My mother has an amazing green thumb! With her as inspiration, I am now on the journey, though on a very small scale, of discovering my inner horticulturalist (propagating plants, tending to a ficus tree in my living room affectionately named Benjamin). However, I am definitely reaping the benefits of my mother’s fantastic garden. She has a ton of herbs to pick from and several fruit trees. The super bonus: my parents live six blocks away and they are very generous with their bounty. One of my absolute favorite herbs is rosemary and I am fortunate to be able to take clippings from my mother’s very large rosemary bush weekly. It is such a delicious, fragrant herb! I have used it in stews, in my bathtub and in my homemade soaps.
Rosemary is a perfect herb to have around the house and especially in your work place. The distinct fragrance of rosemary promotes awareness and retention of information. In ancient Greece, students used to wear sprigs of rosemary in the hair and behind their ears when they were in class or taking an exam to help them concentrate. Keeping this herb on your desk will keep you charged throughout the day, plus it is easy to propagate in water; you do not need to have a green thumb to keep a sprig of rosemary alive! 🙂 The benefits of the aroma are extensive but so are the nutritional effects. This wonderful herb helps with digestion and circulation.
The summer heat is my excuse for consuming large amount of lemonade. Add green tea to that and I couldn’t be happier. That is unless you also add rosemary.
Rosemary Green Tea Lemonade
6 large lemons
2 green tea bags
Water
Your favorite sugar (I used raw sugar but coconut sugar or a liquid sugar works well too)
5 long sprigs of rosemary
1. Squeeze the lemons directly into a pitcher.
2. Seep the 2 green tea bags in 2 cups of water on the stove or boil water in a kettle and allow to sit. After 10 minutes, add to lemon juice and set aside.
3. Take the 5 sprigs of rosemary (make sure they are rinsed) and place in into a small pot. Add 2 cups of water and a cup of your choice of sugar (you need the sugar for the entire pitcher). If you have a smaller pitcher you may want to cut the amount of sugar by ¼. Allow the rosemary to simmer in the pot for 15 minutes on medium heat. Stir often to make sure it does not burn. After 15 minutes, let cool.
4. Pull out the large sprigs of rosemary and discard. There may be several small pieces left behind. You can pass the mixture through a sieve prior to adding it to the lemon juice/green tea mixture or not. It is your preference. Either way, add the sweetened rosemary water to the pitcher and fill the rest of the pitcher with cold water.
5. Place in refrigerator for an hour or longer to make sure it is cold.
6. Add ice cubes and enjoy!
*Step 3 and the first part of step 4 are just ways to make a simple rosemary syrup. You can do these steps solely and add to a cup of coffee (hot or cold). A rosemary flavored coffee is absolutely delicious!
Tip: A rosemary beverage would pair very well with any dish that has asparagus, cranberry, fennel, mushrooms, garlic or onion. Try this beverage with my recipe for Zucchini Pasta with Avocado Mushroom Sauce or Christine Oppenheim’s Crispy Vegan Risotto Cakes.
Related: 3 Delicious Summer Cocktails
The Ultimate Virgin Bloody Mary
Also by Sorina: Best Natural Allergy Remedies
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Photo: Sorina Fant
