A HARTE APPETITE: DESPITE FEWER CHILD-OPERATED STANDS, LEMONADE REMAINS AN AMERICAN FAVORITE

It used to be this time of year you'd see young entrepreneurs setting up sidewalk lemonade stands in their neighborhoods. It doesn't seem that long ago (though it has been some 20 years) that my own children went through the ritual.

I fondly remember helping them set up shop: preparing cardboard signs, erecting a suitable counter with, perhaps, a card table or, if we could find one, an orange crate, procuring paper cups, mixing the lemonade, fashioning a suitable sales strategy (our corner or a busier one) and determining the price. Though I invariably provided the start-up capital and hardly ever got paid back, because somehow somebody always managed to drink up the profits, those little forays into the world of small business are among my most cherished memories of my kids growing up.

But you don't see very many children's lemonade stands these days, or at least I don't. Perhaps, as the Baltimore Sun's humor columnist Kevin Cowherd suggested a couple of years ago, this is because in today's world you have to think twice about even such a simple venture. As he points out, a lemonade stand could easily violate the Covenants and Restrictions clause of many community associations and yelling at passing motorists, even just to announce the availability of your product, could be construed by some as a form of harassment.

Moreover, given the recent multimillion-dollar judgment against McDonald's for serving coffee that was too hot, a would-be lemonade monger might be leery of taking a similar risk with a cold beverage. Finally, Cowherd warns the media, always on the lookout for sensational and scandalous stories, might be unable to resist the possibilities inherent in a child's lemonade stand.

He says, "Underage workers toiling for hours in the hot sun for less than minimum wage. The media would have a field day with that one... By noon there'd be 15 satellite trucks outside our house. Sam Donaldson and Wulf Blitzer would be doing standups in front of our front door. The newspaper would come out with a three-part series on child labor practices, with a picture of me on the front page shielding my face with a raincoat."

Cowherd was being facetious, of course. Probably the real reason you don't see so many lemonade stands these days is that many children would rather stay inside where it's air conditioned than sit outside working in the heat and humidity of a Cape Girardeau summer. And who can blame them? But whatever the reason for the decline of the lemonade stand, the unfortunate consequence is that many of us have forgotten, and perhaps many of today's youngsters do not even know, the pleasures of real lemonade. And that's a real shame.

Let's face it. While the powdered stuff you get out of a canister or a packet and the frozen concentrate you get from the grocer's case may make a perfectly acceptable summer drink, they are not really lemonade. Real lemonade has to be made with freshly squeezed lemons. That's because when it comes to citrus fruits, there simply is no other way to obtain that wonderful genuine taste. Generally speaking, "fresh" means better no matter what the food (fruitcakes, wine, aged cheese and a few other things excepted), but when it comes to lemonade or limeade the difference between fresh and other varieties is not just a difference of degree, it's a difference in kind.

This point was driven home to me recently when I visited the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Cancun, Mexico, on the way back from a vacation in Playa del Carmen. In Mexico, of course, the citrus fruit of choice is the lime because Mexican or Key limes are both distinctive and plentiful. Many years ago I discovered the delight of Mexican limonada (limeade), a truly wonderful homemade drink that can typically be found for less than a dollar a glass at even the most humble establishments in that country.

It is usually made with fresh lime juice, simple syrup, and, often, carbonated water. (I still recall vividly the hedonistic experience of lounging in the pool at our hotel in Puerto Vallarta while the children paddled back and forth to the swim up bar for refills of my limonada.)

Imagine my surprise when our waiter at the Ritz brought to our beachside table tall glasses of limonada that turned out to have been made with a mix! One taste and I could tell. No wonder the waiter confessed immediately when interrogated, for hardly anyone could be fooled into thinking that a mix could duplicate the bracing flavor of fresh limes. I suspect the irony of it all was lost on him, but here was a fancy hotel substituting, in the name of convenience, the artificial for the real, when just down the block a native street vendor could have provided the genuine article at a fraction of the cost. I'll bet the Margaritas weren't any good either, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.

No, nothing can take the place of real lemonade or limeade. To me, it epitomizes summer. But sadly, most restaurants in this country no longer take the time or trouble to serve the real thing, opting instead for a mix or offering Coke and Pepsi as an alternative. (Ironically, the first flavored soda beverage, invented in 1838 by Eugene Roussel, a Philadelphia perfume dealer, was actually lemonade mixed with carbonated water.) So if you want to experience something authentic you'll have to make it yourself.

There's nothing to making fresh lemonade or limeade, of course, except for a little extra time and some physical effort. Just be sure to choose the juiciest lemons and limes, which are the ones which are heaviest. And here's a tip for extracting the most juice from them. Simply put them in the microwave for about 15 seconds before squeezing. I recommend using carbonated water for lemonade and limeade to add a more festive touch, but if you do, it's best to sweeten the beverage with a simple syrup because all of the stirring necessary to dissolve plain sugar could make the drink go flat.

It's hard to beat the basic beverage, but there are lots of variations. And if you want something stronger, you can add alcohol. One of the most intriguing recipes I've ever seen for lemonade with a kick is something called a Lemonade Bomb. It contains lemons, vodka and beer and, I suspect, it's aptly named. Perhaps the following recipes will serve as inspiration to follow the advice of Howard Gossage who said, "If you have a lemon, make lemonade."

Strawberry Lemonade

Flavored lemonades have become the rage at The City Bakery in New York. Owner Maury Rubin even put on a lemonade festival there a few years ago. His version of pink lemonade (the original got its color from the addition of grenadine) is tart, so you may want to adjust it to taste. You might also try experimenting with additions of other pureed fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, mango, kiwi and peaches.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups water

3 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (some 16 lemons)

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled

Directions:

In a pitcher or container, whisk together the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice and stir. Puree the berries and strain to remove seeds. Add puree to lemon mixture and stir. To serve, pour into 10-ounce glasses filled with ice. Serves 7.

Agua Fresca de Limon

This unique lime drink is popular in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico where agua frescas or "cool waters" are so well liked that there is a special day dedicated to them. On the fourth Friday of Lent, the citizens of Oaxaca City drink this and similar concoctions in memory of the Samaritan woman who met Christ at the well. The recipe, from Zarela Martinez's lovely book, "The Food and Life of Oaxaca," uses no juice, only the rind of the fruit.

Ingredients:

6 cups cold water

1/3 cup sugar

2 large dark green limes

Directions:

In a pitcher combine the water and sugar, stirring to dissolve. Refrigerate until very cold. Just before serving, grate the rind of the lime into the pitcher. Serve over ice cubes.

Iced Cucumber Limeade

This unique recipe, published in Prevention Magazine, is from the Ponkok Laguna restaurant in Jakarta, Indonesia, where iced drinks are so popular, and on hot days so welcome, that an entire section of the kitchen is dedicated to their preparation. Like the restaurant, you may want to serve this drink with a spoon as well as a straw.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

3 tablespoons honey

1 good-size cucumber

10 ice cubes

Directions:

Mix juice and honey thoroughly and pour equal quantities into two glasses. Peel cucumber, remove seeds, and chop coarsely. Put into blender and blend until smooth. Put in ice cubes and blend until mushy. Pour equal quantities into the two glasses with the lime juice and mix thoroughly. Garnish with mint sprigs if desired.

Frozen Lemonade Pie

If you can't get enough lemonade just by drinking, try this refreshing pie from ElLouise Kollman, whose daughter, Susan Janzow of Cape Girardeau, brought back the recipe from a recent visit. Mrs. Kollman, a doting great-grandmother, is a talented cook and craftsperson who still lives on the family farm in Clark, Mo.

Ingredients:

1 can (6 oz.) frozen lemonade

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tub (8 oz.) cool whip

1 graham cracker pie crust

Directions:

Put concentrate, cream cheese and milk in a blender and whir until smooth and creamy. Pour into bowl and fold in cool whip. Pour into crust and refrigerate for two to three hours.

Got a recipe you'd like to share with our readers? Are you looking for a recipe for something in particular? Send your recipes and requests to A Harte Appetite, c/o The Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO., 63702-0699 or by e-mail to tharte@semovm.semo.edu.