DIY Network

Luscious Lavender Lemonade

Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza, cohosts of Creative Juice, share their favorite recipe for lavender-infused lemonade.

advertisement

Lavender-infused lemonade bursts with flavor. Get the recipe below.

Lavender is a fine summer accomplice for food or drink

By Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza

While on a recent trip to the San Juan Islands on Puget Sound I stumbled upon a lavender festival. What a pleasant surprise to see fields and fields of beautiful purple flowers, and dizzying numbers of bees.

Visitors were cutting bouquets, selecting new plants for their yards and sampling soaps and body lotions, all made with lavender. Some were even enjoying lavender ice cream.

I have been growing lavender and cooking with it for many years, and I am always pleased to be reminded of how much such a beautiful little flower can enhance flavors. One of my favorite uses for dried lavender is on the barbecue. The smoky flavor is great with pork, chicken and fish.

The Washington festival made me think of my recipe for lavender-infused lemonade. The simple lemonade bursts with flavor once the lavender is infused with it. And it is so delicious and easy to make, it is a wonderful summertime treat. This recipe can be altered to a cocktail version for a summer party as well. Just be sure the lavender is specified for cooking and has not been treated with pesticides or other chemicals that could be harmful to you.

Ingredients:

5 cups water
1-1/2 cups sugar
6 to 12 stems fresh lavender
2-1/4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
Optional: vodka to taste (about 1 cup)

Preparation:

Bring 2-1/2 cups of water to a boil in a two-quart saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium and add the sugar, stirring until dissolved, to create a simple syrup. Add the lavender stems and then remove the saucepan from the heat.

Cover the pot and allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes. This step allows the lavender to infuse into the syrup. Remove the lavender stems from the syrup, and use a fine strainer to remove any small pieces.

In a large pitcher, combine the remaining lemon juice, water and lavender syrup and stir well. Chill if desired. Serve over ice.

Add about a cup of vodka to the pitcher to make an adult cocktail version.

And, for lavender barbecue skewers:

This recipe requires dried lavender. Remove the flowers from the dried lavender stems. Soak the stems of lavender in water for 15 minutes. Skewer the mean to be barbecued through the center, and grill as usual. Or, you can simply toss some of the dried lavender sticks on top of the fire to infuse the lavender flavor.

(Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza cohost Creative Juice. For more information log on to www.cathiefilian.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)

Get DIY On Your TV. Just follow the instructions to see if DIY Network is available through your cable or satellite provider.