Hello stranger.
So somehow since my last post September suddenly turned into mid December. How did that happen? Is this what happens as you get older? Is there a cruel devil mistress out there that speeds time up as some sort of sick and twisted joke? I feel like childhood advent calendars have a lot to do with drawing out the latter months of the year - you are aware of each passing day rather than witness to a full on time blur.
In reality I was just busy AF. Ugh adulthood.
I look back at my last post at the end of September and the amount that has gone on in that time outside of the blogosphere is incredible.
So between then and now I have
- Applied for a food tech job down in Christchurch
- Got said food tech job
- Moved out of my Auckland flat
- Moved to Christchurch and in with Dylan (a somewhat big deal that got overshadowed by EVERYTHING else)
- Started said food tech job.
- Co-planted a veggie garden
- Made Christmas cake (that takes up a serious amount of time trust me)
- Visited Mitre 10 a thousand times
- Made panforte
- Washed a lot of clothes
- Went through two soda stream canisters
It seems most weekends involve a trip to Mitre 10 Mega rather than baking a cake. I did plant a veggie garden though and I think that is sufficiently food related. I wrote all about the adventures we had with it over on The Supper Club. I am excited to incorporate some of our bounty into our next Supper Club as well so watch that space over there.
We recently spent the weekend up in Auckland where we attended a couple of family events. One such event was held at a relative's hydrangea farm where not only did they have endless hydrangea bushes but they also had a fruitful garden that could only make you green with envy. On my flight home I was carrying a suitcase full of juicy lemons, limes and kaffir lime leaves. It was heaven.
I am a huge fan of the old soda stream and so I've been making syrups to serve as refreshing Saturday afternoon treats. As you can see from the list above I have been hooning through the ol' gas canisters.
I made a lemon and lavender rendition which was delightful but the one that I made and actually went about photographing was this super refreshing lemon and ginger drop. The great thing about making syrups is that you can play around with whatever you like. I am toying with the idea of making a zingy kaffir lime syrup just for something a little bit different.
In case that lavender syrup tickled your fancy you can sub in the ginger in the recipe below for a couple of tablespoons of dried lavender flowers and a squeeze of honey. Also try halving the citric acid content to mellow out the flavour a bit if you feel like it.
You can store this syrup in a bottle or jar in the fridge for a couple of weeks - just pour a bit out and mix with soda water and ice to taste.
Lemon and Gingerade
Makes 750ml of syrup
4 large juicy lemons worth of juice plus their zest
5-6cm long knob of ginger, grated
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon citric acid (found in the baking powder section of your supermarket)
A clean bottle (preferably sterilised) to store
Soda water and ice to serve
Place all your ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer away for 5-10 minutes until a runny syrup forms (it resembles hot honey). Don't boil for too long or else you will end up with a thick syrup that won't dissolve easily in your soda water.
Leave to cool for twenty minutes then pour it into your storage vessel. Leave to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. To serve, pour about a fingers worth into a glass, add ice and then top up with soda water. Better still, pour a good slog into a water pitcher and make up a big jug to share with everyone!
Syrup will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.
Enjoy x