a recipe // basil infused lemonade

ever since getting our citrus juicer from this post, i have been making all sorts of lemonades, limeades, and citrus coolers.  nothing beats juice made with fresh ingredients, no?  after making some pasta for dinner this past week, i decided to use up the rest of our basil to make simple syrup before the delicate leaves started to turn brown.  it was the easiest thing ever.  also, it's refreshing and alcohol-free.  perfect for this mama bear!

just as the rain decided to sprinkle down that evening, i decided on a whim to add this syrup to my glass of fresh squeezed lemonade and it made all the difference.  i will be switching this recipe up throughout the summer with different herb and citrus varieties.  i am thinking about a rosemary grapefruit mocktail is in my future.  

basil simple syrup

ingredients: 

a handful of basil leaves
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water

to prepare, combine 1 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar, and add about a cup of very loosely packed basil. this will produce enough simple syrup for a over a dozen cocktails or mocktails, so adjust the measurements to 1/2 cup or less if you aren’t making many drinks. this simple syrup will go a long way. pour the leaves and liquid through a filter to strain out the basil, then cool the simple syrup and refrigerate. i plan on keeping mine for a week.

to made the lemonade, just follow my recipe above!

just a hint: i bet you could use this to make a granita or homemade popsicles as well.