Glorious Lemonade

Lemonade- A Delightful Delicious Drink

Lemonade is very refreshing, and one of the best beverages to have in the summer.  There are so many places you could serve it.  You could drink it at a church event, picnic, tea party, book club, with dinner, etc.  You could even experience it in the winter to remind you of the taste of summer.  I love the way it shines… like the sun in a pitcher.  

My Family's Special Ingredient

One of the things that I loved to make by myself in the kitchen when I was younger was lemonade, using my grandmother’s recipe.  Most people use lemons, sugar, and water in their lemonade. My family uses lemons, sugar, water, and our secret ingredient…AN ORANGE.  I remember going to a church picnic at Lemon Lake where I made myself some lemonade using sugar, an orange, and some lemons.  Some people were watching me create it and asked if I would make some for them also. From that day on I was asked to provide lemonade for different events.  My dad used to buy lemons and oranges from the store just because he wanted my lemonade!  I have never had anyone say they didn’t like Grandma’s special lemonade.

Though I realize this isn’t cooking, you have to start somewhere… and you did come to So You Think You Can’t Cook.

Grandma Surprise’s Lemonade

3 lemons

1 orange

¾ - 1 cup sugar (to taste)

Water to fill a half gallon pitcher

1.      Slice the lemons and orange cross-wise and juice them on a juicer.

2.      Pour juice in a pitcher, add sugar, and fill the half gallon pitcher with water.

3.      Stir and pour over ice in glasses.

Creative Ideas

Creative ideas to make the lemonade look pretty: Cut slices of lemon and orange and float them in the lemonade in a crystal or glass pitcher.  You could use lime too, I haven’t tried it but I’d imagine it would add some zest.  It would turn out more like citrus punch.

  

My Beginning

My Love of the Kitchen and Cooking

My name is Christen, and I love to be in the kitchen cooking.  It doesn’t matter if I am cooking or if someone else is cooking.  I am in the kitchen every day multiple times a day doing things like making a simple breakfast, to making a fancy dinner.

Not Allowed in the Kitchen

But it wasn’t always like that, I am 16 years old and I am adopted.  When I was living in my foster parent’s home I was not allowed in the kitchen while anyone was cooking. Maybe they thought that I would get in the way, or I would hurt myself,… I don’t know.  I didn’t even care that I wasn’t allowed in the kitchen because I had so many other options with which to entertain myself.

A New Start in My New Life

I was adopted seven years ago, and all those years I have been cooking away.   My mom has a love for cooking, passed down to her by my grandma.  Mom invited me into the kitchen to help cook, learn cooking skills, and as I got older she let me experiment independently.  I can’t remember what I cooked the first day of my new life, but I remember loving all the different aromas and assisting with various things like cutting up vegetables, stirring things, etc.

I have gone from squeezing fresh lemonade to creating a full dinner for seven people.  So this blog is for the people who don’t think they can cook, and also for the people who can cook but would like some new recipes.  So if you are just learning basic skills, want creative ideas, or if you are obsessed with cooking, there’s something here for everyone.  If an 8 year old can go from lemonade to a difficult meal by age 15, then you can cook, too!

Christen