Rosemary Infused Lemonade

Well hello there! Enough of all those travel pictures - I'm back, mostly recovered, and ready for some "normal" blogging. Jacob and I have been working on a few house projects this past weekend/week, I've got some awesome pictures to share with you soon!

But, for now - rosemary lemonade. I recently planted a rosemary bush in our garden area, and thank goodness it hasn't died yet. I have a history of killing rosemary plats, so I'm crossing my fingers that I can keep this one alive and healthy for a while. Since the plant was doing so well, I decided to harvest some of it's bounty and create a refreshing summer drink. This drink was created without any alcohol additions, but it could easily be spiked to make it "adult friendly".

First, get yourself some fresh rosemary and add it to a small saucepan with equal parts sugar and water. Turn the heat to medium/low and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Once the sugar is dissolved, let the mixture sit (with the rosemary still in it) until cooled. While the mixture is cooling, juice 5-6 large lemons.

Discard the rosemary from the simple syrup mixture, and pour it into a pitcher. Add the lemon juice. I added a coupe small chunks of lemon for presentation.

Next, add 2-4 cups of cold water to the pitcher. Taste the lemonade as you add water until you reach the desired sweetness/tartness. Don't forget, you'll be adding lots of ice which will make the mixture a little more water-ey than it is in the pitcher.

Pour lemonade over ice and garnish with fresh rosemary and a lemon slice. So refreshing, and a fun twist on a summertime favorite for your next gathering!

Rosemary Infused Lemonade Recipe:

- 4-5 sprigs fresh rosemary

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 cups water

- 5-6 large lemons

- 2 to 4 cups water

- Ice

- Extra rosemary and lemon for garnish

Directions:

- Make rosemary infused simple syrup by adding sugar, rosemary sprigs, and 1 cup water to a small saucepan.

- Heat the sugar mixture over low/medium heat and stir until sugar is completely dissolved.

- Let simple syrup cool, leave the rosemary in the pan for this.

- Juice lemons, discarding seeds.

- Once simple syrup is cooled, discard the rosemary.

- Pour simple syrup and lemon juice into a pitcher, add desired amount of water.

- Serve over ice with rosemary and lemon slices as garnish!

* To make this lemonade "adult friendly", I would add 4-5 ounces vodka, depending on how many plan on sharing the pitcher. Lemoncello would also make a good addition.