We have never really had a garden in the various homes we’ve lived in.
I think the last time we had a vegetable or herb garden at a house I inhabited was back in the 80s….so it’s been a while.
This home we live in now is a veritable garden paradise. There are huge established plum and fig trees, two big raised veggie beds, an herb garden and lavender, sage and rosemary all over the side of our house.
The rosemary in particular is getting a bit out of hand right now. It’s just finished flowering, so it’s a bit raggedy looking, but all three bushes are enormous. I don’t know that I could use all of that rosemary in a month, if we ate it with every meal.
But I’m making a valiant effort.
(OMG, I just realized how bad my sunburn is in this video, but you can definitely see how huge the rosemary is at our house!)
In the past, I have let things die in the few pots I have dared to plant of edible things. I am not sure of the base reason, but I suppose my past (bad) habit of laziness would have had something to do with it.
This year, I am determined to DO THE THINGS. To take advantage of the opportunities I am given, rather than letting them pass me by. To use the tools and resources that I cultivate or grow or harvest or purchase and not let them rot in my fridge.
Ahem.
So we’ve had a few get-togethers over the past few REALLY hot days, where we needed something a bit more fancy than the norm to drink.
And a few weeks ago, I just happened to unearth my mother’s recipe for rosemary lemonade.
It’s like God said “lady, use up that dang rosemary that I put near your house, and here’s a recipe.”
So after one batch that had WAY TOO MUCH SUGAR and one batch that had some weird metallic taste and then one with too few lemons, and then one really terrible foray into trying to use the smaller lemons to save a couple of dollars….I have conquered the recipe for one of the best tasting beverages I have had, and super thirst-quenching too!
And because I love you and want you to be happy – I am sharing it with you.
HOW TO MAKE SOME AWESOME ROSEMARY LEMONADE
Ingredients (makes about a gallon):
- 1-1/2 cups sugar, divided (or more, to taste)
- 4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary (about 4″ long)
- juice of 5 large lemons (fresh squeezed)
- 10 cups of water (or more, to taste)
Directions:
- You want to make this at least 2-3 hours in advance to let the flavors mingle together.
- Store any leftovers (if you have any!) in the fridge.
- I like to let the rosemary sit in the pitcher, both for decorative and flavor reasons.
- Put 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan on high heat, cook just until sugar dissolves. Add 2 sprigs of your rosemary once you turn the heat off, and let it cool.
- Add lemon juice, 8 cups of water, remaining rosemary and 1/2 cup sugar to pitcher (or sun tea jar – makes serving easy).
- When sugar syrup cools, add it (and the rosemary) to the pitcher.
- Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving to allow the flavors to settle.
Let me know if you end up making this – I want to hear all about it. Tag me on social media with your pictures! <3