Honey Lemonade

My First Guest Post–Lavender Infused Honey Lemonade

Honey Lemonade Infused with Lavender“We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavoring and furniture polish is made from real lemons.”    Alfred E. Newman

Lavender Infused Honey Lemonade

Friday morning, July 20, 2012 at exactly 7:00 a.m. MDT, my first guest post goes public on Amy Green’s site Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free. Click through to her site to read my post on Lavender and Lavender Infused Honey Lemonade made with real lemons. Then take a moment to check out all that Amy offers on her site.

Amy Green
Amy Green Simply Sugar & Gluten FreeAmy has an amazing story to tell of her own journey. She went from overweight and out of control eating to becoming sugar and gluten-free—and fit and comfortable in her body. Having had my own struggles with sugar as a pastry chef for many years, I can relate. I wrote about my journey in my 1992 cookbook Fruit-Sweet & Sugar-Free.

Amy read my book and wrote a very positive review. I fortunately came across her review on the internet and am grateful my book has been so helpful to her. Fruit-Sweet & Sugar-Free is filled with tips, techniques and recipes for desserts and baked goods made with liquid sweeteners and without refined white sugar. All the recipes were developed during the years I worked at The Ranch Kitchen Restaurant in Southwest Montana just north of Yellowstone Park.

Honey Lemonade
Following are recipes for making your own Honey Lemonade with freshly squeezed lemons. A lavender infusion turns Honey Lemonade a beautiful rosy pink. Both beverages provide cool pleasure during these hot and sunny days of summer.

Honey LemonadeFreshly Squeezed Honey Lemonade

Makes 7 ½ cups

½ cup mild honey
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup hot water
4 ½ cups cold water
1 cup ice cubes

  1. Place the honey in a 4-cup measuring cup.
  2. Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and hot water to the honey.
  3. Use a small whisk to stir this mixture until the honey dissolves.
  4. Pour this mixture into a pitcher.
  5. Stir in the cold water.
  6. Add the ice cubes.
  7. Stir the mixture altogether.
  8. Taste and add a bit more water or honey, if necessary, so you have the just-right mix of sweet and tart.
  9. Pour into individual glasses and enjoy!

Click on Honey Lemonade for a printable version of this recipe without images

Honey LemonadeFreshly Squeezed Honey Lemonade Infused with Lavender
Making Lavender Lemonade is magic! When the reddish-brown lavender infusion mixes with the lemon juice the entire mixture turns a most beautiful rosy pink.
Be sure to prepare your lemonade with food-grade lavender rather than with lavender marketed for sachets or potpourri.

Makes 7½ cups

Honey Lemonade Infused with LavenderZest of two lemons (organic if possible)
½ cup dried lavender blossoms
½ cup mild honey, agave or other sweetener of choice
2 cups water
1 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4-5 lemons)

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the flavorful zest (the yellow portion of the skin) from 2 lemons.

Place the zest, lavender blossoms, honey or sweetener of choice and the 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat so the mixture gently simmers for 10 minutes. Cover the pan and turn off the heat. Steep this lavender infusion for at least 30 and up to 90 minutes. The longer the infusion steeps, the more intense the lavender flavor of your lemonade.

Honey LemonadeMeanwhile, juice the lemons and place the juice in a pitcher along with 4 1/ 2 cups of water.

 

 

 

Honey Lemonade with Lavender InfusionStrain the infusion through a fine sieve into a container with a pour spout, pressing on the lavender and the lemon zest to extract as much liquid as possible.

Now is when the magic happens: begin to pour the strained reddish-brown infusion into the pitcher.Honey Lemonade Infused with Lavender
Honey Lemonade with Lavender Infusion

As you add more of the lavender infusion, the rosier the lemonade becomes.

 

The final color is a beautiful rosy pink!Honey Lemonade with Lavender Infusion

Taste and add more water if you would like so that the taste is just right for you.

Either chill the lemonade with ice or in the fridge. Serve garnished with fresh stalks of lavender and/or thin slices of lemon.

Click Honey Lemonade Infused with Lavender for a printable version of this recipe without images

7 thoughts on “My First Guest Post–Lavender Infused Honey Lemonade”

  1. Hi Janice,
    I have a lot of lavender and am getting ready to make the lemonade. Is it necessary to use dried lavender or do you think I could use the fresh blossoms?

    1. Great question, Ute. I’ve only made it with dried lavender. I’m sure fresh would work. The usual formula when substituting fresh for dry is three times more fresh than dry. Though, with the lavender, I believe I would try it first with double the amount of fresh lavender blossoms. Hope it’s wonderful 😉

  2. Hello Janice, boy has it been years since we worked together. I was just starting apprenticing at Narsai’s and you were the Pastry Chef. 1974. Robert Boyle was Chef. I think you were there about a year after I started, then like most I think you had a problem with , Narsai, . Anyway, I started as First Cook and worked up to Sous Chef. There are many recipes out there for Chocolate Decadence, you and I know who create this wonderful dessert, Janice Feuer. You even create a book dedicated solely to Chocolate Decadence, and I think another book on Sinfull Strawberrys? Many of us all left at the same time. 1980. I moved on to many Bay area establishments, Piero’s Italian Rest. Executive Chef, Court of Two Sisters, Corinthian Yacht Club, Restaurant on the Bay at Ferry Plaza One, Cow Hollow Inn, Wente Bros. Sparkling Wine Cellars and Restaruant, as Executive Chef in LIvermore. Spoke to Robert Boyle last year he was still in Berkley, since has moved to Manhattan. I moved to Seattle in 1990 and ben here since. I work as private Chef, and for Viking Appliances.. Hope all is well with you, would love to here what happened in you career after you left Narsai’s. Sincerly Chef Fred Horton

    1. Thanks for writing, and letting me know of your illustrious career since those days many, many years ago. I actually left to get my health together after working and eating so much sugar. You might enjoy reading the about page to learn a little about what I’ve done since (though not in the same detail you have shared). I’ve been cooking all of these years, though have turned my attention to much simpler and healthier foods. Perhaps as a private chef you have gone that direction as well? After so many years on California, surprising to hear that Robert would have moved to Manhattan–to follow a dream?
      thanks again for writing, Chef Fred

  3. Janice, what a nice recipe. I forwarded it to Maria Low
    Love you dear one

Comments are closed.