Refreshingly Cool

Yesterday I returned from a few days spent in Portland with my sister. I was supposed to be helping her move, and while we did work pretty hard for a while, we soon ran out of boxes. Luckily, just about everything was packed and had been hauled up to the living room for loading, but without transportation (her husband took the truck, their lone vehicle, to work that morning) we were at a stand still. So we headed downtown to do a little shopping and grab some lunch.

There's some really great stuff downtown, if you don't already know. First off, Penzey's has recently opened a store on 10th!! I was stoked, and we made that our first stop. Transportation is pretty much free, so while we did do tons of walking, it was nice to hop on a street car if needed. There are many great sit down restaurants in and around Portland, but my favorite way to grab a bite is at the many local food carts. What a wonderful idea!

The food carts are a great way for smaller businesses (often one-man or woman operations) to sell their specialties. Because it's usually the owner working, the food is prepared with care and so much...soul. The ingredients are most often top-notch and they want you to return, so customer service is fabulous. I like that I can get an assortment of wonderful treats (and even the savory stuff qualifies as treats here), not have to hop restaurants, and a full meal costs around $10.

One cart I often return to is the soup wagon. Now, I like soup, but I'm not obsessed with it by any means, especially on a 90 degree day. But that afternoon they were serving chilled varieties that were absolutely to die for, and very refreshing as well, and also glasses of watermelon lemonade. We finished our summer soup and sandwich fix with a cup of handmade frozen yogurt from another cart topped with fresh organic blueberries (the young, cute guy had even cultured the mixture himself).

As a treat for my family upon returning home, I whipped up an ice-cold pitcher of Watermelon-Mint Lemonade, inspired by my afternoon indulging in the food cart fare. It's slightly sweet, deliciously cooling, and might just be better than the glass I had the other day....

Watermelon Mint Lemonade

8 oz lemon juice*

5 cups watermelon puree (place chunks in a blender and pulse until liquid)

5 1/2 cups water, divided

3/4 cup sugar**

few sprigs mint***

Place 1 1/2 cups water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the sugar, stir to combine, and simmer until dissolved. Add the mint, cover and let steep 30 minutes. Strain.

Meanwhile, strain the watermelon puree to remove seed pieces. Pour the juice into a large pitcher and stir in the lemon juice. Add the mint syrup and the 4 cups water; stir to combine. Serve over ice, or chill until needed.

*Juicing fresh lemons always provides the best flavor, but it can be difficult to get a good price when it's out of season (citrus is a winter fruit). 1 lemon equals about 1/4 cup juice, so you'd need to buy 4-5 whole lemons. The bottled varieties, including organic brands, have preservatives in them and taste cooked. Bottles of Minute Maid Lemon Juice are available in the freezer section, by the juices, and don't have anything but the lemon juice in them.

**I used evaporated cane juice to make the simple syrup. Agave works well also (or even honey), but start with 1/2 cup to make sure the final lemonade isn't too sweet. You can always stir in more later, if needed.

***Use whatever fresh mint you can get. If you are growing it, even better. I use apple mint for the lemonade, but pineapple mint would be fabulous too.