5/14/13

Mango Lemonade

Three years ago almost to the day, we left for Germany to start my husband's internship. Around this time of year, I always get the worst travel bug and have to stop myself from randomly purchasing tickets to go back to Europe. It's torture to even look!

So I always find myself thinking of Germany in the late spring and summer, because those are some of our best memories. 

I've been thinking about Germany, too, because it has been hot. Yesterday I think it got close to 90º here. Good grief, where did that come from? Especially in May?

Southern Germany was hot in the summer when it wasn't raining. We lived on the top floor of a 4-story apartment building in Waiblingen. I believe it stayed relatively cool for the circumstances, but there were many times where we thought we were melting in there. In early July, it was about 90º in our apartment on a regular basis. Don't believe me? Here's proof!

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That thermometer was on the wall in our kitchen. So hot!

There were several ways to combat this heat. One was to take daily trips to the pool, which is what my neighbor and I would do. It was such a relief.

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The second was to visit some shops in the area. Now I love Germans, but they generally do not believe in air conditioning. So our apartment didn't have it. My husband's work didn't have it either. So if we had extra time after he got off work, we would walk around and go to the one seemingly air conditioned store in the town, Müller. Oh, and there was the döner shop. Call us American wimps (well, we are), but when it gets around 90º, it's nice to take advantage of air conditioning. 

The best way to combat the heat was to get a nice, cold Coke. Man, I loved German Coke. It is made with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup and the flavor is just delicious. When we were both near the point of evaporating, we would grab a small, frosty bottle and everything was right with the world again. I remember one time, the fridge at our local market was broken. Talk about devastation!

So since it has been so hot lately, all I've wanted is something cold and crisp to drink. Forget food.

I don't want to be drinking Coke all the time and water just doesn't cut it sometimes, so I decided to make Mango Lemonade. It has the perfect amount of zip and the flavor of the mango is delicious with the lemons. It is also a great drink to make for a summer BBQ!

Mango Lemonade
makes about 8-10 servings
print this recipe

Mango Lemon Base:

2-3 medium-sized mangos, peeled and cut in cubes
6-7 large lemons, juiced
8 cups water

Simple Syrup:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar

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Combine one cup of sugar and one cup of water in a small saucepan and let it come to a boil while whisking. Once it reaches a boil, remove from heat and allow to cool. This is the simple syrup.

Next, juice your lemons into a bowl, removing any seeds. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice.

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Slice down the centers of the mangos, sliding your knife around the pit. Then take each half and score it with a knife, making sure you do not go through the peel. I like score lengthwise and widthwise, so I will have small dices of mangos. Then take a spoon and scoop out the dices.

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Combine the mangoes and the lemon juice in a blender and mix until it is a smooth puree.


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Combine the mango lemon puree, eight cups of water, and the cooled simple syrup in a large pitcher. Serve in a frosty glass with ice cubes. 

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-Candice

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