Sweet Cherry Lemonade, ya'll!

We've been getting really hot temperatures here in the last week. 40+ degrees Celsius or that's 104+ fahrenheit.

I am a fan of Paula Deen. I love southern cooking, and I think as Liv feels she was meant to actually be born in NY, I was meant to be born in the south, back in the 1700s. Wearing a white frilly dress with a parasol and lace up boots, eating fried chicken and biscuits, and collard greens drinking sweet tea on a front porch of our veranda on our plantation while I gossip with other women about the newest fashions and other women. Okay, clearly I've overthought this fantasy, so we'll move on.

I'm actually not a fan of fried chicken. In fact they opened up a popeye's restaurant up here in my hometown and it closed 2 months later due to lack of business. Canadians just aren't as into the greasy fried foods Americans seem to have as part of the culture--unless you live in America's skinniest city--Manhattan. Or granola-ville Seattle. But the point is, we just haven't been raised on it so we don't eat it much I guess.

However, that being said, I do enjoy other southern dishes including this Paula Deen one: Sweet Cherry Lemonade. So here we go, ya'll!

So one thing you'll notice is I won't try to make my kitchen look fancy and clean. Well, this is my girlfriend Karen's kitchen. However, I think that making your kitchen look perfect or non-existent in photos makes the process look maybe a bit intimidating? I just want to be honest---I make a kitchen mess and I don't give a hoot if it gives me a good result. I'll just get someone else to clean it ;)

So up above here we've got some beautiful and glorious Okanagan cherries. If you're from BC you'll know Okanagan cherries. British Columbia is awesome because we have different climate zones and physical regions all over the province. We've got warm, tropical, orchard-inspiring climates in the BC interior, with ocean and mountains on the coast. We've got coastal rainforests, interior desserts. and arctic tundra to the north. It's pretty much why we're considered Hollywood North other than the enormous tax breaks we give American and other filmmakers...we offer natural scenery that can immitate almost anywhere in the world without having to travel further than 12 hours of driving ---though typically only 3-4 hours.

Wow, that was a rant. So back to the lemonade. So I've got 2 cups of pitted OK cherries but you can use any sweet cherry that's available to you. The actual recipe calls for frozen cherries but not for this girl--not when you've got access to fresh. I used an actual pitting tool that you can see at the base of the photo. It's pretty awesome, and if you use one, I recommend pitting in the sink and holding it low as it sprays and you do NOT, I repeat NOT want cherry juices on your white summer clothing. Wear an apron if you have one!

Below the cherries I also added 1 cup of white sugar though you can adjust this to your taste. I just add 1 cup and then adjust the soda water I use.

Evidence of pitted cherries. And evidence of the spray.

Cool artistic shot of cherries in the blender.

This is my beautiful friend Karen helping me out juicing the lemons. These girls are rustic, so we don't have a juicer--not even a manual simply one. So, we're using the strength of our hands and the utility of a spoon. We need about 1 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice.

BREAKING NEWS: RESULTS ARE IN AND SURGEONS GENERAL WARNING STATES THAT USING FAKE LEMON JUICE CAUSES DEPRESSION, FREQUENT CRYING, AND SELF-INFLICTED INJURIES.

As seeds can be found in most lemons and I didn't want pulp in my lemonade we strained the lemon juice. We kept having to move Karen's young daughter Lily out of the way as she always wants to help, but 3 months ago when Karen was making her homemade caesar salad dressing, she grabbed the lemons then put her hands in her eyes and well let me tell you that was NOT a pretty sight. Not pun intended. Well, maybe.

The casualties.

Now pour the lemon juice into the sugar and cherries. Karen insisted I get her sparkly wedding ring bling in the photo so here's to her!

Next step you puree your cherries, lemon juice and sugar. Look at that colour(color) folks! I basically puree until the bits of cherry skin are as small as possible--1 minute.

Club soda (I grabbed 2 litres) and an empty juice jug or if you wanna get fancy one of those gorgeous glass pitchers one just doesn't own when one has children!

Now pour the blended cherry mixture into the pitcher.

Get all of that creamy goodness into the pitcher.

I never got a picture of it but you just add the club soda to the mix, slowly, while stirring continually. You want to avoid creating a lot of foam on top as it takes forever to come down.

VOILA! Pour your fab sweet cherry lemonade over ice and add a slice of lemon for garnish or to prevent getting swine flu.

Cheers!
PAULA DEEN'S SWEET CHERRY LEMONADE RE-CAP

All-Star Lineup

2 cups cherries (fresh is best but you can use frozen), pitted
1 cup granulated sugar (adjust to your liking or use splenda)
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice without the seeds.
5-8 cups of club soda (again adjust as needed or to taste)

1. Pit cherries and add to a blender along with the sugar and lemon juice.
2. Puree mixture for 1 minute or to desired consistency as per your blender.
3. Add mixture to pitcher and combine with club soda stirring continually.
4. Pour lemonade over ice or into chilled glass and add lemon (or a whole cherry) for garnish.

SERVE AND ENJOY!

We took this shot later in the day after we were at the lake. It tasted even better after sitting for a few hours. Or maybe just because I was bloody hot.