lemonade

Maybe it’s the season, or maybe it’s the work of Queen Beyoncé (all hail!), but I’m all about lemonade right now. I always go through unexplained drink-related phases, and right now it’s lemonade- green lemonade, strawberry lemonade, Arnold Palmers, whatever! I can’t get enough, and you know what they say, “when life gives you lemons”…

So where does melon come in? Growing up I was never a big fan of melons (as in I’d eat everything else in the fruit salad and give the melons back to my mom), but over the past year I’ve really developed a an appreciation for this juicy, colourful category of fruit. When my fruit-expert friend Sophie from Kitten and the Bear mentioned it’s a great time for melons in Ontario right now I knew it was time for my two new favourite things to meet in one tasty Spring drink.

I enlisted Paige from Studio Bicyclette (close friend, stylist extraordinaire and fellow lemonade lover) to whip up this 3-way recipe, and of course she just so happened to have perfectly coordinating glassware and photo backdrops in her kitchen. The fruit of our labour was three bright melon lemonades bursting with flavour and colour!

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Ingredients //

3 Lemons, juiced
Canteloupe, watermelon and/or honeydew
Sparkling water
Simple syrup or light agave syrup

Recipe //

Makes two glasses of each type of melon- alter recipe to make just one type (whole melon and 2 lemons for 4 servings)

1. Juice 3 lemons and set juice aside. Cube half of each type of melon.

2. Put 1/3 of the lemon juice, one of the cubed melon piles, and 1/4 cup of water in the blender, then blend on high until smooth.

3. Strain over your glasses to remove any chunks or foam, then sweeten to taste with simple syrup or agave (we did two tsp of simple syrup). Add ice, stir and serve!

4. Repeat the same steps with each type of melon, or double the recipe and make just one type at a time!

Photos by Paige of Studio Bicylette

Is there anything sweeter than fresh squeezed lemonade once the Spring sunshine starts up? Well, yes, I think there is actually: there’s floral lemonade!

This may be both the most simple and most delicious thing I have ever made. I’ve been known to covet anything that tastes even remotely like flowers, and this petal-packed lemonade certainly fits the bill. Though some of the ingredients can be hard to find (rose water and violet syrup can be found at The Spice Trader or BYOB if you live in Toronto), the juice is most definitely worth the squeeze (no pun intended!)

I’ve been really anxious for spring flowers and sunshine lately (the urge to move to California grows stronger with each passing day), but sitting by the window with a glass of this petal-packed lemonade was almost enough to ward off my Spring daydreams, at least for a few hours. You can always add a bit of gin or vodka too if you’re craving a slightly stronger pick me up!

Ingredients

– 2 lemons
– 1/2 cup cane sugar
– 1/2 cup filtered water (plus more to fill the juice jug)
– 1 tbsp violet syrup
– 1 tsp rose water
– 1 tsp grenadine
– Candied violets (optional, for garnish)

Method

Melt the cane sugar into the filtered water on the stove until it is all dissolved, then set it aside to cool. Juice the lemons (by hand or with a juicer) into your juice jug, careful to strain out any seeds, and then add the 3 syrups. I like things super sweet, but if you don’t, add the violet syrup, rose water and grenadine to taste. Add the water and sugar mixture once it’s cooled, and then add filtered water (or sparkling water) until the jug is full.

Mix everything up a bit with a wooden spoon or stir stick, and serve! I added a candied violet to each glass I poured and the purple candy melted away to give the drink an incredible ombre effect! I highly recommend this special touch if you can get your hands on candied violets (I got mine in France at Ladurée and I am very careful about when I use them because I’m so scared to run out!)

Photography by Brianne Burnell

lemonade

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