Do you remember busting out the sharpies and setting up the little wooden lemonade stand with the tiny paper cups and the ice cold pitcher of lemonade as a kid?

Well lucky you. I don’t.

photo by Lisa Schaffer Photography

I grew up in the ghetto of Concord baby. My neighbor was a registered sex offender and I had to dodge creepy potential kidnappers when I walked home from school. Lemonade stands were an open invitation for any pedophile looking for a good time. Needless to say, I never made lemonade.

For some reason I can justify eating sugar but I can’t bring myself to drink it. This is the reason why I never order lemonade when I go out. Sure, I’ve had the ‘diet’ stuff or the super watered down crappy junk but I’ve never had a perfect, ice cold glass of lemonade without a gang of refined sugar in it. Until last night.

Seriously, BEST LEMONADE I’VE EVER HAD.

I know a lot of people are following the agave trend vs refined sugar these days for diet or diabetes purposes or whatever. If that’s your deal, then this recipe is definitely for you. Personally, I’ve been doing some research on the processing of agave nectar and I’ve found the whole trend to be debatable. It’s said there are benefits when consumed in small amounts, but there are also drawbacks when you overdo it, as with most things. Either way, I prefer the taste of agave to refined sugar that you’d find in most store bought lemonade. I think for my next batch, I’ll try using Stevia.

Ingredients
(Recipe from BabyCakes NYC cookbook)

• 12 lemons
• 4 1/2 cups filtered water
• 3/4 cup agave nectar
• Ice
• Strawberries (optional for garnish)

Directions

• Rinse lemons well and cut in half. 
• Juice the lemons with an electric or a hand juicer.
• In a large pitcher, combine lemon juice, water, agave nectar and stir until fully combined. 
• Pour lemonade over ice and garnish with strawberries, mint or whatever you like!

If you like your lemonade more on the tart side, add a couple extra lemons. If you like it a little sweeter, add more agave. You can always dilute it with more water if it’s a little too overpowering for your taste. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfect.

Now that I live in a better neighborhood, I’m considering quitting my day job and finally opening my own lemonade stand full time. I figure a pair of boy shorts, a bikini top, maybe some roller skates for shits and giggles… I could pull in some major cash, right?

Eh, I think the fact that I’m a hop, skip and a jump away from 30, probably killed that dream. *sigh* Oh well.