Refreshing Lemonade

 What is the old saying "When life gives you lemons, make Lemonade". This super easy recipe is from Martha Stewart, but there is not much more than making a simple sugar syrup adding lemon juice and then adding sparkling water to your preferred taste.

Ingredients

1 cup water

1 cup caster sugar

2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

Sparkling mineral water or soda water

Mint leaves and slices of lemon to garnish

Method

In a small saucepan combine sugar and water. Bring to the boil stirring constantly until sugar is completely dissolved.

Remove from heat, cool and then refrigerate.

When ready to serve combine sugar syrup and lemon juice in a pitcher.

Let guests serve the lemonade concentrate with their preferred amount of sparkling mineral or soda water.

Add ice and garnish with sliced lemon and mint.

So refreshing.

Mamma Marmalade

Tropical Mango Smoothie - Sip Some Sunshine Summertime!

Nothing tastes more like Summer than a luscious juicy Queensland Mango. An icy cold smoothie is the perfect way to enjoy this tropical fruit and adding a tiny pinch of cardamom spice will take your tastebuds to a summery sublime level.  Sip some Queensland Sunshine every Summertime!

I find this amount usually makes 2 generous glasses.

Requires a Blender suitable for crushing ice.

Ingredients

1 large Queensland Bowen Mango (Kensington Pride are good) Fine to use slightly overripe fruit

1 large banana.       TIPS AND HINTS I like to use a banana that I had previously frozen when it became a bit overripe.  The skin goes brown in the freezer but the fruit is fine to use, especially in smoothies

1 - 1 1/2 cups of ice cubes

1/2 to 3/4 cup milk

1 very tiny small pinch of ground Cardamom.     A little goes a long way. Cardamom is known as the "Queen of Spices".  A tiny dash will add a lovely subtle flavour to your smoothie.

Method

Peel the mango and banana.  Remove seed from mango and slice both fruit into thick chunks.
Place the fruit chunks and remaining ingredients into a blender.
Process (always keep a hand on the lid!) on the 'smoothie' setting or until well combined, light and airy.
Immediately pour into chilled glasses ...   and  ....   enjoy!   Colleen

Lemon Myrtle Cordial

Now that the summer heat has arrived, it is always nice to have a refreshing non alcoholic beverage to offer guests. I made this drink a couple of weeks ago and received rave reviews, people offering to pay me to make bottles for them. So it could be an ideal homemade Christmas gift with a pretty ribbon tied around the bottle.

It is also a very attractive shrub and this bush tucker plant has many uses, so why not plant a hedge.

Ingredients

1 cup lemon juice or a combination of lemon and lime juice
4 cups water
2 cups caster sugar
1 piece of organic lemon rid pith removed the size of a  tablespoon
1 1/2 half cups of fresh, young lemon myrtle leaves well washed


Method

Combine all the ingredients apart from the fresh lemon myrtle leaves in a large saucepan.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar
Remove from heat, add fresh lemon myrtle leaves and steep for half an hour at least.
Remove the leaves and pour the cordial into clean bottles and store in the fridge.

Then when ready to serve simply add iced water or soda/mineral water to a measure of cordial depending on taste.

It will disappear quickly.


Mamma Marmalade