Lavender adds dimension, romance to summer lemonade

Making lemonade from scratch is a ritual of summer – from stocking kids’ curbside stands to making an adult sip spiked with vodka or whiskey.

The citrus alone is summery. It’s also sort of one-note. A kiss of lavender adds dimension – and maybe even a little romance – to this classic warm-weather refresher.

The pretty little purple-blue flower buds provide a pop of color along with a beautifully aromatic, but not excessively floral, undertone. Fresh or dried, they make good, old-fashioned lemonade a little more interesting.

Lavender on its own – simply steeped, for example, in water to make tea – is quite bitter. The buds need companions – butter, sugar, cookies, ice cream, other herbs and spices – to balance that bitterness and bring out their delicate flavor.

Mix a little with honey and butter for a whimsical and fragrant spread for muffins, biscuits, baguettes, even baked potatoes. Add sprigs to sugar to be sprinkled on or baked into pastries such as scones, sugar and shortbread cookies, coffee and pound cakes, or even oatmeal.

Of course, not all like lavender. Some say it tastes like soap.

But, in scratch-made lemonade, home cooks can control the acidity and sweetness – adding as much or as little water and lavender to dilute or add depth to the drink. It’s both cool and calming (because of the lavender) yet bright and invigorating (because of the lemons).

Lavender Lemonade

From Adriana Janovich

Juice from 5 to 6 lemons (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup lavender-infused simple syrup, or more, to taste (see note)

6 to 7 cups water, or more, to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a pitcher or container with a pour spout. Dilute or sweeten to taste. Serve over ice. Garnish with lemon slices and lavender sprigs or buds.

Yield: about 8 1-cup servings

Note: To make the lavender-infused simple syrup: boil ½ cup water in a saucepan with ½ cup organic cane sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh or dried lavender, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature and strain out lavender.

Not into eating flowers? Substitute fresh rosemary or basil leaves in the simple syrup recipe for a more herbaceous undertone to your freshly squeezed lemonade.

Lavender Butter

From Adriana Janovich

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon honey

2 to 3 tablespoons lavender buds

Mix together. Spread on toast, scones, muffins, pancakes, waffles – or on anything you would enjoy with sweetened, flavorful butter.

Lavender Sugar

From Adriana Janovich

1 to 2 tablespoons lavender buds

2 cups granulated sugar

Place lavender in a clean and dry 1-pint glass jar with an air-tight lid, then pour in sugar. Shake a few times, then lest rest overnight. Shake every now and again to distribute lavender oils throughout sugar. Use as desired. Store in a cool dry place. Should keep up to six months.