Strawberry Brown Sugar Lemonade

I know it's not summer but this cold weather in NY is bumming me out and I needed a summer pick me up! I absolutely adore fresh lemonade, the farmer's market I go to makes all different kinds and they are so unusual and so good, I was inspired to play around with mine a little. I like to add things like fresh herbs, or different fruits, but this time I played around with the sweetening agent. I love brown sugar so much that I make my own...oh yes I do. It's so very easy and it tastes so good, besides who uses up brown sugar fast enough before it goes hard and tasteless. This lemonade recipe uses this homemade brown sugar, and I make it dark, dark, dark! The bittersweet, smoky molasses is so good with the strawberries, and it's loaded with nutrients that are actually good for you.

You can drink this lemonade straight with just ice or you could jazz up your mixed drinks with this, my husband added a little orange liquor and tequila to his glass making a very fabulous margarita. I suggest trying it in a delicious cosmo or get creative and invent something!

Ingredients


2 1/2 Cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Whole lemon, sliced thin in rounds
2 Cups fresh, organic strawberries
3 Cups water, room temp or tepid from your tap, if it's too cold the sugar will not dissolve.
1 1/2 Cups fair trade, organic, raw cane sugar
3 Tbsp organic black strap molasses

Directions

In a large pitcher combine lemon juice and water.

In a small bowl combine the sugar and molasses and stir until it's combined and looks like very dark brown sugar. It will seem like it's not going to mix together but keep at it, I assure you it will.

Put brown sugar in the water and lemon juice mixture and stir to dissolve completely.

Put all but 3 strawberries in the blender with a tiny bit of water and blend until they become liquid. Pour the strawberry liquid into the lemonade and stir to combine. Cut up remaining strawberries and add to the pitcher along with the lemon slices. Add ice to serving glasses and pour lemonade over ice and serve!

You can garnish with additional strawberries and lemon slices, I just love bling-bling fruit garnishes on my drinks!