Martha's Cool Ades

When I saw the recent feature (Martha Stewart Living June 2008) about Cool Ades, I couldn't wait to to mix some up. This weekend brought hot, poolside weather, and the Sparkling Roasted Vanilla Lemonade sounded like the perfect accompaniment. This recipe proved different than any lemonade I've made before ... a little more time consuming and labor intensive but worth the extra effort.

To prepare this recipe, lemons are covered in sugar, water, and a vanilla pod and seeds, and roasted. The lemonade is best prepared a few hours before you want to serve it to allow for cooling and chilling time.

The vanilla adds a pleasant and interesting flavor and aroma, and the lemonade is mixed with club soda when serving which makes a frothy, light, sparkling drink.

I used very large lemons and when I make this again, I'll use smaller lemons or add a bit more sugar. I like the tartness of this lemonade as is, but I'm not sure it would suit the tastes of everyone.

I'm looking forward to trying some of Martha's other ades ... have you tried any?