Ok – I know.. I guess I’ve been slacking on recipes. I’m coming back with this simple “Quarantini.” Our Meyer lemon tree, as per usual, produced hundreds and hundreds of lemons and we were a little late to getting them all picked this year! But luckily – only sacrificed a few to our lateness.
So.. I’m pulling weeds in the backyard for what feels like the 100th time this month or week at that. And the lovely honey bees are swarming all around the lemon and lime trees as the blooms smell like what I imagine heaven must smell like and they are going back and forth between the trees and the garden where the herbs and the beautiful lavender are growing!
This is just one of the several lavender plants growing in our garden currently! Isn’t it beautiful?
So – I had already picked all of our lemons and peeled and juiced ALMOST all of them. I had a giant pitcher of juice in the fridge waiting to be frozen (like the last 2 gallons) or trying to figure out what else to make!
Save the peels – I will share my “secret” BBQ rub (or all purpose) soon!
So for this Quarantini you will need approx 6-8 stems of lavender and about 2 cups of squeezed lemon juice, preferably Meyer lemon (it’s milder/sweeter). This recipe will make approx 4-5 martinis. You can cut in 1/2 if you don’t want that many!
Begin by making your simple syrup. Equal parts sugar to water. I used one cup of sugar and one cup of water. Bring it to a boil and stir until dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in your lavender stems. Let cool.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice (it is best super cold), strain your simple syrup into the shaker. Add a cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice and shake well. Dip martini glasses in lemon juice (or use a quarter lemon to coat the rim) and then coat in sugar. Pour in 2 oz of chilled vodka and then fill to the top with your lemonade mixture – stir gently. Top with a lavender stem and/or a thin slice of lemon for garnish. Enjoy!
Note: If you are like me and like them a little more tart – feel free to top with some extra lemon juice. And don’t worry – the meyer lemon isn’t too tart! 😉
Lavender Lemon Quarantini
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 6-8 stems lavender
- 1 cup meyer lemon juice (or more) fresh squeezed is best
- 1/8 cup sugar for garnish
- 4 oz chilled vodka
Instructions
- Make your simple syrup. Add one cup of sugar and one cup of water to a pot and bring to a boil. Stir until dissolved. Once sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add lavender stems. Let cool.
- Add ice to shaker. Pour in one cup of meyer lemon juice and strain the symple syrup into the shaker. Shake until super cold.
- Rim martini glasses with sugar – use lemon juice and then dip in sugar around rim. Fill glasses with 2oz of chilled vodka. Pour lemonade mixture on top until glass is full. Stir gently.
- Add a lavender stem and/or thin lemon slice for garnish. If it too sweet for you – top with a little extra lemon juice. Enjoy!
