Homemade Strawberry Lemonade

Hot weather means cool summer drinks!  As local strawberries appear, make a batch of homemade strawberry lemonade for a sweet treat.

You'll need:

3 lemons
1 quart fresh strawberries
1 cup of sugar, divided
water

Remove the strawberry stems and quarter the berries in a small bowl.  Add 1/4 cup of the sugar and allow the berries to macerate for at least an hour to sweeten them and draw out the juice.  Puree the softened berries in a blender or food processor (a mini chopper is also handy) and pour the puree into a 2-quart pitcher.  Juice the lemons, keeping any seeds out, and add the juice plus the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar to the pitcher.  Fill with water halfway, covering it tightly and shaking the pitcher vigorously to help dissolve the sugar.  Fill to the top with water and shake again.  Refrigerate, or serve over ice, and enjoy!