Lemon-balm-ade

As it has been such a lovely warm day again I couldn't resist to splash up some lemonade with a slight twist. This is a super easy recipe! To make around a pint all you need is 4 unwaxed lemons (if you use waxed you will get icky scum floating on the top), some sugar, around 1 pint of boiling water, some ice cubes and a little bunch of lemon balm.

I zested the four lemons, then chopped them in half and squeezed the bitter juice out of them (a handy tip is to roll the lemons or put them in hot water for a few minutes to get more juice out of them). 

Next I ripped up and added a small bunch of lemon balm. Then I spooned 3-4 tbs of sugar into the fragrant mix and poured over about 1 pint of boiling water. It is good to taste how sweet it is at this point (be careful not to burn your mouth though) if it is still a bit tart then add more sugar but I always think it is best to have it a bit sharper tasting because this tastes delicious when it is chilled. Then I left this in the fridge to cool. Once it is chilly I strained it through a sieve and chucked in a few handfuls of ice. 

I served this lovely-ade out of my little cottage teapot, in china tea cups with plenty of ice and some sprigs of lemon balm. I also made a little cocktail for Ed by putting a splash of gin into it which was rather yummy as well. 

Strawberry Shake.

So lately I have had a massive craving for milkshake. But I find the syrups you buy in the shops can be too sweet for me, so I decided to make my own. So here is how I made my strawberry milkshake, it is super quick and easy!

I took 400g of strawberries and blended them up with a stick blender and then added 2 tsps honey (you could use maple syrup or plain old sugar if you wanted). You can add more if you like depending on how sweet you like it, just taste as you go along. Then just add milk to taste. I divided my strawberry goop up into two because Ed had a soya version. Just add your milk then blend again, this makes the shake thick and bubbly. Then pour into the drinking vessel of your choice. I dressed the glasses with a strawberry each and added a mint sprig to the soya version and a sprig of lemon balm to dairy one. Smelling the mint with the strawberry made me think that next time I might make a mint syrup to swirl in the top, I think it would add a slight kick of yumminess.