Blueberry Lemonade

I had this for the first time at the wedding of one of my former students, who is now making us all proud as a successful medical student.  They served it with and without rum... and oh MY, was it ever delicious!!  Then just the other day, my mother and my daughter and I were having lunch at a cool, artsy little cafe, and there it was AGAIN!  My daughter absolutely fell in love with it, and I considered it all a sign that I needed to come home and make some.  

Blueberries are one of the big super foods out there, as they have one of the highest amounts of antioxidants of any berry.  It's so much fun to make something that your kids love when its also a way to get extra nutrition in them!  - We'll leave the spiking to the grown ups.  LOL

So on this, Lily's last day of summer before school starts, we made some.  There is nothing hard about it, and the payoff has been pretty sweet!

Click for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:  

• 1 (12 ounce) bag unsweetened, frozen blueberries, thawed
• 1 (12 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 1 cup vanilla simple syrup
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 vanilla bean, seeded
• 3 - 4 cups water/ice 
• optional garnishes
• lemon curls
• mint leaves
• fresh blueberries

Step-by-Step:

Make the simple syrup first.  Combine sugar, water, and vanilla bean "seeds" and heat until boiling and slightly thickened.  Set aside to cool.

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, seeded

Tip - to seed the vanilla bean.  Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise with a sharp paring knife.  Open it up with your fingers.  Using the flat side of a knife, scrape the vanilla bean "seeds" out of the pod.

Throw the pod into the water as well.. there are more seeds in there!   You can just fish it out later.

Can you see how the syrup has even changed colors after boiling and reducing?  

Add the berries to a food processor and blend until all fairly "smooth."

1 (12 ounce) bag unsweetened, frozen blueberries, thawed

Combine lemonade concentrate, processed berries, simple syrup and water (or ice).  I used ice since my simple syrup was still warm.  Stir to combine.

1 (12 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

Looks sort of like purple mud, doesn't it?  HaHa!!  

pureed berries

1 cup vanilla simple syrup

3 cups water/ice

Pass the ingredients through a fine mesh sieve.  We are doing this to remove all the blueberry pulp, skins, etc., so our lemonade won't be gritty. 

We could have probably waited until the ice melted, but no big deal.  Lily was in a hurry!  

To extract all the juice you can from the berries, "push" the juice through the sieve with the back of a spoon.

Now that is one satisfied customer!!

Now can't you see people going nuts for THIS drink at a lemonade stand?! 
Serve over ice with garnishes if desired.

Lovely Lily and I hope you enjoyed this recipe!
If you will hop on over to the Recipe Index, you'll find tons of other recipes to pique your interest as well as whet your whistle!  
And if you are new to the blog, Click here to Subscribe to MenuMusings so you won't miss a thing! 

Order the Menu Musings Cookbook!

 
Here are a few "bonus" recipes for you.  Click the links to go directly to them.
Southwestern Eggrolls with Avocado Ranch Dipping Sauce

Stuffed Peppers

Creamy Chicken Piccata

Toasted Couscous Salad with Asparagus and Tomatoes

Butter Pecan Sweet Potatoes

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

Method:

Make the simple syrup first.  Combine sugar, water, and vanilla bean "seeds" and heat until boiling and slightly thickened.  Set aside to cool.

Add the berries to a food processor and blend until all fairly smooth.

Combine lemonade concentrate, processed berries, simple syrup and water (or ice).  I used ice since my simple syrup was still warm.  Stir to combine.

Pass the ingredients through a fine mesh sieve.  We are doing this to remove all the blueberry pulp, skins, etc., so our lemonade won't be gritty. 

Serve over ice with garnishes if desired.