Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade



Summer has begun!

At least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere.  Especially for those of us in the North, where we wait all through a long grey winter for the perpetual sunshine of summer.  

Lucky for us in Southern Ontario it's felt pretty summery for a few weeks now.  

The summer solstice.  Without there being any big celebration it's actually a pretty big deal here in the land of four seasons.  Because of that it feels like it needs something to help make it feel special. I think this lemonade might be exactly that. 

There's a spot in LA called Lemonade.  I've only ever had their namesake drink, but I hear their sandwiches and salads are quite good as well.  The first time I stopped in was when I was visiting my sister just over a year ago.  She insisted that their Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade was the best, so I decided to try that one.  It was so refreshing and packed with the woodsy, slight sweetness of rosemary. It was really a special drink and one that I knew I had to try to recreate at home.  

The boy is generally a fan of the things I make.  I think mainly because he doesn't ever have to think about the food he eats at home.  But it's possible I made him fall in love with me again with this one.  He brought some to work and requested I make it last Friday night so we could enjoy it with some vodka (which was a total winner), I even froze some of it into awesome ice pops for those really hot days we get, when nothing else cools you down.


Needless to say I'll be making some more today as part of our summer solstice dinner celebration.  



print recipe
Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade
Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 cups water - separated
  • 1-2 rosemary sprigs
  • 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 7 cups watermelon- cut in 1-2" cubes
Instructions
1. Place 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan, add 1-2 springs of fresh rosemary. Cook over medium heat stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once dissolved remove from heat, cover saucepan and let sit for at least an hour to infuse.2. In a blender combine 1 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice with cubed watermelon. Add the watermelon in batches, blending in between each addition until the blender is almost full of the watermelon lemon mixture.3. Add in the rosemary simple syrup 1/3 cup at a time until the mixture is at your desired sweetness. I used about a cup. 4. At this point you can freeze the mixture in popsicle molds for super flavorful ice pops. 5. If you'd rather drink the lemonade. Take 4-5 clean pint sized mason jars. Add 1/2 cup of cold water and fill with the watermelon mixture. Cover and shake to combine. Garnish with half a rosemary spring and a slice of lemon. For a boozy cocktail add in a shot of vodka or gin.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 8-10 cups

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