Strawberry fields forever.

May means warm weather, white shoes, linen, and rooftop happy hours. May means pools opening, sunny evening runs, and possibly my favorite, strawberry season at the farmer's market.

While my favorite preparation is washed and sun-warmed, I love strawberries in salads, tarts, my favorite cupcakes, and my most recent discovery, home-made strawberry lemonade.

When I was seven years old, my parents took us to Hong Kong, Singapore, and China for two weeks. Besides visiting family, I remember a few key things: gigantic exotic bugs, an epic pool at our Singapore hotel, drinking fresh coconut water out of coconuts, sightseeing, riding the longest escalator in the world, fresh shrimp (the only shrimp I'll ever really like), and above all, intense humidity and heat. One of the most refreshing memories from that trip was going to a sensationally air-conditioned restaurant in the afternoon and having ice-cold lemonade.

This was no ordinary lemonade: they brought out tall chilled glasses filled with ice, freshly squeezed lemon juice, a pitcher of cold water, and a little beaker of simple syrup. You stirred together the proportions you wanted and had perfect, thirst-quenching lemonade.

Last weekend hit the 90s in DC, appropriate poolside and lemonade weather. Remembering my vivid childhood experience, I mixed up some simple syrup and squeezed some lemons. My one addition -- in celebration of the season -- was pureed strawberry for a delightfully refreshing strawberry lemonade. I also used tonic water instead of regular water, because a little bubbly makes everything more festive.

*
Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade
Makes 4 glasses

2 lemons, juiced
1 L cold club soda or tonic water (whatever you have on hand)
6-8 strawberries
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c water
ice cubes

NOTE: This recipe makes more simple syrup than necessary, and the proportions of everything can be adjusted to taste. I like mine slightly more tart, so feel free to make your own adjustments. Simple syrup is a must, as regular sugar does not dissolve easily in cold liquid. You can try using superfine sugar as some bartenders do, but proper bars (and coffee shops, in the case of iced coffee drinks) have simple syrup on hand.

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan on the stove and heat until dissolved. Puree hulled strawberries in an immersion blender, or just smash really well with a fork.

Fill a chilled glass with ice cubes. Pour 1-2 T lemon juice in the bottom, along with 1-2 T simple syrup and 1 T strawberry puree. Fill with soda water and stir. Adjust ingredients to taste. Say, "Aaahhh."

* I tagged this post "cocktails," so you can spice this one up any way you'd like.