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So the menfolk were working their fingers to the bone yesterday, chipping old tile out of the kitchen. Not fun work…as you can imagine. They were hot and sweaty (and cranky, but you didn’t hear that from me!)…so I decided to make them a cold, refreshing beverage as a little reward for all their hard manly work. :-) Well, truth be told, I have been planning on making this recipe for awhile now, ever since I spied it on Our Best Bites, but they don’t have to know that. lol.
After the manual labor was finished we all sat outside in the backyard under a tree and watched Milo the puppy frolic while we drank our icy beverages. It was one of those perfect summertime “moments”…made even more perfect with this delicious drink!
It’s called Brazilian Lemonade (which is funny because it’s made from limes) and it’s the signature summertime beverage at a restaurant called Tucanos.
What makes it so special? Well, first of all it contains the juice of fresh limes and a “secret ingredient”…sweetened condensed milk. The reason I call it “secret” is because you might want to keep it a secret until people try it.
Believe it or not, some people don’t like the idea of drinking sweetened condensed milk. Which I don’t really understand because what’s not to like about it??? I have a friend (who shall remain nameless because if I told you her name she’d kill me) who will eat SCM with a spoon out of the can! :-) Course when I think about it, that’s really not all that much different than the hubster eating frosting out of the can as a snack! ugh.
OK…back to the recipe. Like I said, even though it’s called Brazilian Lemonade…it’s made from limes. Four limes to be exact. Four smooth, thin-skinned limes (if you can find them). These are the juiciest kind and the skin is less likely to be bitter. Don’t worry, you’re not going to be drinking pieces of lime rind…but you are going to blend/juice the whole lime.
But before you can do that you’ll need to cut the limes into chunks. Then measure 6 cups of cold water and add 1 cup of sugar. Mix well until sugar is completely dissolved.
Add 1/2 of the sugar water (3 cups) to the blender with 1/2 of the limes. Put the lid on the blender and pulse the mixture 5 times. Then pour the lime & sugar water mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the pitcher you will be serving from. To make sure you don’t miss a drop of this limey goodness, use a big spoon to press every last bit through the strainer and into your container.
Now add the other 1/2 of the limes to the other half of the sugar water and repeat. Now we are ready for our “secret ingredient”! Simply add 6 tablespoons of the sticky sweet stuff to the sugar water and lime juice and stir. Serve immediately over lots of ice! mmmm mmmm refreshing!
Brazilian Lemonade
- 4 smooth, thin-skinned limes
- 1 c. sugar
- 6 c. cold water
- 6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
Speaking of ice….after I poured & served the first couple of glasses I realized I was out of ice! How could that be??? It’s one of the things I’m fairly neurotic about…making sure we always have ice! I began to panic because my husband hadn’t even had a glass yet…but I happened to see the frozen strawberries that I use to make my morning smoothies and voila!…. Strawberry Brazilian Lemonade was born. :-) (One must always keep an open mind about these things!)
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It was delicious with the frozen berries! They made the drink cold and sweet and a slightly thicker consistency which was kind of nice for a change. But, I’d be hard-pressed to choose one version over the other at this point. They were both delicious, refreshing, and summery! :-)
But whether you stick with the original drink or add a twist with frozen berries…just make sure you give it a try!
It’s like summertime in a glass!
BRAZILIAN {STRAWBERRY} LEMONADE
Ingredients
- 4 Limes smooth thin-skinned
- 1 c. Sugar
- 6 c. Cold water
- 6 Tbsp. Condensed milk sweetened
Instructions
- Cut the limes into chunks. Then measure 6 cups of cold water and add 1 cup of sugar. Mix well until sugar is completely dissolved.
- Add 1/2 of the sugar water (3 cups) to the blender with 1/2 of the limes. Put the lid on the blender and PULSE the mixture 5 times.
- Then pour the lime & sugar water mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the pitcher you will be serving from. To make sure you don’t miss a drop of this limey goodness, use a big spoon to press every last bit through the strainer and into your container.
- Now add the other 1/2 of the limes to the OTHER half of the sugar water and REPEAT.
- Now we are ready for our “secret ingredient”! Simply add 6 tablespoons of the sticky sweet stuff to the sugar water and lime juice and stir.
- Serve immediately over LOTS of ice!
