Lavender Lemonade Recipe -- A sweet and refreshing drink made with honey. I think I may even like this more than regular lemonade!
SCCHOOOOOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMMAHH!!!! π
No more pencils. No more books. No more teacher's dirty looks. Time to burn those multiplication tables and Macbeth book reports! Oh never mind, I only just graduated High School 6 years ago...
In better news today's fabulousΒ post is brought to you by the color purple and the Recipe Redux crizz-ew!
This month's theme was all about edible flowers.
Floral Flavors -Β Nothing brightens up a dish like a real flower! Whether you live in the northern or the southern hemisphere, edible flowers can add flavor and aroma to salads, breads, spreads, desserts or dips. Make your recipe bloom with rose water, flowering herbs, floral teas, dried lavender blossoms or even fresh flowers like nasturtiums, violets, borage, squash, sunflowers or pretty much any blossom in a vegetable garden.
Now I'll be honest this one really stumped me. I had never worked with edible flowers before unless you count an occasional flower garnish on a salad...or if you count munching on some clovers as a kid. Hey, it wasn't dirt or worms so I think my rabbit lifestyle started at a young age.
I wanted to do something more than slap a pansy or two on a garden salad and call it a day, but where to even start? I thought, hey I love the smell of lavender so why not see what it tastes like?! Until it took me a year and a half to actually locate lavender.
But the edible flower gods were on my side and a lavender plant graced my hands thanks to one generous student (and his mom) for gifting them to each of us ladies.
I hussed and fussed over what I would make with lavender that wouldn't end up tasting like an aromatherapy candle. I spied a recipe for lavender lemonade from Simply Recipes and knew just that this was the one way ticket to Summertime in a glass.
I wanted to make it my own and since I try to limit how much refined sugar I use, I decided to use honey as a sweetener instead. You can definitely taste the honey but it gives this lemonade a gold star for being a unique and sophisticated lemonade.
And the lavender? Far from guzzling a bottle of Febreeze. I really expected it to be more perfume-y tasting, but turned out rather subtle and just enough flavor to say "Oh hey. Just me, lavender. All up in your lemonade."
Print
Lavender Honey Lemonade
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 small handful fresh lavender, rinsed (about β cup)
- β cup honey
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 Β½ cups fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
- 1 Β½ cups cold water
- ice
Instructions
- Combine rinsed lavender and honey in a large bowl.
- Mash lavender into honey with a fork to release flavor.
- Add boiling water to honey mixture and stir until honey is dissolved.
- Cover and let sit for 1 hour.
- Strain mixture over a large pitcher with a fine mesh strainer. Discard lavender.
- Add lemon juice,cold water and ice to pitcher and stir to combine.
- Top with fresh lemon slices and additional lavender and serve.
Notes
Veganize: Substitute honey for sweetener of choice.
**DO NOT use florist flowers or flowers that have been sprayed with pesticides or insecticides. Buy organically grown lavender or substitute with 1 tablespoon dried lavender.**
- Category: Drinks
So if you are planning to have Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, and the Queen over for a game of bridge and scones, I suggest whipping up a batch of this lemonade to quench their thirst. I can hear their reactions now...
Martha: " This is just lovely. Next time I'll make a topiary out of the leftover branches."
Ina:"Lavender, oh this is fabulous! Simple syrup with Madagascan honey and lemons picked from a small farm in East Italy is what I would use. Or store bought is fine."
Queen:"Is there bourbon in this??"
Just make sure you give your nails a fresh coat of polish before serving. Woops.
Pleasant sips my friends!
Make it a great day!
Have you ever used edible flowers before?
If you could have afternoon tea with anyone, who would it be?
Sarah Grace
This sounds delicious! So refreshing. I am loving all these lavender recipes.
xoxo Sarah Grace, Fresh Fit N Healthy.
Emily Cooper
Thanks so much! It's so neat to see all these recipes, especially since I've never cooked/baked with them before!
Deanna Segrave-Daly (@tspbasil)
Love me some homemade lemonade in the summer and I have dried lavender in the pantry just waiting for this recipe π
Emily Cooper
Ooh! Let me know how it turns out with dried lavender if you give it a try!
Betsy Ramirez @Supermarket Nutritition
This makes we want to kick my feet up with a glass! The lavender is makes it even more relaxing!
Emily Cooper
Thanks Betsy! It sure is a cool and relaxing treat on these humid Summer nights.
Katie
Good to note about the not using florist flowers!! Whew!