Lately, every time I run to the grocery store I've been buying lemons. I'm not sure where this lemon compulsion came from, but the end result is that I accumulated an insane amount of lemons in my house for no apparent reason.
Luckily, I stumbled upon this recipe at Sunday Suppers, which, by the way, is an inspiring blog by the amazing culinary stylist and photographer Karen Mordechai. If you haven't seen this site yet, you need to check it out. You will get lost (and a little hungry) looking at all the beautifully photographed recipes.
The Lavender Lemonade recipe I found was a perfect match for my lemon overload because right now my lavender bush looks like this...
Naturally, I had to give this recipe a try. It. Was. Divine. An added plus was how the fresh citrus smell of lemon juice combined with the herbal lavender scent to fill the whole house with a fresh aroma during the infusing process. It made our house smell crazy good.
Lavender Lemonade
(Recipe adapted from Sunday Suppers)
Stuff you'll need:
8 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
4 sprigs of lavender (stems and buds), plus additional for garnish
5 lemons juiced
2 limes juiced
Method:
In a large saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat; add 5 lavender sprigs and lemon and lime juices. Cool to room temperature, strain, and chill. Serve on ice, with additional lavender for garnish.
Of course, if you didn't feel like steeping your lemonade to infuse the lavender, you could just throw a few sprigs of lavender into a glass of regular lemonade to jazz it up. Simple as that.
Stuff you'll need:
8 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
4 sprigs of lavender (stems and buds), plus additional for garnish
5 lemons juiced
2 limes juiced
Method:
In a large saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat; add 5 lavender sprigs and lemon and lime juices. Cool to room temperature, strain, and chill. Serve on ice, with additional lavender for garnish.
Of course, if you didn't feel like steeping your lemonade to infuse the lavender, you could just throw a few sprigs of lavender into a glass of regular lemonade to jazz it up. Simple as that.
Do you have lemonade recipes you'd like to share? I'd also love suggestions about other things I could do with my lavender. I'm never quite sure what to do with those pretty blossoms.
oh.my.goodness!! it's so summery and the colors could not be more gorgeous! actually, i worked at Toomer's Corner in Auburn, AL during my college days and my job was to squeeze lemons all day long, ha - no joke! Talk about some raw fingers and hands! Anyway, they are super famous for their lemonade and I semi-remember the recipe; however, I've been sworn to secrecy :)
ReplyDeleteWow, a professional lemonade maker with the scars to prove it?!! Awesome!
DeleteI might have to try to bribe you out of that recipe.... maybe with some vegetables.... ;)
This looks like a delicious recipe. Where did you get the fresh lavender from?
ReplyDeleteI actually have some lavender growing in my yard. My mom gave me a plant about two years ago. I almost killed it a few times, but it finally seems like it's gonna make it. Whew! (Of course, I celebrated by chopping all its flowers off to make lemonade.... Seemed fitting.... lol.)
DeleteI have been making tons of stuff with lavender too! This looks delicious! I've sort of been concocting something similar as a cocktail replacement, so I will have to try this!
ReplyDeleteI've never really known what to do with these blooms, so it's fun to have things to try out with them. Let me know if you like the lemonade. Are you going to do a post on the cocktail replacement?!! I'd love to see that! :)
DeleteI have so much lavender at my mom's house. I would love this, I think. Time to try it!
ReplyDeletePeony
It is sooooo good. Let me know how you like it :)
DeleteI made it a while ago (also found it on Sunday Suppers) and I absolutely love it. I'm a big fan of lemonade and of lavender so this is just the perfect combination. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tamarasblend.com/
It's so good isn't it :)
DeleteTo me lavender was always something that made scented lotions smell good. I never knew how to add it to recipes and such. Now, after trying this recipe I'm dying to try other recipes with lavender in them.
Well, not so much to do with eating the lavender, but there are Potted Pudding Plants that are great for parties... or for making people at work think you are eating a plant ;)
ReplyDeleteLavender is of course good for tea. You could even infuse it in honey and let it solidify on a spoon for lavender honey stirring spoons for your tea.
Here is a recipe for a Pineapple Cooler that uses lavender.
Even Lavender Champagne if it suits your fancy :)
And of course, you can also put sprigs in small vases for a pop of color and fragrance around the house.
Hey chica! :)
DeleteWow, these are some great ideas.
I can't get over how cute the potted pudding plants are. They are almost too cute to eat. And I say almost, because there is pudding involved and who can resist pudding no matter how cute.
The honey-lavender spoons are a sweet idea too! I love drinking tea and that would be the perfect sweetener.
The pineapple cooler and lavender champagne sound soooooo gooood.
I've only got a few blossoms left on my lavender plant so I'm gonna need to get to some of these ideas to try them out... and fast.
Thanks for sharing :)
I bet this tasted lovely and refreshing in the hot weather you are having at the moment. My oldest daughter loves to make lemonade, I think it may be her own recipe though that consists of lots of sugar. Your lavender bush is beautiful, maybe you could dry them and then have them as an arrangement in your home. I have a bunch I bought at a lavender farm and I just love having them inside to smell. x
ReplyDeleteSo, your daughter makes sugar-aid with a touch of lemon then?! ;)
DeleteI love the idea of drying some blossoms to freshen the home. This will be perfect for next to my bed. The smell of lavender is so soothing. Thanks Catherine.
I am totally not a lavender person, but I just had to say that these photos are lovely!
ReplyDeleteJosie
FineandFeathered.com
It's not for everyone, that's for sure. I wasn't even sure if I would like this recipe before I tried it, but I ended up being pleasantly suprised.
DeleteOf course, you can't go wrong with tried and true plain old lemonade. It's pretty perfect just the way it is ... :)
This looks/sounds SO refreshing and delicious. Oh my. Absolutely a must-try!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Erica, your blog is so, so lovely.
xoxo
Oh, do give it a try. It is sooooo good. :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Natasha. I've really enjoyed checking out your lovely blog too.
That sounds absolutely amazing, especially right this second.
ReplyDeleteIf only I had any semblance of a green thumb. (Unfortunately I'm quite the opposite).
I'd totally bake some lavender cookies to go with some black tea; steep some lavender with some black tea; make lavender ice cream; or just cut some and put them around my house- they're so pretty and don't have an offensive aroma!
Lavender cookies and tea sound ahhhhhmazing. I absolutely love tea and it would be so easy to steep it with lavender.
DeleteAnd you can't go wrong with ice cream in this heat.
I'm gonna have to look up some recipes for these ideas. Thanks Erica!
This is so perfect for me right now because my flatmate brought home a box filled with lemons from the country and we just don't know what to do with them! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteLemonade is definately the way to go with an over-abundance of lemons. Let me know how you like it. :)
DeleteI love the smell of lavender! This lemonade must be amazing, I have to try it sometime!
ReplyDeletehttp://naomemandeflores.com/en
You should. It's really good and since you like lavender, I'm sure you'll love it :)
Deleteoh it looks so pretty.. and I love lemons.
ReplyDeleteThis definitely puts lemons to good use :)
DeleteI've never made this for myself, and now I am wondering why! It is delicious, and very pretty, too. Thank you for the inspiration!
ReplyDelete:) Glad you like the recipe Courtney!
DeleteI love the look and sound of this! will give it a go
ReplyDeleteI hope you like it as much as I do! :)
Deleteoh wow, this looks delicious! i'll definitely have to give it a try soon.
ReplyDeleteLet me know how you like it!
DeleteOh this looks really delicious!
ReplyDeletehttp://theas-vintage.blogspot.se/
It is sooooo gooood! :)
Delete