Summertime Pineapple Drink

Ingredients:

• 1 whole pineapple

• 1/4 to 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1/3 cup lemon juice

• 1 to 2 cups water

• ice cubes for serving

• a few chunks of pineapple for garnish, optional

1. Wash, peel and cut pineapple into chunks.* Place pineapple, lemon juice and quarter cup sugar in a blender. Blend until no chunks remain.

2. Taste pineapple to determine if more sugar is needed. This will depend on the ripeness of the pineapple and how sweet it is.

3. Pour into a large pitcher. Stir in 1 cup water; add additional water depending how thick or thin you'd like your juice.

4. It is not necessary to strain the juice unless you have a lot of pulp.

5. Serve over ice.

Yields: about 8 cups

Notes&Tips:

• *To peel pineapple: Hold pineapple sideways and with a chef's knife, cut top and bottom off. Turn pineapple upright and cut the skin off all around the pineapple. Cut deep enough that you get the "eyes" (dark brown spots) out without cutting out too much fruit. You can use a paring knife to get the few "eyes" that remain. Cut the pineapple in two lengthwise, then again in two. Cut out the core from each quarter of the pineapple. Cut into desired size.

• The juice you get from using fresh fruit is very tasty, and depending on how sweet your fruit is, you may need very little, if any, sugar in your juice.

• I have found that some pineapple, especially ones that haven't reached full ripeness, tend to have more pulp. If you are averse to having pulp in your juice, strain through a cloth or fine-meshed strainer.

• You can also garnish your Summertime Pineapple Drink with fresh mint leaves or lemon slice.