Strawberry-Basil Lemonade

Back in May we had a picnic themed cooking club. We went to an urban farm and ate outside on the farm. It was absolutely beautiful. We had this lemonade for our beverage. It was so delicious! I just know you'll love it too! How cute is it served in these little mason jars??

Strawberry-Basil Lemonade
from chow.com


Ingredients:
For the strawberry-basil syrup: 
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 pound strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced 1/2 inch thick
3/4 cup tightly packed basil leaves

For the lemonade: 
8 cups cold water
2 cups fresh lemon juice, chilled
Ice
1/2 pound strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced 1/2 inch thick, for garnish
1/4 cup tightly packed, blemish-free basil leaves, for garnish
sliced lemons, for garnish

Directions:

For the strawberry-basil syrup: 

Place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over high heat and stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Add the strawberries, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until the strawberries have softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the basil leaves, and stir to incorporate. Cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium bowl; discard the solids. Cover the syrup and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the lemonade: 

Pour the water, lemon juice, and 1 1/2 cups of the strawberry-basil syrup into a 3-quart pitcher or punch bowl and stir to combine. Taste and add additional strawberry-basil syrup as needed. Add ice and garnish with the sliced strawberries, sliced lemons, and basil leaves.