Lovely Limeade

One of my recent purchases last weekend, after many weeks of looking, was a new zester (with a lovely green handle and all!). Several recipes I had cooked in the past had called for either the zest of a lemon or lime, and I've done my best with some of the graters I had at home, but I knew I really needed to get myself a professional zester.

And what a difference!! I immediately had to test it out, and since we had some lemons and limes in our fridge left over from the wedding, I was inspired to whip up a jug of limeade. I can't believe how lovely the new zester is (I also can't believe how excited I am over a new zester.... ). But with a few tricks I picked up from watching Chef Michael on Chef at Home, the jug of limeade was very delicious. I'm happy to share them with you, too.

So, with the new zester in hand, limes in the fridge, sugar in the cupboard (and water in the tap...), I was set to get to work on creating my new signature drink (I'm sure it will be a party favourite, especially if its served over ice with a splash of rye...). I was just about to start squeezing the juice out of the limes when I remembered that I actually had a juicer, part of the mandolin slicing tool I received from my friend Darlene as a shower gift. A few twists on the juicer, toss, and repeat, and that sure did beat trying to squeeze the juice out by hand.

The two tricks I learned to make a great limeade: 1) it's actually the flavour in the zest that makes it taste so good, and  2) the secret for adding your sugar is to heat it first in water to make a simple syrup. This eliminates the grittiness of the sugar crystals and blends the sugar throughout. For my recipe, I threw everything into a blender, added some ice cubes, and hit the go button. For those of you who want to try it out at home, enjoy the recipe below:

Recipe:

the zest of 3 limes

the juice of 3 limes

3/4 cup sugar

5-7 cups of water

ice cubes

Rye (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat 3/4 cups of sugar in 2 cups of water over low-medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
2. Meanwhile, add the zest and juice of the 3 limes to a blender, add remaining water and ice and blend.
3. Once sugar is ready, add to mixture and blend a bit longer.
4. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

I don't think we'll ever be going back to the frozen kind... and now that patio weather is soon upon us, I hope to be drinking a lot more of this.