New Recipe: Blueberry Lemonade

Lemonade. Probably the most appropriate drink of summer. Although, I love it year round. This recipe is an experiment that I thought turned out quite well, and I can say that it was a hit with the whole family. It is a twist on the traditional method of making lemonade, where you squeeze the lemons to death, then add sugar, then your fruit of choice, in this case, blueberries. Instead, what I did was this: scrub and slice up the lemons , and one lime for a little something extra into a big pot or bowl, wash and dump in your blueberries, Pour in sugar, then smash away with a potato masher. Once they are good and smooshed, Pour in cold water, then let steep in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, depending on how long you can wait. I suggest not going much over a half hour as the lemons and lime still have their rind, so it can get a bit bitter. Once steeped, strain and enjoy! 

Lemonade

5-6 lemons sliced

1 lime sliced

1 - 2 cups fruit of choice {I used blueberries, but this would work with pretty much any fruit. Strawberries, pinepple, mango, raspberries, ... you get the idea. 

3/4 cup sugar

6 cups water

This was about 6 lemons, 1 lime, and a cup and a half of blueberries in a big pot.

Add 3/4 cup of sugar

Strain! This part would have been easier if I had used cheesecloth, but I couldn't find it. 

Pour over ice and enjoy! Isn't it a gorgeous color?

I also steeped two batches with the same "pulp". 

It is very refreshing! Hope you enjoy! 

DIY Rose Sugar Scrub

Who doesn't love a good sugar scrub? I have quite a collection, but I enjoy the ones I make myself the most. Why? I know all of the ingredients, I can modify them based on my current needs and as an extra bonus, they cost a fraction of the price. Yay!

What you will need:
Choice of sugar {Today I used plain ol' white sugar
Rose petals {Two blossoms from my Lady of Shallot
Oils of choice
Food processor
Air tight container {This one is a very fancy plastic one from Ikea. 

For this recipe, I will be using regular, non-fancy white sugar. I would go with cane or brown sugar if this was to be facial sugar scrub as I find it to be less abrasive and it dissolves fairly quickly.
For my rose petals, I picked two blooms off of my Lady of Shallot. They have a nice rose fragrance and a beautiful color. I suggest using rose petals that come from fragrant roses, as it will aid to your scrub. In the past I have also used Angel Face, which is a exquisite lavender rose.
Oils! You can use olive, grapeseed, almond, coconut, vitamin E, Rose hip , Argan, and the list goes on and on. Or a combination. I will be using Argan and Rose hip oil. I like how the skin soaks them up and leaves me feeling hydrated, not oily or greasy.

If your roses are freshly picked, I suggest pulling all of the petals off and laying them out to dry just a bit.

Here I have two medium sized blooms pulled off of their stem. Once they have dried a bit, take 1/4 - 1/2 cup of sugar and place in your food processor. 

Place Rose petals on top of sugar and blend! You may have to use a spatula to scape the sides of your bowl and run it a few times. I like it to be fairly fine. Scoop into container! Now at this point, since my petals were so fresh, I let the sugar sit in it's container with the lid off for a few hours to dry out a little. This is to let the moisture from the petals evaporate a bit to bring back the rose smell. If you used dried petals, you shouldn't have to do this step.

Once it has air dried a bit, it is time to add the oil. I keep mine at a moist but not drenched ratio. For my quarter cup of sugar, the oils ended up being about three tablespoons worth. You want the oil to cover most of the sugar so that it doesn't get too clumpy. Stir together! 

To use: Scoop out and apply in gently circular motions. This batch is perfect for my hands and feet, as white sugar is fairly coarse. 

Enjoy!