistently pasty legs.

Granted, seeing as I'm expecting a summer baby and all, I should probably try to look on the bright side. Summer does provide me with the most delicious fresh produce of the year and I'd be lying if I said I didn't love a late night dinner on a picnic blanket at the beach.

But the heat! And the sweating! And the constant fear of burning my paper-white skin! Also, with me being full-on preggers this summer, I have a true fear that I am going to look like this at some point:

Try to imagine the makeup smudged from sweat and the cheeks rosy with heat... got the visual? That's my prediction of me at nine months pregnant. At this point, I think Kyle's getting REAL excited about June, July and especially August!

Per usual, I digress. Over the weekend, my mom's neighbors gave me a huge bag of fresh limes. People ask me if I have any cravings and honestly, the only three things that I've craved are sour candy, fresh juice and prosciutto. I knew I wanted to make limeade w/the juice of said limes, but when I remembered that I had a ton of fresh strawberries in the fridge, I got extra excited.

A tall glass of freshly made strawberry limeade sounded like pure heaven to me. And let me say for those of you able to booze it currently, adding a shot of vodka to this would make for a fantastic summer-inspired cocktail.

Strawberry Limeade
(recipe makes one 12 ounce drink)

Fresh limes (just juice a ton; leftovers mean more limeade!)
3 strawberries, sliced
3 Tablespoons sugar
Water

Juice the limes... Here's a visual for those of you having a hard time with this step:

Next, muddle the strawberries in a glass with the sugar:

If you don't have a tool to do the muddling like I do, the back of a large spoon should work. Next, add some lime juice. I usually pour it so that the glass is a little less than half full at this point.

Pour water in to the top. If it's not cold water, add some ice cubes, but make sure you don't add the ice until you ascertain the sugar is dissolved, which should (of course) be determined by tasting! I doubt anyone will find this recipe to be "too sweet," as I like my citrus drinks on the tart side, but if it's too sour, add a little more sugar, stir, taste, and make sure it's to your liking.

Finally, attempt not to slug this down as quickly as possible.

If you are like me in the slightest, it will look like this five minutes after you start drinking it.

Cheers! A toast to all that summer has in store for us.