Two More Refreshing Summer Beverages to Make by the Gallon

August has proved to be quite a temperate month. We haven't had as many scorching hot days as we did in July. However, even with the relatively mild weather, I've still been craving iced drinks. There is nothing quite like sipping an ice cold beverage on a sunny day. I even find myself drinking iced green tea, indoors, on a cold rainy day. Iced drinks are just a wonderful part of summer regardless of the weather.

If you recall, I shared with you some recipes for making . In experimenting with new flavors, I bring to you Dark Cherry Limeade and Blueberry Lemonade. The natural juice of the dark cherry bleeds into the limeade giving it a wonderful sweet flavor. The juice from the mashed and strained bluberries give the lemonade a beautiful purple color. With both drinks, the natural flavor of the fruits shine through as they are not masked by too much sugar or artificial ingredients. These are two new wonderful additions to your summer meals.

Dark Cherry Limeade

juice of 20 limes

2 cups of sugar

2 limes sliced for garnish

handful of dark cherries, pitted and halved

12 cups of filtered water

In a gallon pitcher, add the lime juice, sugar and water. Stir. Take a handful of dark cherries, pit them with a cherry pitter and cut them in half. If you don't have a cherry pitter, just cut two pieces of the cherry off the pit with a paring knife. Stir again. Serve with ice and lime slices as a garnish. This will keep for up to 2-3 days in the fridge.

Blueberry Lemonade

8 lemons juiced

1 lemon sliced for garnish

1-1/2 cups of blueberries, or 1/2 cup of blueberry juice

2 cups of sugar

12 cups of filtered water

You can buy blueberry juice but I prefer to make this with fresh blueberries. Take the blueberries and rinse them. Put them in a shallow container with a flat bottom and mash them with a potato masher. Then add the blueberry mush to a large piece of cheesecloth and squeeze all the juice out with your hands. Make sure you have a separate bowl underneath to catch the juice. You can also just push the mash into a fine-meshed sieve.

Add the lemon juice, sugar, water and blueberry juice into the gallon pitcher. Stir. Serve with ice and lemon slices as a garnish. This will keep 2-3 days. Don't keep any longer than this because it will go bad fairly quickly.

Tip: To make either of these drinks a "fizz", fill up a glass about 3/4 of the way with the limeade or lemonade and then top off with some soda water. Stir once with a spoon.