Homemade Lemonade

You will need 8 lemons and 1 & 1/3 cups sugar.

Grate the rind off 5 lemons into a pot.

Then cut these lemons in half and squeeze the juice into the pot with the rinds. It's best to squeeze through a sieve to catch all the seeds.

Add 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to the pot.

Heat until hot but NOT boiling. (boiling makes it bitter). Stir regularly so it doesn't scorch.

Once it is hot, take it off the heat, cover, and let stand and cool for one hour.

Then strain liquid through a sieve into a large pitcher. Add juice of 3 more lemons, 1/3 cup more sugar (more or less to taste) and about 6 cups of water or a combination of water and ice.

That's the basic recipe but you can play around with proportions and even replace some of the lemons with limes if you want. It's refreshing, delicious, and easy to make! You'll never look at Minute Maid the same again.