Mint Lime Lemonade

It has been a couple of hot and humid days here in Toronto and working in a commercial kitchen tends to be pretty thirsty work. Yesterday the temperature soared into the 30's and I started my shift in the commercial kitchen at 8am. At any one given time there were a minimum of 5 burners on the go and of course the AC in the building was on the fritz...so you can only imagine how hot it got.

And what did I forget to do? You guessed it, I forgot to drink water and stay hydrated.

It only gets worse from here. After I wrapped up in the kitchen, I went home and unloaded approximately 120 jars of pickled cauliflower, unpacked all the tools I needed in the kitchen and repacked and reloaded the car for the evening's preserving class. It would be another 3 hours in a kitchen over a stove and once again the AC was on the fritz and once again, I forgot to drink water and stay hydrated.

So all day long today I have been thinking about a cool, refreshing drink.

On today's kitchen agenda is mint jelly, which I am making special order for a local butcher shop and while chopping the mint I was consumed with the thought of a mojito but lacked the ingredients to whip one together.

Looking around the kitchen I found lemons and limes, sugar and honey and of course mint. I came up with this and at this very moment I am sitting on my front porch with that cool, refreshing drink I have spent the better part of the day fantasizing about.

Mint Lime Lemonade

Ingredients

7 cups water

2 cups sugar

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1 tbsp honey

1/2 cup mint, chopped

In a small pot combine 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar and over medium heat while stirring on a regular basis until the sugar dissolves, bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and allow the sugar mixture to cool.

Squeeze your lemons and limes and put the 2 cups of lemon/lime juice into a large pitcher. Add 2 cups of the sugar syrup, the remaining 5 cups of water, 1 tbsp of honey and the 1/2 cup of chopped mint.

If you have the luxury of time or perhaps more patience than I, place in the fridge and allow to cool. If like me, you want to drink this the moment it is made, add handfuls of ice, pour and enjoy!