Rosemary Watermelon Lemonade

When I made my Cucumber Mint Lemonade and shared it with my parents, my sister asked me to try to make Rosemary Watermelon Lemonade. It also comes from the Lemonade cafe that I've been hearing a lot about. I gave it a shot and this is what I came up with. Another perfect and refreshing drink for this summer.

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
4 cups peeled and cubed watermelon
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
8 cups water

1) Make simple syrup by combining sugar , 2 cups of water and fresh rosemary in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Allow to simmer until sugar is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally. Cool completely. Once cooled, remove sprigs of rosemary. Set aside.

2) In a blender, add watermelon and 1 1/2 cups of the simple syrup. Puree until smooth.

3) In a large pitcher, add lemon juice. Pour the watermelon mixture through a fine mesh sieve into the pitcher to remove most of the pulp. Add the remaining 8 cups of water. Add more of the simple syrup if you like it sweeter. Chill before serving.

Cucumber Mint Lemonade with Chia seeds

I've been seeing a lot of posts on social media lately about this place called Lemonade. They serve interesting types of salads, sides, sandwiches, desserts, and you guessed it, lemonade. I've never been to any of their locations, but I have managed to get a glimpse of their menu online. Being that its summer and very hot, what caught my attention was their cucumber mint lemonade. I thought to myself "that sounds really refreshing." I'm sure I can find a way to make it if I looked on Pinterest. Sure enough, I found this recipe on Pinterest from The Domestic Geek. I asked my parents for some lemons from their tree in exchange for some of this yummy lemonade, and they were pretty eager to give me some. The end result was this delicious and refreshing beverage, perfect for the summer. Hubby really liked this. He said it tastes like a mojito without the alcohol. I obviously modified the original recipe by adding the chia seeds, which I hear is super healthy for you. But if you can't find chia seeds or prefer not to have it in the drink, you can definitely omit it altogether. I happened to like the texture in my drink and it reminded me of the pineapple agua fresca I had not too long ago that contained chia seeds. I had never had chia seeds before, but I think I may have found a new favorite.

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
handful of fresh mint leaves
8 cups water
1 Tbsp. chia seeds

1) Make simple syrup by combining sugar and 2 cups of water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Allow to simmer until sugar is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally. Cool completely.

2) In a blender, add cucumber, mint leaves, and 1 1/2 cups of the simple syrup. Puree until smooth.

3) In a large pitcher, add lemon juice. Pour about 3/4 of the cucumber mixture through a fine mesh sieve into the pitcher to remove most of the pulp. Pour the remaining 1/4 of the cucumber mixer directly into the pitcher. Stir. Add the remaining 8 cups water. Add more of the simple syrup if you like it sweeter.

4) Stir in chia seeds. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes to allow the chia seeds to expand. Serve cold.

Homemade Shamrock Shake

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! And also, Happy Birthday to our nephew, Vin.

To commemorate this special day, I decided to finally try to make this beloved shake that originated from a beloved fast food restaurant, McDonald's. I remember when I first had my taste of Shamrock Shake a few years ago. It was the end of our work day and one of my co-workers said she was getting ready to get some Shamrock Shake. I asked "What's a Shamrock Shake?" And she looked at me with a disgusted expression and said, "You've never had a Shamrock Shake???" She proceeded to let me know that its a green shake only sold at McDonald's during the month of March in honor of St. Patrick's Day. So on MY way home, I had to stop by McDonald's myself to see what all the hype was about. It was this creamy, minty, yummy goodness. And I was so glad they only sold it for a limited time, because if not, I'd be making pit stops to McDonald's everyday.

Ever since then, I had always kept my eye out for that wonderful green shake every March. And then they began selling them in fewer restaurants. And suddenly they disappeared altogether. I hate being toyed with. Since they practically didn't sell the shake anymore, my taste buds didn't miss it anymore either. Its been a while since I've had a Shamrock Shake. They recently started selling them again in all McDonald's. But I don't have the same enthusiasm for it as I used to. But this recipe was featured in Yahoo News from Shine, and I figured maybe I should try to make it at home. It was a quick and easy and delicious.

3 cups vanilla ice cream
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. mint extract
3-6 drops green food coloring
whipped cream, optional

1) Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour in a glasses and top with whipped cream. Serve immediately.

Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade

I always have a supply of lemons from my parents' lemon tree. I also bought a huge batch of fresh strawberries from Costco last week and they're starting to wilt and over-ripen. And then I found this great recipe for Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade from Annie's Eats. Perfect timing. I've always loved Strawberry Lemonade. And to have it carbonated takes this yummy beverage to the top. You can definitely use still water for this, but why not make the drink fizzle fo shizzle. lol!

Strawberry syrup

1 heaping cup chopped strawberries

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. cold water

pinch of salt

Lemonade

1 cup very hot water

2/3 - 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

1 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 1/2 cups cold sparkling water or seltzer (or you can use still water)

1) To make the syrup, combine strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, water and salt in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove seeds, pressing down to extract as much liquid as possible.

2) To make the lemonade, combine the sugar and hot water in a pitcher. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Mix in lemon juice and strawberry syrup. Pour in sparkling water when ready to serve.

3) To serve, rub a lemon wedge around the rim of the serving glass and then dip in sugar. Fill glass with ice, if desired, and then the lemonade. Garnish with sliced lemon or strawberry. Serve immediately.

Orange Banana Smoothie

Another great way to use up some of our oranges is to make a smoothie out of it. This is a concoction I made up a while back and thought it was fitting to make considering all the oranges we have. Its also a great and healthy snack. I used the leftovers to freeze in popsicle molds for my daughter to snack on later on.

6 heaping scoops of fat free vanilla frozen yogurt

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup milk

1 medium banana

zest of 1 orange

1) Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Place in a glass and garnish with a slice of orange.

K's Punch

Aaaaah, Refreshing!

This is actually my friend, Kiran's, recipe that she had made up. How ingenious! I first had this refreshing beverage at her son's birthday party a few months ago. It was a perfect beverage to quench my thirst on that hot day. These aren't exact measurements. She just told me throw in a few ingredients together to my taste. So my measurements below reflect an average-sized pitcher to my taste. Of course, you can add more or use less of an ingredient to your liking as well. The recipe calls for a Berry Sangria, which can be bought at Olive Garden. Its a very concentrated liquid, so Kiran told me to put only a little of it in the drink.

I wanted to make this beverage for our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, so today was a trial run. And it came out quite tasty. Hubby really liked it. Another thing to note was that this drink didn't have a name. So I'm calling it "K's punch" - K for Kiran :) Thanks, dear friend.

3 Tbsp. Berry Sangria

3/4 cup pineapple juice

3/4 cup orange juice

Juice of 1 lime (or lemon)

lemon lime soda

ice cubes

slices of oranges, limes or lemons for garnish

1) Combine juices together in a pitcher. Fill the pitcher with lemon lime soda. Add ice cubes and slices of oranges, limes/lemons for garnish.

Hot Cocoa

Its starting to get pretty cool down here in sunny SoCal. But it won't last long, because the forecast says temperatures will reach the 90's again by the end of the week. In October!!! Well, I was craving a nice hot chocolate this morning, so I decided to make a batch. I found this recipe a while back. Its very chocolatey, and very yummy. Its a large batch. So I usually drink a cup or two, and place the rest in the fridge and warm up another cup the next day. This batch usually lasts me about a week. Hubby doesn't really drink too much hot chocolate, so I pretty much have this batch all to myself ;)

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup cocoa powder

2/3 tsp. salt

1/3 cup hot water

half a gallon milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1) In a large saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa and salt. Add hot water and mix well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add milk, and heat to serving temperature, stirring occasionally. Do not boil.

2) Remove from heat. Add vanilla and cinnamon. Whip mixture with a whisk. Serve hot, with whipped cream or marshmallows.

Hawaiian Iced Tea

.....to wash it all down....

Whenever my husband and I go to Hawaii, we always make it a point to bring back a few things: macadamia nuts, chocolate covered macadamia nuts, Dole pineapples, Li Hing mui (if you're from Hawaii, you'll know what this is), shortbread cookies, and a couple of 6-packs of Hawaiian Iced tea & POG (Passion, Orange Guava drink). To my surprise, I found a recipe for Hawaiian Iced tea in my Hawaiian cookbook. When I first made it for my husband, he was so nostalgic of Hawaii. So whenever I make this drink, we always reminisce of our times in the islands. I thought this drink was perfect for a summer holiday like today.......

3/4 gallon water

10 black tea bags

2 cups sugar

14 ounces pineapple juice

6 ounces lemon juice

1) In a large pot, boil 1/2 gallon of water. Steap tea bags in the hot water for 5 minutes.

2) Remove tea bags. Add sugar and juices while tea is still warm. Stir to dissolve sugar.

3) Pour into a gallon container and add the remaining water. Refrigerate. Serve with ice.