Best Lemonade Ever....

Ok, for the record, this is not exactly "lemonade." This is also not exactly "limeade." Lemon-Lime-Ade?  Whatever you want to call it, it's awesome. I've made lemonade with honey, agave nectar, and any number of other sugar substitutes, and they were all good...but this by far the best tasting lemonade I have ever tasted, much less made. It is good mixed with liquor (tequila, whisky, vodka...all good!), it is good simply poured over ice. It's just awesome.

What you need:
4 cups of fresh lemon/lime juice--I actually counted today, and I used 15 medium limes and 6 huge lemons
2 1/2 cups of sugar
ice
water

That's really it. :) Boil the sugar with equal parts water until clear, and juice all of your fruit over a sieve. Pour the juice and sugar syrup into a 1 gallon pitcher and add enough ice to make it cold, and then top it off with water. Serve over ice.

Pina Colada Granita

I should preface this post by saying that this "recipe" is really probably not worth blogging. We all know how to make a granita, right? The hardest part is waiting for it to freeze so you can eat it. haha!! That said...here we go! :)

What you will need:
1 fresh pineapple--peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt (optional, helps with creaminess)
1/2 cup of rum (I used Sailor Jerry's)
1 tbsp vanilla extract (or about half the guts of 1 vanilla bean)
coconut sugar to taste (more or less depending on how ripe your pineapple is--taste as you go!)
a pinch of kosher salt

Mix it all up in your blender and pour into a glass baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap (push it down on to the surface of the liquid to prevent a "skin" from forming), and freeze until solid (likely overnight).

When you are ready to serve it, remove from freezer and scrape the surface with a metal spoon to achieve the "shaved ice" look and texture. Serve in a pretty martini glass and garnish with a sprig of mint....or be like me and just throw it in a cereal bowl and hand it to your husband. ;)