Celebrate With Fresh StrawberryAde!

Most of us have folks in our families who can’t tolerate sugar like they used to ~raises her hand~. They usually end up being left out in the cold when it comes to serving up treats. This drink changes all of that for sugar intolerant folks but also impresses everyone else as well – in a big way.  The most difficult part of making and serving this is going to be convincing everyone it doesn’t have sugar in it. Honestly, even though I’m the one making it, I still find myself pausing and feeling guilty for drinking it – it tastes that good. This is the most delicious drink, sugar free or otherwise, that I have ever had.

I’ll get on to telling you about how to make this incredibly easy and delicious drink in a minute because right now it’s tangent time. ~grins and rubs her hands together~

These are the glasses my Mama Reed used for her tea at every meal. They were considered very fancy glasses but Mama Reed never put them aside for special occasions. She considered each meal to be special and worthy of her best. “Always set your table like the President is coming to dinner” is her often quoted saying.

For their fiftieth wedding anniversary, all of the kids went in together and bought her a set of fancy china, ivory plates edged in gold. Most folks would put them in a china cabinet on display and bring them out on holidays, but not Mama Reed. From then on out, those gold edged plates were eaten off of at least three times a day, every day of the week. She had a lot of wisdom to share in that one simple action. Even if its just grilled cheese sandwiches and chips, when your family is together at the table, you have something to celebrate.

The day after my mother’s parents were married, my Papa Reed woke up and said “Well, I guess we’ll have to go get some breakfast somewhere because we don’t have anything to cook here yet.” That was when it occurred to my grandmother that she had never learned how to cook!

She went straight to her new mother in law, Mama Reed, who was known near and far for the delicious table she laid out. Sundays proved to be wonderful for such lessons as many women would gather in the kitchen to help Mama Reed prepare the largest meal of the week. Grandmama got right in there, doing her best where she could to help with what little knowledge she had. On one of those Sundays, she decided to try to fix the tea for everyone. Mama Reed had brewed it already and poured it into a large glass jug she had already added sugar and water to. Grandmama got a long handled metal spoon to stir it with. She said she was just a stirrin’ on that tea, determined to show she knew what she was doing. Until the metal spoon hit the side of the jug real good and the entire thing shattered, sending a gallon of sticky sweet tea pouring all over the kitchen floor.

Oh my, a tangent within a tangent! Alright, back to tangent #1…

The interesting thing about these glasses is that they weren’t acquired in a fancy store or even the kitchen department at Dunavant’s or JCPenney, they came from the grocery store, filled with peanut butter. With ten children and all of the other folks who came by on any given day, Mama Reed amassed quite a collection (no doubt she had good use for all of that peanut butter, too!). I don’t have any of her original ones but I’ve managed to come across enough to use them at my table, although I only do so from time to time.

My kids love drinking out of these and I helped them understand the history behind them by finding an old  advertisement for the glasses and peanut butter, which I have framed on my kitchen wall here at Bountiful. This ad is dated June, 1957.

Big Top glasses were plentiful in the South and for this reason are still pretty easily acquired at antique malls and on Ebay (see the bottom of this post).

This glass still has the original sticker, it’s a prized possession of mine and only cost me about $6.00. I usually try to spend my money on something with a meaning and a history to it rather than something new whenever I can.

Now what was I supposed to be posting about? Oh yeah…StrawberryAde.

And we’re off!~zoooooom~

You’re going to need: 16 ounces (or two cups) fresh strawberries, and a tub of pink lemonade Crystal Light.

That’s it. Honest.

Oh alright, some water as well but you should have that on hand.

You can also use generic sugar free pink lemonade mix such as Wal Mart brand.

You know my motto: “Go for the cheap!”.

Wash and cut the tops off of your strawberries. If a few make it into your mouth, I won’t tell.

Toss them into your blender.

This is my old Hamilton Beach blender. I’ve had it since they made dirt and it’s still going strong.

Puree that until it’s all good and liquified.

Put a few inches of water in a two quart pitcher.

I really wanted a glass pitcher for this tutorial but I don’t own one. I put off doing this for a few weeks as I looked every time I went out, hoping to find a deal. In the end, I didn’t find one for less than $8.00 and I felt guilty buying it (seemed frivolous) just to take a prettier photo of Strawberryade. So here we are, doing a tutorial in my usual plastic pitcher.

Jes’ keepin’ it real, y’all!

Add your Pink Lemonade mix to the water…

Stir that up til it is dissolved.

Stir in puree.

Fill the rest of the way with cold water and stir.

Serve over ice.

If you make this a few hours before, the seeds will fall to the bottom. If you serve immediately, you can strain the seeds out or just leave them like I do. It makes it look more authentic and fresh ~grins~.

This reminds me of a Strawberry Julius (from the old days) with a bit of a zesty kick to it! Strawberry is definitely the dominant flavor!

Fresh Strawberry-ade

• 16 ounces fresh strawberries
• 1 Tub Crystal Light Pink Lemonade

Wash and remove tops from strawberries. Place in blender and puree until fully liquefied. Fill two quart pitcher halfway with water. Stir in drink mix. Add strawberry puree and fill the rest of the way with cold water. Stir well. If strawberries aren’t sweet enough, you can add ¼ a cup of Splenda or to taste. I’ve never had to add Splenda!

Serve cold, over ice.

Happy Fourth Of July!

Thank you to everyone who has fought for our country. Our debt to you can never be paid but that won’t prevent us from attempting to. If you have a loved one serving overseas, these two cookie recipes are ones that ship exceptionally well. I’ve sent them a few times and despite it taking a month for my package to reach it’s destination, they still arrived fresh and were gobbled up with tons of praise!

M & M Oatmeal Bars (these received the HIGHEST praise)

Dishpan Cookies (these stay fresh for a very long time).

Gratefully,

Christy

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.”-Harriet Van Horne

Submitted by Amelia. To submit your quote (and make my day), please click here!

Find out more about Mama Reed on these posts:

Mama Reed’s Southern Style Rice Pudding

Mama Reed’s Tea Cakes

Related posts:

Posted by Christy Jordan on Jul 1 2009. Filed under Beverages. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry