Lavender Lemonade

When life hands you a bowl of lemons, what do you do? We like to make lemonade of course. Then comes the struggle of how to get all of that yumminess out of that golden rind.

I used to use the good old fashioned glass reamer, until my Granny gave me this vintage, super kitchy appliance-The Sunkist Juicit! It is the coolest kitchen appliance in my kitchen now! You simply plug it in, cut your lemon in half, push it down on the fast turning reamer and out comes the juice! We were able to get every last drop of juice possible from those poor little lemons! We had a blast juicing 11 lemons for the following lemonade recipe.

Now on with the yummy lavender lemonade recipe. Here's what you need:

2 1/2 cups water for the simple syrup

1 1/2 cups sugar (I used cane sugar; honey or agar would work just as well)

1/4 cup fresh lavender leaves or 1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers

2 1/2 cups cold water
2 1/4 cups lemon juice or 10-14 freshly squeezed lemons, depends on the size

1 lime

Fresh lavender flower stems for garnish

To make the lavender syrup:

In a medium saucepan, combine 2 1/2 cups water, 1 cup sugar and the lavender; bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes; remove from heat; cover and let cool. When the liquid is cool, strain into a large pitcher.

The Lavender Lemonade:

Add the simple lavender syrup to the remaining 2 1/2 cups cold water and lemon juice stirring well. Add a couple squeezes of lime juice (to your taste, we added the juice of 1 medium sized lime).

Add ice cubes just before serving. Pour into chilled glasses and garnish with fresh lavender stems.

This is such a lovely and refreshing drink. Try it at your child's next lemonade stand, the lavender taste will leave people pleasantly surprised. Enjoy!