Summertime strawberry soda (non-alcoholic)

My kids are teenagers but they still love ordering Shirley Temples when we go out to eat. For Father’s Day we went out for brunch. When the boys ordered Shirley Temples the waiter explained they did them a little differently. They used their own house-made strawberry syrup instead of maraschino cherry juice. The boys took one sip and they were instantly converted. Ummmm, me too! (SO YUMMY!) I knew right away I could make this so easily at home and I got to it within two days. The syrup is so sweet that I discovered you can use club soda instead of sugary soda and it still tastes so incredibly-strawberry-sweet and so refreshing. Of course you can use the syrup in this recipe for any other drinks including cocktails and I bet you can find other ways to use it as well. Hmmmmm… Like on pancakes, YUM! Happy summertime everyone. Cheers!

RECIPE TUNES (because everything is always better with music)
White Sky by Vampire Weekend  • Lonely Lullaby by Owl City  • The Way We Are by Kate Boy

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs fresh ripe strawberries (stems cut off and cut up into pieces)
• 2 cups sugar
• enough water to cover your strawberries in a pot
• club soda or your favorite lemon-lime soda (Sprite, Sierra Mist, 7up, etc,…)

LETS COOK!

1. Cut off the stems of your strawberries and then cut the berries into small pieces. (Quarter them assuming they are average in size. If they are super large you can cut them into more pieces and if small cutting in half is fine.)
2. Put your berries into a pot and fill the pot with water until the berries are all submerged.
3. Bring this to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer for 5 minutes. (Your berries will start to lose color but water will begin to get pinkish-red.)
4. Strain your liquid over a bowl as seen here in this photo.
   
5. You can, but do not have to, gently mash the berries to get more of the liquid out as seen in the photo with the masher here. Either way you can trash of the strawberry mush after. You only need the liquid.
6. Pour the now strawberry liquid back into your pot, add your sugar and stir it to dissolve the sugar while bringing it to a boil. Once it starts to boil turn it back down to a simmer and cook on low for 5 minutes.
   
7. Set aside your strawberry syrup to cool. Once it is cool you can store this in the fridge until you are making your drinks.
8. When you are ready to make your strawberry soda, pour some of your syrup into the bottom of an ice filled glass.
9. Top off the syrup with your club soda (or other soft drink of choice) and stir it well. If needed you can keep adding more syrup until it is to your liking.
10. That’s all there is to it!!

ENJOY!