1. Lavender lemonade
Ingredients: lavender flowers from about 30 stalks, 2 cups sugar, juice of 4 lemons, lemon slices for garnish
Put six cups of water in a large pan with two cups of sugar and bring to the boil. Rise the lavender and cut off excess stalks and stems. When the water is boiled, take it off the heat and add the lavender flowers. Leave to cool to about room temperature. Add six cups of cold water and the lemon juice and stir. Strain out the lavender and reserve them for garnish, along with the lemon slices. Serve with ice.
2. Rhubarb bellini
Ingredients: 4 cups of chopped rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, Champagne or prosecco
Combine the rhubarb, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to simmer and heat gently until the rhubarb is soft and the liquid has thickened – about 20 minutes. Ladle into a fine strainer placed over a large bowl. Press on the solids with a spoon to extract more syrup. Put the syrup in a bottle and store in a cool place. To serve, combine one part syrup with four parts Champagne or prosecco.
3. Summer smoothie
Ingredients: 2 ripe bananas (peeled and halved), 4 ripe apricots (peeled, halved and pitted), 200g raspberries, 200g strawberries, 1 ripe pineapple (cored and cut into chunks), 300ml milk, 100ml crushed ice, juice of 1 lemon or 1 lime
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and mix well, until the smoothie is thick but drops off a spoon (add more milk if needed). Serve with more ice and mint to garnish.
4. Triple berry freeze
Ingredients: 80g lemon sorbet, 80g raspberries, 80g blueberries, 80g strawberries, 1tbsp honey, 500ml sparkling water
Place water and sorbet in a blender and mix. Add the berries and honey and puree until smooth. You can replace any of the berries with whichever fruit is in season in your garden – for example, blackberries in autumn.
5. Pimm’s summer punch
Ingredients: 1 part Pimm’s, 1 part gin, 3 parts lemonade, 3 parts ginger ale, 2 parts cranberry juices, strawberries to garnish, mind to garnish, cucumber to garnish, lemon slices to garnish, ice cubes
Mix all liquid ingredients together in a large jug. Add the garnish ingredients and ice.
6. Aqua fresca
Ingredients: 4 cups water, 2 cups fresh fruit – for summer, try raspberries and strawberries, ¼ cup sugar, 2tsp lemon or lime juice, lemon or lime wedges to garnish
Combine all the ingredients and add ice to serve. Garnish with fruit wedges.
7. Raspberry and mint smoothie
Ingredients: 250g raspberries, 6 mint leaves, 300ml natural yogurt
Blend the raspberries and 4 mint leaves until almost smooth. Add the yogurt and blend until smooth. Serve garnished with extra mint leaves.
Combine water and fruit in a blender and mix until smooth. Pour mixture into a jug and add lemon or lime juice and sugar. Garnish and serve.
8. Virgin pomegranate sangria
Ingredients: 1 quart pomegranate juice, 2 cups mango juice, 1 orange, 6-8 strawberries, 2 kiwis, 1 mango, ½ cup sugar
Mix juices and sugar until sugar dissolves. Wash orange and berries and slice thinly. Remove mango skin and cut fruit into chunks. Remove kiwi skin and cut into thick slices. Place all fruit into juice and store in fridge for 2-3 hours to let flavours meld. Serve garnish with fruit slices.
9. Gooseberry and elderflower smoothie
Ingredients: 300g gooseberries, 15ml elderflower cordial, 300ml yogurt, mint leaves to garnish
Blend all the ingredients until smooth. Garnish with mint leaves.
10. Berry blast
Ingredients: 250g blackcurrants, 125g blueberries, 15ml crème de cassis, crushed ice, 1tsp honey
Blend all the ingredients together until smooth and serve immediately.
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