Mint and Blackberry Lemonade

The abundance of lemons right now is such a blessing for the summer and the warm weather because it means that I can make a lot of lemonade whenever I feel like. Yesterday I went to one of the local bargain grocery stores and found that they had lemons on sale at 4 for $1 which is a real bargain. Normally I do not buy produce at these kind of supermarkets because they tend to have produce that are of lower quality. Today was different though because their lemons looked so good....maybe it is the summer months that's why their produce are of better quality that usual.

I grabbed a dozen which is indeed a bargain at around $3 with the intention of making some lemonade. I also grabbed a bunch of good looking fresh mints and went on my merry way.  When I got home, I prepared everything that I needed to make the lemonade but in the process found a container of blackberries which I bought from the farmer's market this week...light bulb moment- blackberry lemonade....hehehe

I made the usual lemonade and added a handful of bruised and hand-torn mint leaves.  I left it in the refrigerator overnight to allow the mint flavor to infuse into the lemonade.  When I checked on it the following day, the lemonade had a nice minty flavor to it.  Not overpowering but a nice-subtle hint of freshness.  

I used about 3/4 of a cup of blackberry and whirled it into the blender to break up the delicate fruits slight then added it into the lemonade mix.  The result is this nice red concoction that taste really good.  I didn't strain the blackberry seed out because that will also remove all the skin.  Instead,I just added everything as it and stir to mix well. They didn't really bother me since they sink to the bottom of the glass anyway. If you don't want the seed, you can strain then when adding the blackberry into the lemonade mixture. Personally, I think they give the lemonade a nice personally that different from other...hehehe

This lemonade really taste so good that I cannot stop drinking them.  I must have finished half of the batch that I made already,  They really hits the spot and quench your thirst especially if you add it to a tall glass filled with ice.  The minty flavor gives it a fresh flavor profile... a nice departure from the usual lemonade :)

One word of advice though...make sure that you wipe your glass sides and bottom after you have poured the drink because the blackberry can stain your linens.  I wiped the bottom of my glasses before I placed them on the tray and on top of my kitchen towel when I took these shots but still noticed a few scattered spots of blackberry stains when I moved the glasses around ... I was dreading that it might stain permanently but couldn't stop until I got all my shots in.  I made the same mistake when I took shots of a sandwich that I am posting soon and had specks of stain another kitchen towel as well when I used a glass of this lemonade as props...ughhh... I liked these kitchen towels which I got from La Surla Table... luckily, a quick trip into the wash got rid of the stains but make sure to wash them immediately or the stains might not come off.

Ingredients:

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar (adjust to taste)

4+1 cup water

3/4 cup blackberries

a handful of mint leaves, bruised and hand torn + some for garnish

ice cubes

1. In a small sauce pan, add 1 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar. Heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let it cool. Set aside.

2. Using a juicer, extract juice from enough lime to produce 1 cup of lemon juice.

3. Combine lemon juice, sugar syrup, mint leaves, and water.  Mix well. Leave on the refrigerator overnight.

4. The following day, strain lemonade mixture to remove mint leaves.

5. In a blender, pulse blackberry with about 1/4 cup of lemonade in a blender just until the fruit is broken slightly.

6. Add blackberry mixture into the lemonade and stir to mix well.

*** NOTE, you may have to stir the mixture well prior to serving to mix everything again if it has been sitting for a while.

7. Pour in a tall glass filled with ice and serve.

Grilled Steak with Rosenberg, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Macadamia Dressing

Ahhh... summer is almost gone and I cannot say that I am sad because frankly, I am just about tired of the heat. I welcome the cool weather with open arms this year although I shouldn't really get my hopes up, huh? I mean this is Southern California...we hardly get any cold weather here and if we do, they are far and few in between. The reason I am celebrating though is because it has been a long, hot, and humid summer...to me, at least. I wish that we get to see changing of the color of the leaves here in LA, even just once...

This summer has been rather eventful. I went home to the Philippines for our nth college reunion and had a blast. We had so much fun reminiscing our past, the way things were, exploring old digs as well as new ones, eating galore... it was all made special because my fireds were with me. Ha! to think that I was not even going to go homw for the reunion at all. I am so glad that I did though because I got to spend time with people whom I have not seen in a long time. The rest of the summer was spent blogging and cooking for the most part which I really enjoyed after a very long hiatus. Hopefully this will continue for a while...hehehe

This meal is my summer send off as we welcome the dawn of a new season, autumn. Although, to be honest, today feels more like autumn than summer. It has been gloomy since I woke up and went to the store this more...and it still is...hmmm...maybe we will get a cooler autumn and winter this year...nice. For the meal, I grilled a t-bone steak over my stove top griller, not the gas grill, then topped it with cheese and nuts sauce. I also fired some sweet potato fries to go with it.


Ingredients:

A. Steak

T-bone streak or any grilling steak
salt and pepper, to taste
1. Apply salt and pepper to both sides of the steak.
2. Grill steak. 2 minutes on 1 side and another two minutes on the other side for rare. Cook longer if you do not want to eat rare.
3. Remove from heat and onto a serving dish. Top with the dressing and serve with sweet potato fries.

B. Resenberg, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Macadamia Dressing

1 oz Risenberg cheese, crumbled
1 oz Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
2 Tbsp chopped macadamia nuts
small bunch of mint, roughly chopped
small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, chopped

1. Place macadamia, mint, parsley,garlic, and olive oil in a food processor and process until chopped finely and incorporated
2. Add both cheeses and process again until incorporated.
3. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.



Adapted from 30-minute entertaining cookbook by L. Pickford.

Minty Lemonade

Ingredients:

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 whole lemon
3/4 cup sugar
4 + 1 cup water
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
ice cubes



1. In a small sauce pan, add 1 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar.Heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let it cool. Set aside.

2. Using a small grater, grate zest from lemon. (NOTE: do not include the white part). Place lemon zest and mint leaves in a small bowl and crush using a muddler but don't bruise the mint leaves too much because it will make it taste bitter. Set aside.



3. Using a juicer, extract juice from 4 lemons.




4. Add 1 cup lemon juice, 4 cups of water, sugar syrup (#1), and lemon zest-mint miture(#2). Stir to mix well. Place in refrigerator to chill for a few hours.




5. When ready to serve, strain the zest and mint leaves from the lemonade. Serve in a tall glass with ice. Garnish with lemon slices and mint sprigs.