Fresh Limeade

On a whim at the grocery store I bought an entire 3 pound bag of limes.  Just because they looked so pretty!  And I knew they would look especially nice in my black and white striped bowl from Crate and Barrel.  And they do, right?  

So, I have this overabundance of limes.  What to do with them?  On Mother's Day, after a wonderful afternoon at the beach, we stopped at this BBQ restaurant where we had fresher than fresh limeade.  Literally squeezed to order...so refreshing!  So I thought I'd give that a try.  Talk about fresher than fresh!!  This is so good!  And perfect for a hot summer day.  Would be even so good as a replacement for lemonade in my Light and Easy Margaritas.   

Makes about 1 1/2 quarts

Fresh Limeade

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lime zest

3/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 5 limes)

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and lime zest with 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil and once the sugar dissolves (usually it happens simultaneously), remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the simple syrup into a pitcher to remove the lime zest.  Add the lime juice and 4 cups of water.  Serve over ice with a sprig of mint.