Mango lemonade and Summer drinks

ice cubesSummer is definitely here. After a bit of a stormy start, Summer has reared it’s glorious head. I got burnt yesterday at the beach; I applied sunscreen (patchily, as it turns out) and have awkward sunburn patches on my back and legs.

On top of the 30+ degree weather, this sunburn makes me feel like I’m melting! I had a box of quickly ripening mangoes and was in need of something refreshing, speedy and healthy to ease the pain of the sunburn. This mango lemonade ticks all of these boxes and it tastes like a little bit of heaven. I’m in love with it. Continue reading “Mango lemonade and Summer drinks”

Strawberry lemon cordial and Spring!

flowersI know I’m a little late jumping on the bandwagon, but it’s Spring and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

My favourite flower in the entire world happens to be the freesia, which only rears its gorgeous little head for the shortest period of time. Spring is that time. If you’ve not seen a freesia before, I’ll give you a little crash course.

They’re small, predominantly white flowers that grow best in the wild. They like company; four or more flowers will grow, side-by-side, on the same stem. They’re trumpet shaped and tend to have shades of purple and yellow dabbed around the outer edges. Continue reading “Strawberry lemon cordial and Spring!”

Anzac day and passionfruit mint cocktails

IngredientsI’ve already posted an Anzac biscuit recipe. It’s my dad’s recipe and they are delicious. He’s in the kitchen making them as I type. The smell of melted butter combined with the oats and brown sugar is such a simple delight. The mixture is to die for, raw or baked.

Instead of posting another Anzac-based recipe, however, I’m sharing a cocktail today. Sharing a drink with friends is so deeply ingrained in the Australian culture, that I’m pretty sure my entire long weekend consists of pub catch ups.

This cocktail is a far cry from the usual macho feel of Anzac day, where beer and two up are king, but it’s a gorgeous way to brighten up your rainy Anzac day. I also got most of my ingredients from my farm visit last weekend, so this cocktail is a little celebration of Australia in a glass.

With fresh, zesty flavours, it’s also pretty delicious. Enjoy your Anzac day!

Passionfruit mint fizz:

Makes 4 cocktailsscene

  • 8 passionfruit
  • 5cm chunk of ginger
  • 2 small lemons, juice and zest
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • White rum
  • 2 cups soda water or lemonade

scrapsSlice the skin off your ginger, then score it lightly to ensure it releases lots of flavour. Pop the ginger in a heavy based, medium-sized saucepan with the passionfruit pulp and seeds, juice and zest of the lemons, sugar, and water.

Put the mixture of a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Set to one side to cool. You should end up with about 2 cups of syrup, which will make four cocktails.

mintWhen the syrup is cooled, pour about ¼ cup into a tumbler, add 30ml (or more) or rum and top up with soda water or lemonade. You can always omit the alcohol and serve it as a home made cordial if you please.

Enjoy!