Lovely Lavender Lemonade

I LOVE lavender. This one time I frolicked in a British lavender field and had the time of my life.

Since then, I've been on the hunt for lavender fields in Canada and thankfully Krystal of Dine and Fash has created this handy dandy guide to lavender fields of Ontario. The lavender season is currently in bloom and I hope to be able to make it out to one of these fields this summer. (Oh so many things on that summer bucket list!)

With lavender on the brain I decided to attempt some lavender lemonade. I first had some at Mayfield Lavender and have had a yenning for it ever since.

Dude, that was three years ago! That's a heck of a long time for a yen.

Making lemonade is dead easy and honestly you can't get more summer in a cup than with freshly squeezed lemons and sprigs of lavender. Go on, give it a go.

Needed:

Fresh lemon juice from about 10-12 lemons (2 cups)
Fresh lime juice from about 3-4 limes (1/2 cup)
15 1/2 cups water
2 cups sugar
7-10 sprigs of lavender (stems and all)
(garnish optional) lemon slices, additional lavender sprigs

Directions:

• In a large pot bring to a boil water and sugar
• Once boiled and sugar well dissolved, add lemon and lime juices and lavender
• Set to cool to room temperature
• Strain, transfer to a large jug and move to the fridge
• Serve over ice and garnish with lemon slices and lavender sprig

If you don't have a big enough container for it, you can fill up a couple ice cube trays and freeze. Add to water for a bit of flavour or add back to the lemonade to keep your drink cool and not watered down.

Recipe adapted from exPress-o

What do you like to drink in the summer?

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Christmas Eggnog

Each Christmas my mum and I have a tradition. We pull out all the decorations and prepare for an evening of filling the house with Christmas cheer. Then on a night when we can devote full attention to the task with put on some of our most favourite Christmas songs and whip up a batch of eggnog before going at the tree with lights and tinsel.

My mum doesn't like the store bought variety because she finds it too rich and that's exactly why I love it and can drink the whole carton myself in an evening. Making it ourselves means we can control the amounts and how rich it will be. We've found a good compromise. Plus we add copious a dash of rum to make this drink more adult and everyone is happy.

Could serve 4 (but we usually go back for seconds, so I wouldn't really know)
Ingredients:
4-6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 Tbs sugar
1 cap full vanilla extract
dash of nutmeg
rum (optional, but really)

Instructions:
Throw all the ingredients into a blender, save the nutmeg, and blend til frothy.
Taste and adjust as needed. More egg will make it richer, more milk will make it less rich and add volume, more sugar will make it sweeter etc.
Serve in a fun glass (we often use a crystal tumbler cause we fancy like that) and top with a dash of nutmeg.

YUM!

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Cider *hiccup* Glorious Cider *hiccup* Link Up

This month's travel link up is all about the wonderful world of food and eating. I am certainly not one to shy away from a tasty treat or be scared off by something that looks like it might bite back. One of my favourite bits about travelling is trying different foods of a region and experiencing a culture through its culinary delights. And I'm not ashamed to say that this has included a tipple or two.

When I discovered Toronto was again hosting a one day cider festival I knew where I'd find myself that Saturday evening. With tickets purchased for the evening session I was more than ready to try some premium cider, which seems to be finally seeing its day in Ontario (said thankfully, by this non-beer drinking girl).

The regular tickets cost $30 and with it you receive a commemorative sampling mug, 4 drink tokens plus access to live entertainment, contests, games and some sweet food trucks.

18 cider vendors and over 40 ciders available for sampling, I wish I could say I tried them all.

A few of the cider's I had tried before, but there were a lot there that I'd been eyeing up for a while and haven't got around to trying yet or hadn't even heard of because they were a brand, spanking new start up.

Along with the drinking of cider I do enjoy food pairing. Although there were limited food choices (but really, we weren't there for the food) the food trucks present were good ones. We went with Moustache Burger and got 'The Works' Poutine. The fries themselves were SO GOOD. Perfect carb loaded meal to go along with an evening of drinking sampling ciders.

The location was at Yonge and Dundas Square, which I wasn't too sure of at first, but aside from a lack of seating (more Muskoka chairs!) it was a great location. We forgot we were right downtown Toronto surrounded by skyscrapers, concrete and general urban chaos.

The whole place had a great atmosphere, lively and relaxed; like a great big downtown patio, with Muskoka chairs, giant Connect Four, party sized Jenga, flair bartending and all.

The Toronto Cider Festival was a fun night out in Toronto and super pleased my favourite British drink is coming into popularity here and I have more than just a can of Strongbow to choose from.

At the beginning of each month, I like to take part in the monthly travel link up hosted on the incredible blogs by Angie, Jessi, Emma,  and this month's special host Tanja. You can join in too by leaving a comment below, checking out other posts on the link up, or adding your own post to the widget now until September 7th.

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Experiencing Scotch Whiskey in Edinburgh

Jumping up to Scotland in this post from my epic trip to the UK, I hope you don't mind the jumping around, as I recap my adventure. I'm loving being able to relive my travels through these posts, this is one of the ways I'm choosing 'joy' in 2016. 

I meet up with my 'doing things' buddy and after dropping my bags off at her super, lovely flat we set off to the Scotch Whisky Experience. 

We took the Silver Tour (£14.50) which started with a ride in a barrel, swirling around like a bubble learning about the history and process of making whisky. The tour ended with a little whisky tasting education, a free dram (yay swag!) and a glimpse at the extensive collection housed in quite an impressive manner. 

I was enthralled by the display and the warm, golden, glow from the whisky in the darkened room with only the light dancing off the prized collection of 3,384 scotch whisky bottles. (Totally, had to look that number up, I couldn't be expected to remember the details, I had been drinking whisky after all).

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Our lovely guide, "Angus" (not his real name. Details, people!) taught us how to experience the whisky; its colour, its smell, its clarity, and finally its taste. Love a man with a passion! Especially when it's expressed with rolling R's and a smattering of  'wee'.

After I finished my dram (and my friend's) we were ready to tackle the rest of the delights Edinburgh had to offer.

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The Sampler Wine Merchant

In London, there's this great little wine shop there called The Sampler Wine Merchant and I think this concept needs to be imported into the great nation of Canada. (Please, someone get on this)

I was first introduced to this place located in South Kensington after an exciting afternoon tea at the Ampersand Hotel around the corner. When I again found myself in the area after hitting up the V&A and needing to kill sometime, I knew it was a perfect place for a cheeky pre-dinner drink. Not going to lie, I was giddy with excitement. I feel very much like a girl about town when I visit this place and that's okay by me.

Like a normal wine shop you can go in and purchase wine of your choosing, but have you ever wanted to sample some before taking the plunge? Here you can! You buy a card and load it with some ££ then wander around the shop with your glass, perusing the labels of available wines finally selecting your sample size of small, medium, or large. The prices range from mere pence to £10 for a small.

This was the most expensive one we tried. Doesn't it look lovely? All dusty and aged looking, it must be good for £8.90 for a small sample. WRONG! Now I will be the first to admit I do not have a sophisticated palette and usually select wine based on the prettiness of the label and lets be honest, the price.

That's the face of a not pleased wine drinker.

'Whether you see your glass half-empty or half-full it doesn't matter. You did not pour enough WINE into your glass'

This was my favourite of the night. I had to get photographic evidence cause I never remember the names or types of wines I enjoy.

Downstairs there is seating where you can enjoy your wine at a leisurely pace with an intimate chat and maybe a small cheese plate.

Does anything like this exist outside of London? Anything like it in Toronto?!

PS. this is not a sponsored post. I just really liked this place and wanted to spread the word. Maybe inspire someone to open one in Toronto?

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