I am suffering from a clear case of post summer blues. I, the one who always looks forward to fall; fall scarves, boots, hearty comfort meals, and the ability to sprinkle cinnamon with abandon.
But I’m blue, dude… This summer done flew by and I don’t even remember it. I have a sudden urge to jump into an open fire hydrant.
I missed my chance.
And now the temperature is dropping.
If I attempted such a thing I’d probably catch pneumonia.
And so I’m reliving the glory days of summer, drowning my blues in vats of blueberry lemonade.
Makes sense, right?
Blueberry + The Blues = … Cancels each other out, no?
Oh, I was never good at math.
Break out one of the zip lock bags of blueberries you stashed in your freezer. I am also a hardcore blueberry stasher, stashing bags upon bags of blueberries in my freezer. I defrost them in the dead of winter, around February or so, when I’ve just about had it with the cold temperatures and the snow, and bake muffins or crumb cake. That’s just how I roll in the winter months.
So what’s so damn special about this lemonade?
The star of the show is indeed, the blueberry. I’ve achieved maximum blueberry blues by cooking a batch of blueberries in sugar and water until the blueberries burst and release their blueness.
Seems legit, no?
You strain the blueberries, mashing those suckers up like you’re a loan shark and these blueberries owe you a cool 25 grand. It ain’t personal… Its business.
What’s left is this super concentrated blueberry syrup; to which you add lemon juice, water, sugar, and a dash of vanilla extract. Mix this jammy up.
Pour into a glass and top with seltzer.
As far as lemonades go this one’s where its at. The tartness and brightness of the lemonade paired with the sweet tartness of blueberries is more than you can ever hope for. Go hardcore and add some rum. This is a judge -free environment.
Revel in the last remnants of summer, down to the last blue drop. Because before you know it, the leaves’ll turn color, you’ll be picking apples, and the filling in your pies will be pumpkin.
But that’s a whole ‘nother conversation.
[purerecipe]
Blueberry Lemonade
Ingredients
For the berry syrup
- 1 dry pint of blueberries
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 cup of cold water
For the lemonade
- Blueberry simple syrup mashed blueberries optional
- ¾ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice from about 6-7 lemons
- ½ cup - ¾ cup of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 4 cups of water
- Ice
- Seltzer water
- Lemon slice for garnish optional
- Blueberries for garnish optional
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan combine blueberries, sugar, and water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and bring the mixture to a boil over medium/high heat. Lower the heat to medium/low. Cook until the blueberries have burst, releasing their juices and the liquid is syrupy, about 7-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and strain the mixture into a glass pitcher, mashing the blueberries to release their liquid. You can discard the blueberries, save for another use, or toss the mashed berries into the pitcher.
- To the pitcher add the blueberry simple syrup, freshly squeezed lemon juice, sugar, vanilla extract and water. Stir to combine, adjusting the sugar as needed.
- To serve:
- Add a few ice cubes to an 8oz glass. Pour about ½ cup of lemonade and top with seltzer. Garnish with a lemon slice or blueberries if desired.
