Don’t you love that lemons are in season and sensational in the cooler months? I mean grey skies, chilly starts and then the voila, a little slice of lemon can make you feel like you have a little sunshine in your step!

My parents have a gorgeous and very old lemon tree. To my knowledge, it doesn’t get a lot of love (I block out what Dad tells me he does to help it flourish!) but wow, does it come through with the goods! Most weeks my Sister and I are presented with a whopping great bag full. I use a lot of lemons in my cooking. I use some for dressings, some for preserving, some to simply dice and pan fry -to add a little ‘zing’, some are for roasting, some are for sorbets, some for hummus and not to mention that most cakes and frosting’s get a good whack of zest. The list could go on and on! The versatility of a lemon and how much they can transform a dish from good to great never ceases to amaze me.

Last week my girls were on school holidays and when life (or Mum) threw me a bag of lemons this time, my gorgeous girls insisted we roll up our sleeves and make old fashioned lemonade. It was the perfect end to our lovely days spent together before the return to school.

Old fashioned lemonade just like ‘the good old days’!
Serves 12

This is delightfully simple, truly delicious, and has it all over the commercial stuff. Enjoy!

¾ cup (180ml) strained lemon juice
1 ¼ cup (275g) caster sugar
Ice cubes
2 – 2.5.5 litres of soda water

Place the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook 1-2 minutes or until thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and allow to cool (this can be done well in advance and refrigerated).

Place half of the lemon syrup and ice cubes into a large jug and top with the soda water.

Options:
*Pink lemonade: Add some fresh raspberries to the lemonade and / or some raspberry flavoured ‘good quality’ cordial.
*Strawberry lemonade: add 2 tablespoons of fresh strawberry puree into each glass.
*Limeade: Replace lemon with lime juice and lime zest.
*A little lemonade as a mixer for your gin is pretty great too (adults only of course!)