Minted Lemonade

I didn't bother taking a picture of this lemonade because it's pretty easy to visualize lemonade. My first attempt at making this had too much lemon flavor and not enough mint flavor. Today was my second attempt and it came out really well. I still may experiment a little more, but this was really good so I thought I'd share it. Here it is:

Lemonade

1 cup lemon juice (about 4 jumbo lemons)

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint

3 cups boiling water

3/4 cup lemon and mint syrup

Put the fresh mint in a bowl and add 3 cups boiling (or nearly boiling) water. Let steep for 5-10 minutes. Pour into a pitcher straining the mint leaves out. Add the lemon juice and syrup. Refrigerate and serve cold with ice. Garnish with a lemon slice and small mint sprig. Makes about 4 large glasses full.

Note: I really like tart lemonade. For sweeter lemonade add more syrup until you reach your desired sweetness.

Lemon and Mint Syrup

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

zest from 2 large lemons

2 tablespoons chopped mint

Combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Strain out the solids. Store in the refrigerator. Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

I think a simple syrup of just sugar and water might work just fine. I like the idea of infusing some of the same flavors into the sweetener so as not to dilute the flavor at all.