Country Time has the market cornered... but they just need to tweak the instructions...

I am a lemonade connoisseur and even here in the South, I am often disappointed. Recently we walked around Tybee Island - from the park to the lighthouse, back to the car, to the Pier, on the beach - it was beautiful. It came over me all at once, having not thought about it since last summer ... lemonade would be so nice! We went to The Sugar Shack. This is a must-stop after a day at the beach - for icecream. Cookies and Cream for me, Mint Chocolate Chip for Owen, Vanilla for Miles, and Jim can't seem to stick to a favorite. The Sugar Shack is not a place to stop for lemonade.

Today Owen and Miles had their first lemonade stand. We posted signs throughout the neighborhood yesterday so the customers would line up. We painted a sign, made some cute cutout lemons and cookies to tape to the tablecloth and added some metal stick-in-the-ground flowers to add to the springtime atmosphere. We made pink lemonade and Kool-aid fruit punch for the non-lemon heads. Mommy (that's me) also threw together the fastest batch of chocolate chip cookies - and yes, homemade. At 4pm we were ready. For an investment of about 6 dollars, I thought we made out like bandits $53 later when we counted the earnings! We paid our side-kicks, Dora & Rees, $3 each for their tremendous marketing efforts - flagging down cars, smiling cheshire-cat grins and being super helpful in general. Later on, Jim corrected me with the news that he donated $18 seed money to the project, so all in all, we gained $35 - a pretty good way to spend an hour.

So, do you want to know the secret to good lemonade? You won't exactly find it at the bottom of a stack of lemon rinds... You'll find it in a can of Country Time Pink Lemonade + a little bit of Dr. TLC. Country Time might sell a lot of lemonade, but I am not even sure they know how good it is. If they did, they'd get the instructions right. First off, I use double DOUBLE what the instructions call for, I use 2 heaping capfuls of mix for a 2 quart pitcher. I also add in my own freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 1/4 cup of sugar, and I float some lemon slices to make the fake perfect. Pink lemonade is my favorite. (Pink grapefruits are better than regular ones anyday too.)

Here is the recipe:

Perfect Lemonade
2 heaping capfuls Country Time Pink Lemonade
2 quarts water
Juice from one lemon
Slices from another lemon
1/4 cup sugar

Stir lemonade mix, fresh lemon juice, sugar and water until dissolved. Slice lemon and add in to the pitcher. Serve over ice. Mint leaves are a pretty addition.