Thirsty Thursdays: Summer in a Glass

So, about that blueberry lemonade ... as promised, I'm featuring it today. And, again, I'm flying blind on this one. While the version I had at The Lodge was delicious, I never quite got around to speaking to the bartender about the recipe. I do know it was made with homemade lemonade and blueberry vodka - so not exactly blind - but I'm doing this my way ... naturally, it turned out pink!

Let's start off with some fresh, real lemonade, shall we? This one's especially for Kimizzy, who asked about making a vodka-free version. I was so inspired by her question, I scrapped my original plans and decided to make a blueberry syrup in place of plain simple syrup to sweeten the drink.

Note: please don't be put off by making a simple syrup, flavored or not - all it takes is sugar, water and five minutes of your time. Really.

Blueberry Lemonade:

For the syrup:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (or 1/3 cup agave nectar)
• 1 cup of water
• 3 strip of fresh lemon peel
• 3/4 of a cup of fresh blueberries

Combine all of the above in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium to medium-high heat, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Once the liquid boils, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occaisionally. Remove from heat and strain into a small bowl, pressing on the solids to extract the juice. Cool completely before using.

For the Lemonade:

• 6 large, fresh lemons
• 5 1/2 cups of cold water
• some blueberry syrup or simple syrup

Juice the lemons into a large pitcher, no seeds please - so use a strainer. Add the water and stir well to combine. Sweeten the lemonade by adding the cooled blueberry syrup to taste. I'm not going to specify and amount, because the choice is up to you. In most cases, you may use all the syrup - it all depends on how sweet you like your lemonade. Bonus - it will turn your lemonade the most beautiful shade of magenta. Chill and serve over lots of ice. Garnish with a slice of fresh lemon and some blueberries if desired.

Divalicious Spiked Blueberry Lemonade:

• 2 oz. of blueberry Vodka (I used Smirnoff)
  
• some fresh Blueberry Lemonade
  
• ice

Fill a tumbler with ice and over the ice pour the vodka, fill the remainder of the glass with blueberry lemonade and stir. Garish with a slice of fresh lemon and some additional blueberries. You may even want to float a few berries in your drink - its quite festive. Serve immediately, repeat as necessary!

I'm well pleased with how this drink turned out - both the spiked and the alcohol-free version. They're both delicious, refreshing, packed with Vitamin C and the anti-oxidant goodness of those blueberries ... why its practically a health drink!

And, kidding aside, if you make it with agave nectar - it might as well be a health drink - and a mighty tasty one at that. If you've got some regular homemade lemonade on hand, go right ahead and use that in place of the blueberry lemonade - the flavored vodka will more than make up for it. Or, conversely, you could use the blueberry lemonade with plain, unflavored vodka. Confused yet? Here, have a drink!

My point ... there's room for experimentation here.

I can see a host of possibilities for infusing that blueberry syrup as well. I'm certain I'll add a nice chuck of fresh ginger to it next time, or maybe even a handful of thyme. Basil, lemon balm, lemon verbena or even some mint would work well here too. Simply add the ginger, or any one of those herbs, to the rest of the mixture in the pan and simmer away accordingly.

I'm completely charmed by my take on The Lodge's lemonade and I'm grateful to Kimizzy for prompting my syrup experiment. I hope you'll try it!

Bon appetit!