Summer has arrived in full effect in Copenhagen. We know this for sure when people start complaining about how warm it is :) We try to just enjoy this amazing weather because up here in the north, it isn’t always like this! For us this warmer weather means eating every meal outside, going for jumps in the ocean (this is becoming a daily thing) and sunbathing in the park. For me, it also means I eat lighter meals like salads, cold soups and a lot of drinks.
One thing I really like to drink when the temperatures rise is lemonade. There is something so satisfying about sitting in the warm sun and drinking a cool and refreshing drink. But what I don't like about most lemonades is that they are normally full of sugar and/or sweeteners. I really don't think it is necessary to add all of that so, instead I make my own lemonades. And the fun thing about that is that you can make different flavours as well!
Lemonade is sour but also supposed to be a bit sweet, so in this recipe we use honey to sweeten it. The method we use here is probably a little different than you are used to: we use whole lemons (yes! including peel!) and blend them with water. And this is amazing because you only need 1 lemon to make a big glass of lemonade! We also experimented with different flavors besides a basic lemonade. The green coloured one is a basil lemonade, the orange one is flavoured with kurkuma (read about the health effects of kurkuma here) and ginger and the red one is flavoured with strawberries and mint, such good combinations! Serve these different flavours at your next dinner party and your friends and family will be surprised to find out they are only sweetened with honey!
Basic lemonade
Makes 1 big or two small glasses
1 lemon, organic (because you are using the peel)
500 ml water, or more to taste
4-5 tbsp honey
Scrub and cut the lemon into four (take off the really white ends, they are bitter!) and put in the blender with the rest of the ingredients. Blend on high speed for a few minutes or until everything is blended really well. At this point you can pour the mixture through a sieve, but this is not necessary. Taste if it needs more water and enjoy with ice!
Basil lemonade
1 lemon, organic
500 ml water, or more to taste
4-5 tbsp honey
3 sprigs of fresh basil
Same procedure as above, just add the basil to the blender.
Kurkuma & ginger lemonade
1 lemon, organic
500 ml water, or more to taste
4-5 tbsp honey
1 cm kurkuma or 2 tsp dried kurkuma
2 cm fresh ginger or 2 tsp dried ginger
Same procedure as above, just add the kurkuma and ginger to the blender.
Strawberry & mint lemonade
1 lemon, organic
500 ml water, or more to taste
4-5 tbsp honey
3 strawberries
9 leaves of fresh mint
Same procedure as above, just add the strawberries and mint to the blender.
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