… make lemonade! Last summer, I planted a small lemon tree in a pot on the deck of the studio. What a joy to watch these little golden gems ripen. Now that winter is gone, and we’re waiting for spring and summer to kick in properly, I’ll put my feet up with this little vodka lemonade drink.

½ cup of sugar

½ cup of water

12 lemons – makes 1 cup of lemon juice

lemon rind from 1 lemon

vodka

antipodes sparkling water (or your preferred brand)

Squeeze the juice from the 12 lemons into a cup, should measure about 1 cup. In a saucepan, stir ½ cup of sugar into ½ cup of water. Bring to a boil and stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Set aside and cool. Once cold, mix the syrup with the lemon juice, and voila you have lemonade from scratch! I find it quite strong tasting, so I dilute my syrup with water till it tastes to my liking, and store in the fridge in a clean glass bottle.

For a refreshing and festive looking vodka lemonade drink, frost the rim of the glasses: Mix sugar and lemon rind in a bowl. Dip the rim of the glass in 2-3mm deep water, and then dip in the sugar/ lemon mix and twist. Cool in the freezer for half an hour for a longer lasting effect. Then pour your preferred amount of vodka into the glass, double with lemonade, fill with ice and top with antipodes lovely sparkling water. Enjoy – and drink responsibly!