I have a weakness for fresh cherries.  Luckily for me, they are everywhere this time of year here in the pacific northwest.  Plus, since they are grown locally we can get them super fresh.  This recipe can be used with frozen cherries just as easily though, so it will turn out great if that’s all you have as well.  If you do use frozen just let them thaw for a bit first so they blend easier.  I didn’t write in how much water to add to it because I don’t like drinks too sweet, so I don’t add as much syrup as some would.  A nice way to serve drinks is to leave the syrup separate and have cold water or club soda and let everyone mix their own cup to their liking.

I made it for my daughter’s Mary Poppins birthday party recently (hence the cherry tree lane sign and lack of better picture…) but I’m sure we’ll be having it often!

CHERRY LIMEADE

5 cups fresh or frozen cherries, pitted
1 1/2 cups lime juice
1 1/2 cups sugar

Puree in a blender until smooth.  Strain if desired. (My vitamix gets it pretty darn smooth so I don’t.)
Refrigerate until ready to use, then add water or club soda for a sparking limeade.

Cherry Limeade

July 10, 2015

by Holly

Category Drinks

Ingredients

• 5 cups fresh or frozen cherries, pitted
• 1 1/2 cups lime juice
• 1 1/2 cups sugar

Instructions

1. Puree in a blender until smooth. Strain if desired. (My vitamix gets it pretty darn smooth so I don’t.)
2. Refrigerate until ready to use, then add water or club soda for a sparking limeade.

We are having an early strawberry season this year, and nothing makes me love living in the Pacific Northwest more than fresh berries! 🙂  Okay, there’s a few other reasons too.  But we are seriously spoiled when it comes to berries.  I’m not a fan of soda, but homemade sodas are a different story all together.  This one tastes like summer in a glass.  Honey and strawberries go so well together, it reminds me of this amazing cheesecake.   It’s super fast, and while I haven’t made it with frozen berries yet they should work just fine as well.  Just thaw them first.   There is no sugar in this, so it isn’t overly sweet, and of course you should adjust the honey depending on the sweetness of your berries and how sweet you want it.  I don’t like super sweet drinks so sometimes I use even less honey.  Happy (almost) summer!

STRAWBERRY HONEY CREAM SODA

1 pint strawberries, washed and hulled
1/2 cup milk (I use fat free, but any is fine)
1/4 cup honey (more or less to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Seltzer water, to serve

Combine the strawberries, milk, honey, and vanilla in a blender and puree until smooth.  Strain if desired to remove the strawberry seeds.
To serve put about 1/3 cup puree in a glass and pour about 1 cup seltzer water over puree.  Refrigerate remaining puree.  Will keep a couple days in fridge.

Recipe adapted from Homemade Soda by Andrew Schloss

Strawberry Honey Cream Soda

May 22, 2015

by Holly

Category Drinks

Ingredients

• 1 pint strawberries, washed and hulled
• 1/2 cup milk (I use fat free, but any is fine)
• 1/4 cup honey (more or less to taste)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Seltzer water, to serve

Instructions

1. Combine the strawberries, milk, honey, and vanilla in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain if desired to remove the strawberry seeds.
2. To serve put about 1/3 cup puree in a glass and pour about 1 cup seltzer water over puree. Refrigerate remaining puree. Will keep a couple days in fridge.

If you’ve made my Blackberry Basil Lemonade before (and if you haven’t, you should!) then this recipe will look familiar.  I just subbed out blueberries for the blackberries, and thyme for the basil.  Thyme is incredibly easy to grow.  I have quite a few varieties in my herb garden and I love seeing it come back bigger and better every year.  It’s very low maintenance and is wonderful to add to so many recipes.   I wanted to make some blackberry basil lemonade the other day but I was out of fresh basil.  I figured I would give thyme a try and we loved it.  Blueberries seemed like a good fit with thyme.   This tastes like summer in a glass.  The blueberries and lemon are refreshing and tangy, and the thyme adds a floral note without being overpowering.  At the bottom of the recipe you’ll find directions for freezing this like a concentrate.  I love making a big batch for the freezer so we have it on hand for a quick summer treat.

BLUEBERRY THYME LEMONADE

For the thyme simple syrup:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
handful of thyme sprigs

To serve:
6 cups water
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

To make the thyme simple syrup put the water, sugar, and thyme in a pot and bring to a boil.

Let cool then strain.
Puree the blueberries and strain to get 1/2 cup puree.  Add to the simple syrup along with the lemon juice and water.  Chill and serve over ice.

For a fizzy drink: replace the 6 cups water with seltzer water.
To make ahead: In a quart freezer container put the simple syrup, berry puree, and lemon juice.  Freeze for later use.  Just add water when ready to serve.

Blueberry Thyme Lemonade

July 16, 2014

by Holly

Category Drinks

Ingredients

For the thyme simple syrup:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• handful of thyme sprigs

To serve:

• 6 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups lemon juice
• 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Instructions

1. To make the thyme simple syrup put the water, sugar, and thyme in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Let cool then strain.
3. Puree the blueberries and strain to get 1/2 cup puree. Add to the simple syrup along with the lemon juice and water. Chill and serve over ice.

For a fizzy drink: replace the 6 cups water with seltzer water.

To make ahead: In a quart freezer container put the simple syrup, berry puree, and lemon juice.

Freeze for later use. Just add water when ready to serve.

I was cleaning out my freezer recently and realized I had gone a teeny bit overboard freezing cherries last summer.  I was also trying to think of a fun red drink to make for Valentine’s day, so it worked out well. 🙂

I love lime in.. pretty much anything… but you could leave the lime out for a plain cherry soda.  I love the addition of the bright citrus though.  If you want the drink on the sweeter side, serve with soda, or if you want it on the tarter side, serve with seltzer water.  I liked it both ways. 🙂

CHERRY LIME SODA (AKA Love Potion)

4 cups sweet cherries, halved and pitted (frozen or fresh)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup lime juice
seltzer water or lemon-lime soda for serving

Place the cherries, sugar, and water in a medium pot on medium high heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, until the cherries break down, mashing with a potato masher if needed.
Puree mixture in a blender then strain through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth.  You should have just over 2 cups.  Discard pulp.
Stir in the lime juice and cool completely.
To serve, pour over ice and add seltzer water or soda.
(I liked it about 1 part syrup to 2 parts soda).

Cherry Lime Soda

February 1, 2013

by Holly

Category Drinks

Ingredients

• 4 cups sweet cherries, halved and pitted (frozen or fresh)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• seltzer water or lemon-lime soda for serving

Instructions

1. Place the cherries, sugar, and water in a medium pot on medium high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, until the cherries break down, mashing with a potato masher if needed.
2. Puree mixture in a blender then strain through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. You should have just over 2 cups. Discard pulp.
3. Stir in the lime juice and cool completely.
4. To serve, pour over ice and add seltzer water or soda.
5. (I liked it about 1 part syrup to 2 parts soda).

We are over run with fresh raspberries at the moment.  I can’t seem to keep up with picking all of the ripe berries every day on our little patch.
I had some fresh limes on hand and though this would be a nice treat at dinner.  You could also make it with lemons if you prefer, or even bottled lime juice (but fresh really does taste better in my opinion).
We liked it best with a little carbonated water or citrus soda, but try it without first, you might like that better.
I think this would be even better made with marionberries, but then again, everything is better with marionberries.  Well.. maybe not everything.

RASPBERRY LIMEADE
4 cups fresh raspberries (or blackberries, marionberries, or combination)
6 cups water, divided
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
carbonated water or citrus soda for serving, optional

Combine the berries with one cup of the water in a blender and blend until smooth.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher, discarding the seeds.
Add the remaining 5 cups water, sugar, and lime juice.  Stir to combine.
Pour into glasses over ice, filling cups about 2/3rds full.  Top with carbonated water or citrus soda, if desired.

Raspberry Limeade

July 13, 2012

by Holly

Category Drinks

Ingredients

• 4 cups fresh raspberries (or blackberries, marionberries, or combination)
• 6 cups water, divided
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• carbonated water or citrus soda for serving, optional

Instructions

1. Combine the berries with one cup of the water in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher, discarding the seeds.
3. Add the remaining 5 cups water, sugar, and lime juice.  Stir to combine.
4. Pour into glasses over ice, filling cups about 2/3rds full.  Top with carbonated water or citrus soda, if desired.