Don´t Care Recipe

Prepare strawberries

Rinse hull and quarter the fresh strawberries. Reserve 8 thin slices for garnish and place the rest in a blender.

Make strawberry purée

Add the quartered strawberries and 1/4 cup of the cold water to the blender. Puree until smooth, about 20–30 seconds. If you prefer a seed-free texture, strain the purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing with a spoon; discard seeds. Return purée to blender or pitcher.

Dissolve sugar

In a small saucepan or heatproof bowl, combine granulated sugar with 1/2 cup of water and warm gently, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves (about 2–3 minutes). This simple syrup step ensures no graininess. Let cool 5 minutes.

Combine lemonade

In a large pitcher, combine the strawberry purée, fresh lemon juice, the remaining cold water (2 1/2 cups), and the cooled simple syrup. Stir well to combine and taste; adjust sweetness with more sugar/simple syrup or tartness with a splash more lemon juice as desired.

Chill

Refrigerate the lemonade base for at least 30 minutes to meld flavors (or up to 2 hours). If short on time, add plenty of ice when serving to chill immediately.

If making a boozy punch, pour the vodka and elderflower liqueur into the chilled strawberry lemonade base and stir gently to combine. If you prefer nonalcoholic, skip the vodka and liqueur and add an extra 1/2–1 cup cold water to keep volume consistent.

Just before serving, add the club soda or sparkling water to the pitcher to preserve fizz. Stir gently and taste; adjust sweetness or alcohol level if needed.

Fill individual glasses with ice (about 1/2 to 1 cup ice per glass). Add a few strawberry slices and a lemon wheel to each glass.

Ladle the strawberry lemonade punch over the ice, leaving a little room at the top. Top each glass with an extra splash of club soda if you want more fizz.

Garnish with mint leaves and a light sprinkle of lemon zest on top of each drink. Serve with a straw or stirring stick.

If making a pitcher for a party, float the remaining strawberry slices, lemon wheels, and a handful of ice in the pitcher for a pretty presentation; add mint sprigs just before serving to keep them bright.