Hello again!
I hope you have been enjoying summertime. Here in the Northwest, we are just hitting our stride with summer, and it feels so good. I have been busy with work and family, but I am getting into my summer groove and finding new routines. I am loving the long days (especially the sunlit mornings!)
We took the plants outside for their own little summer vacation.
And brought what is blooming outside indoors to enjoy.
We have also been making quite a bit of lemonade. I actually make this lemonade all year long. It is one of the staples of my fridge (we drink it warmed in the wintertime). It can actually look quite identical to another of my fridge mainstays, homemade chicken broth, resulting in some culinary mishaps (I store both in large Mason jars). You do not want to mix up the two.
I have been making honey lemonade since I was a kid and found a recipe for it in my Winnie-the-Pooh cookbook. Fresh lemons are best, but I have used a good quality bottled juice as well with great results.
Honey Lemonade
1/2 cup good quality local honey
1 cup water
3/4 - 1 cup lemon juice
3 cups water
Heat the honey and 1 cup water in a saucepan until honey dissolves. Mix the dissolved honey and lemon juice in a pitcher or storage jar. Add additional 3 cups water and chill, or, if serving immediately, add 2 cups water and fill with ice.
Uses for honey lemonade:
Add frozen berries or fresh herbs
Mix with strong black iced tea
Add to smoothies
Freeze into popsicles (a few berries floating around is great)
Mix with beer for a shandy
Make a cocktail with bourbon and mint sprigs
Heat with a chunk of ginger to soothe a sore throat or cough (optional, add whiskey to make a hot toddy)
Do not attempt to make chicken soup with your honey lemonade
Check back next week. We’ll have a surprise for you over at by3191!