Ginger Lavender Lemonade: My Favorite Summer Drink

Last year, I bought a gallon ziploc bag full of lavender, thinking I'd be all crafty with it and stuff. Of course, here are, the bag and I, not getting any younger...so, I discovered how delicious it is brewed and mixed up as a lemonade. Then, I discovered Domaine de Canton. Wow! Altogether, it makes a most delicious summer drink. Rather than clash, the mild spice flavors of lavender and ginger compliment each other very nicely.

What You'll Need:
-1/4 c. Dried Lavender
-1/4 c. Lemon Juice (or fresh lemons if you're picky like that - obviously, since mine is from Wal-Mart, I'm not)
-1/2 c. Sweetener
-A Pitcher or something to put it in that will hold 2 - 3 quarts (mine pictured is 2.75 quarts)
-A Strainer
-Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
-Water, ice, and a glass

First, combine 1/4 c dried lavender and 2 c. water into a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let brew for 10 minutes. Bonus: your house will smell like Avignon in late spring.

Meanwhile, mix the lemon juice, sweetener, and about 1 quart of water (or a combination of water and ice) in your pitcher.

When the lavender has brewed for 10 minutes, pour it through the strainer into your pitcher, and mix well.

In a glass, add 1 oz. Domaine de Canton and ice, then fill the glass with your lavender lemonade. Mix, then drink.

So delicious.

How to Throw a Mad Men Party, Part 3 of 4: Menu

The menu for our Mad Men party was a mix of old and new. While some 60's party foods are still considered delicious, let's face it: not many people look at a shredded chicken and Jello salad these days and think to themselves, "Let's dig in!" So, I didn't think any of our guests would mind if we broke with the period and threw in a few modern snacks as well.

Drinks

My handsome husband was daring enough to volunteer to be the party's bartender for the evening. Since neither of us have experience with cocktails, we picked out six for our drink menu, from which the guests could all choose. I have to say, he did an excellent job and all the drinks were delicious!

I printed out the menu and we kept it at the bar for our guests. I used this font, to give it a retro feel. We also printed out a recipe list and instructions for each drink, so my husband would be able to mix them for us. This was our menu:

1. Old Fashioned: bourbon served on the rocks with muddled cherry, orange and Angostura bitters
2. Manhattan: Rye Whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters
3. Gin Martini: Gin and vermouth, garnished with an olive
4. Chocolate Martini: Godiva chocolate liqueur, creme de cacao, Vanilla vodka, and cream
5. Gin Fizz: Gin, sweetened lemon juice, and sparkling water

We also included several varieties of beer and soda (including Heineken, placed in a silver ice bowl on the dining table as a nod to Betty's "Trip Around the World" party).

Food

Our Mad Men themed snacks included:

• Cheese and Grape Kebobs
• Several single serving sized bags of Utz potato chips and Mixed Nuts (Placed beside each other with an "Utz is better than Nuts!" sign)
• Jello salad - just Strawberry Jello, canned pineapple chunks and walnuts, presented on a bed of lettuce
• Candy Cigarettes

To round out the food, we had meatballs, quiche, fruit, veggies, hummus, crackers, and four types of dessert verrines.

Everything was a big hit, except for the Jello salad (and I didn't expect it to be eaten, to be honest - it was more for decoration).

Good Drink

Know what makes an excellent mixer? SoBe lifewater. It's incredibly yummy all by itself (every flavor I have tried so far, although Acai Fruit Punch is most excellent with Vanilla Vodka).

I used to be a die-hard diet soda drinker. Seriously, I was an addict. I was finally able to kick the habit last year after reading Anticancer, A New Way of Life, a phenomenal book about proven ways to minimize your risk of getting cancer. It seriously should be required reading for all humans. Cancer is no joke.

Not only does SoBe lifewater taste great, the sweetener used in it is a naturally derived antioxidant.

And did I mention it's a great mixer?