Brazilian Lemonade

During the fall, winter, and early spring, Ryan and I like sit out on our porch and discuss amongst ourselves how wonderful it is that we no longer live in Utah. You might catch us saying something like, "Haha, those poor saps, it's 80 degrees in April here and it's snowing in Utah right now!" Or "Can you believe it! There is one yellow tree up in Provo Canyon and they think the fall foilage is beautiful!" Or, "It is January and I am running outside in shorts right now, its going to be 5 below zero tonight out west!" Then you might hear a few "muahahahahas" and see some smug grins sneak across our faces before we gather ourselves together and consider how sorry we feel for our loved ones who still live out there.

But every once in a while we have a change of heart. Ryan has frequent changes of heart during BYU football and basketball seasons, but that is another story. Usually the thing that changes my heart is my stomach. I let my mind drift back to a happier place and time, when I am eating unlimited amounts of meat served by young men eager to show off their Portuguese. For those of you unfortunate enough to not know what I am talking about, I mean Tucanos.

http://www.poi-factory.com/files/img/tucanos.jpg

It's a Brazilain grill, or a churrascaria if you want to be fancy, and it is amazing. Though I am a bit partial to Tucanos, there are other churrascarias nationwide. Ryan and I went to a local one in Raleigh that was about twice as expensive and half as good. And they did not serve one of the best menu items: Brazilian Lemonade.

I found myself really craving Tucano's Brazilian Lemonade this summer and after checking out flights and realizing we can't afford to drop a grand on plane tickets for the opportunity to sip a delightfully refreshing beverage, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com and it does not disappoint. It has quickly become a summer staple at my house.

You need two limes, 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk, 3 cups of water, and a handful of ice.
First, wash the limes because you are going to be blending them up, skins and all.Next, chop off the ends and throw them away.
Then cut the rest of each lime into 8 pieces. You can cut them however you want, go crazy.I am a big believer in letting your kids help you cook and this is an easy recipe they can help with after you've got the limes chopped up.

Next, let your little helper put the limes into your blender. Our regular blender died on us a year or so ago and we got the "Ninja"to replace it. We love it for making smoothies and drinks.
Add in the other ingredients: water, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and ice. Then let your little helper blend the heck out of it. The great thing about the ninja is there is only one button on top, not 10 different speed settings, so Abby can do it herself which she obviously loves. It actually only needs maybe 10 pulses or so but I let her have fun with it. After your drink is blended up, throw some ice in the fanciest glasses you can handle.Then, this is super important: pour the drink into the cups THROUGH A STRAINER. It will be kind of nasty otherwise.
One recipe makes about 4 cups so if you are planning on making another batch, you can hang onto this stuff and throw it back in the blender for round two. Otherwise, toss it. Slip an extra lime wedge onto the side of your glass if you're feeling glamorous and serve!
If you're like me you are probably wondering what you are going to do with the rest of the can of sweetened condensed milk when the recipe only calls for 3 tablespoons. If you buy like 10-12 limes and make this a few times you will use most of the can. I started looking up other recipes in which I could use up the rest of the SCM and a recurring theme was fudge. However, the sweetened condensed milk can last for a few weeks in the fridge if you put it in a plastic storage container so I just keep mine around for this lemonade.

If you are so inclined, other allrecipes reviewers rave about adding a little bit of hard liquor but I wouldn't know about that!

The printable version of the recipe is available here. Enjoy!