PINK LEMONADE

Gallons of pale yellow lemonade has been keeping me going in the hot weather. I buy Minute Maid brand in the frozen food section of the supermarket and chuck the whole thing in a big jug which must be kept in the fridge if it is going to have any cooling effect at all.

However I came across something which intrigued me: Lavender Lemonade. The recipe (below) I found here. It turns out these people run an organic farm and farm shop in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia! I must try to visit on my way back to the coast.

The recipe is:

Steep 2 tsp. organic lavender buds in 8 oz. boiling water for about 3 minutes. While waiting for the tea to steep, place one can original Minute Maid (ordinary) lemonade into a glass pitcher. Add 3 cans of cold water, mix until fully dissolved. Pour strained lavender infusion into lemonade mixture and watch as the lemonade magically changes to an amazing pink. Pour into tall glasses. Garnish with fresh lemon slices and a long stem of organic lavender .

As I do not have a source for 2 teaspoons of lavendar buds I tried it with a few sprigs of Mary's picked from her pot at the front door. It didn't turn the remotest shade of pink and, worse still, it tasted ghastly!

However, I went out and bought some Minute Maid Pink lemonade; it will have to do for now! I see from the label that it has grape skins added which, of course, will give it the pink colour (not grenadine which, I believe, is traditional).

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Top photo: Wikimedia. Permission is granted under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation.