Almost the end of July

I can’t believe how quickly this summer is passing by.  I feel like if I shut my eyes for more than a second that it may just be over. I’ve always dreaded the end of July.  July 1st comes with so much promise – the whole summer ahead.  But by the time you get toward the end of July you start counting how many days are left. Maybe that’s a Canadian thing, eh? Winter lasts so long and we barely get a real Spring season anymore.

I’m choosing to surround myself with all the amazing things that make me feel “summery”.  Last summer my husband and I decided to plant an urban garden – what a disaster aside from the abundance of mint.  We splurged on a lemon tree and a lime tree. What were we thinking? We must have suckers written on our foreheads. To be fair, we didn’t actually expect them to survive the harsh Canadian winter but we were probably a little hopeful that we could just go out to the backyard and pick a fresh lemon or lim off the tree whenever we wanted. Such a nice dream. 

Every time we are at the market we load up on bags full of lemons and limes. My hubby loves fresh lemonade and I love anything with lime in it. We definitely don’t need to worry about scurvy in our house. If there is one vitamin we aren’t deficient in it is definitely Vitamin C.

Lemon Limeade: An easy, refreshing drink

I’m pretty lazy which is why the blender has become such a favourite appliance/tool of mine.  I’ve always found that trying to get freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice was such a pain especially if you needed more than a few tbsp and I hate the taste of the bottled lemon and lime juice from the grocery store, even if the lemon and lime shaped bottles are kind of cute.

These days, I just peel the lemons and limes and remove any noticeable seeds and through them in the blender with a small amount of water and a little sugar and blend until the fruit has been completely broken down.  Afterwards, I pour the lemon limeade into a nice tall glass pitcher and fill with cold water. I don’t add ice directly to the pitcher as I don’t want my lemon limeade to get too watery before I can drink it all.  Instead, I add some lemon and lime slices plus ice to the individual glasses before filling.  Great tasting and the whole family loves it – much more refreshing than something made from concentrate and little or no work beyond a bit of cutting and blending.