Thursday, June 30, 2016

Flavored Lemonades




 One of my favorite summer drinks is lemonade. Lemonade is great because you can flavor it so many ways. Today I made four of my favorite flavors and my niece, Sylvia, was here to help! She tasted each flavor and commented on each one as she sipped. I had no idea she was such a connoisseur of lemonade - or "lemalade" as she calls it. I asked which one was her favorite flavor but she just couldn't decide so you can make some for yourself and decide which one you like best!

Lemonade Base

1 quart + 1 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
drizzle of honey (optional)


Lavender Lemonade

Lemonade base
1 tablespoon dried lavender buds

Mix 1 cup water, lavender buds, and sugar in a pot over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool slightly. Strain the lavender buds out before transferring to a pitcher and adding the remaining quart of water and lemon juice.

Notes from Sylvia: "This one tastes juicy! It's very juicy. I like it very much."


Ginger Lemonade

Lemonade base
1-2 inch piece fresh ginger root, sliced

Mix 1 cup water, sliced ginger, and sugar in a pot over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool slightly before transferring to a pitcher and adding the remaining quart of water and lemon juice.

Notes from Sylvia: "This one tastes like sour lemalade but it's sweet. I like it a lot!"


Mint Lemonade

Lemonade base
1 peppermint tea bag

Steep the mint tea bag in 1 cup hot water for 5 minutes. Add the sugar to the hot tea and stir until dissolved before adding the remaining quart of water and lemon juice.

Notes from Sylvia: "This one smells like a candy cane! It tastes like a candy cane! It tastes like a candy cane and lemalade"


Watermelon Lemonade

1 quart cold water
1 1/2 cup watermelon
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
5-7 fresh mint leaves (optional)

Blend the watermelon sugar and mint leaves until smooth then add lemon juice and water.

Notes from Sylvia: "What's in this pink stuff? It's pink! I like it."
 



6 comments:

Unknown said...

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Unknown said...

Sylvia's comments are so cute!
I'm going to make the watermelon lemonade for iftar (meal to break fast) tonight.This lemonade looks the most delicious of all.

Unknown said...

Sylvia's comments are absolutely adorable:) And thanks so much for these recipes! I love homemade lemonade, and I'll definitely need to try some of these over the summer!!

Grace Anne said...

I love these ideas! I've actually been looking for a recipe for watermelon lemonade!

Sadie Sofia said...

Little kids are the best critics!!

Elizabeth said...

Oooh I love lemonade also and I'm always looking for new combinations. Thank you for sharing these creations! I cannot wait to try them out :)

Elizabeth
http://whimsicalthoughtss.blogspot.com/