She slumped back into her armchair, face glistening from the heat.  Another hot, humid Summer day.  There was no reprieve from the heat.  With no comfort of the air-conditioning she had in her city life, she had to remind herself that A) this was the "frugal farmer" thing to do and B) no A/C was far better for the environment.  Yes, it was her duty as a citizen of the Earth to not use A/C and to find other ways to keep cool in the sweltering heat.

A dip in the lake?  No.  Her back took a beating from the strong rays of the sun at the beach the day before.

A run through the sprinkler?  To be honest, the heat was too intense.  Plus, sprinklers and hoses only invited a certain four year old girl to soak her Mama and the dog.

What could possibly offer some refreshment and momentary comfort in this heat?

Fizzy Strawberry Lemonade!

That was the solution!  With a bumper crop of strawberries, making a cool, refreshing pitcher of strawberry lemonade would quench her family's thirst and keep them cool and refreshed.  With the "special" fizzy water that everyone in the family loved so much, this was absolutely perfect.

Even the four year old was a huge fan of S. Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water. This is not a sponsored post, by the way! We actually really love S. Pellegrino and have a few bottles on hand at all times!

 Ingredients:
2 cups strawberries, washed and tops removed
1 cup lemon juice (you can use Real Lemon, but I prefer freshly squeezed lemon juice - for the lemons I get at our grocery store, 1 cup is equaled to 8-10 lemons)
1 (750 mL) bottle of San Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, chilled
Simple Syrup (1 cup sugar, 1 cup water)
Ice

Instructions:
Prepare syrup by boiling sugar and water in a pot. Once sugar is completely dissolved, remove from heat and let cool completely.

Puree the strawberries by adding strawberries and simple syrup into blender and "puree". I like a smooth drink, so I press strawberry puree through a strainer to remove the seeds and solids. Only let the strawberry juice through.  You can put the strawberry pureed "pulp" into ice cube trays to use for other recipes later on.

In a pitcher, add lemon juice, strawberry juice (made from your strawberries and simple syrup), and 1 (750 mL) bottle of San Pellegrino.

Serve in a tall glass with ice.  Garnish if you wish, but you're probably just going to want to drink it and forgo the garnishes because it's so tasty!

Enjoy!