Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Herbal Lemonade

We planted almost all herbs in the raised bed this year, save for some tiny hot peppers and a couple of currant tomato starts, an exciting surprise gift from a fellow gardener. The pineapple sage, thyme, parsley, boxwood, purple, and sweet basil, nasturtiums, marjoram, tarragon, and borage have rooted, and they're all pretty much growing like crazy. It's a great time to start making lemonade with all kinds of the herbs you have available in order to kick off the summer. We had an abundance of thyme and lemon verbena, but you can substitute any wonderful combination of what runneth over in your garden bed.

Herbal Lemonade

juice of 6 lemons
20 ounces spring water
1 cup loose-packed thyme sprigs
3 6-inch sprigs lemon verbena
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons cane sugar (like 365 brand Vegan Cane Sugar)

Place all ingredients in a pitcher with a lid and shake it until the agave, honey, and sugar all dissolve. Let lemonade sit in fridge for at least 2 hours before straining it and serving over ice.

4 comments:

Eileen said...

What a great combination! We have both a lemon tree and a patch of lemon balm rioting through the front yard, so I definitely know what I'll be drinking this summer. :)

Louisa said...

I know the currant tomato as Matt's wild cherry tomato, and they are the best tomatoes ever!! Yum :)

I don't have any lemon balm, but I like to put mint and/or tarragon in lemonade.

megcjones said...

this is gorgeous! i always make mint sun tea because my backyard is full of mint, but i'll have to try it in your lemonade...

Erin :) said...

yumm this works great, finally something to do with the giant bush of lemmon balm growing in the backyard! How refreshing, and a nice twist off of the usual summer tea. Is that a vizsla in the back round too? If so i can make this recipe just as it looks in the picture! thanks!