lemons

this weekend, the hippie was out of town, and my good friend meredith was in town. i helped throw a baby shower for another good friend, and meredith and i had other friends over for brunch on sunday. there was much running around. the critter came to the baby shower with me, and was quite a hit. he provided much entertainment. i also made red velvet cupcakes, a cheese plate, and lemonade for said shower. and i decided you people need to know about this lemonade, as it's easy, fabulous, and excellent if you want to bring an easy-to carry beverage to a party. kids and adults both love it.

here's what you do. in a 1-quart container (i use old chinese soup take out containers for this, but a mayonaise jar or mason jar would also work well), combine the following to make lemonade concentrate:

• 1 cup of fresh lemon juice (about 5 large lemons worth)
• about a teaspoon and a half of lemon zest (from about half a lemon)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of hot water

now, shake it up. put this in the fridge until you need it--you can make it anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 weeks ahead. when you get ready to use it, just pour the concentrate into a pitcher and add about 8 cups of cold water (or seltzer, if you want some bubbly)--that's two quarts, so you can just fill up the container it's already in twice to get the right amount of water. it looks lovely if you top it with a few thin slices of lemon. pour over ice to serve, and add lemon slices, mint, or you know, vodka, if you want a little something extra.

enjoy!