Garden Goodness Hydrating Drinks
Shrubs
- fruits
- veggies
- berries
- herbs
Water Infusions
- herbs
- orchard fruits
- citrus
- berries
- lemon
- lime
- orange, and/or grapefruit zest and/or freshly-squeezed juice
- whole cinnamon sticks
- whole vanilla bean (split open the beans)
- whole cloves
- culinary lavender (fresh or dried – great in lemonade)
- basil leaves
- ginger root (peeled and cut into rounds or coarsely chopped)
- mint leaves (I usually keep a bottle in my refrigerator for making Mint Juleps an Mojitos during the summer)
- rosemary sprigs
- fresh eucalyptus
- peppercorns
- chili peppers (fresh or dried)
- rose water – substitute some of the water with rose water (make sure you use food-grade rose water that is ok for consumption, some are not)
- any sort of fruit or berry (fresh or frozen)
- green tea (substitute prepared green tea for the water)
- Add the flavoring (of your choice) to water or simple syrup, once the water and sugar are done boiling and removed from the heat source. Let sit approximately 20 to 30 minutes to infuse the Simple Syrup. Using a wire mesh strainer, strain out the flavoring before using or storing. Some people like to simmer their flavorings when the sugar and water boils.
Sun Teas
- black
- green
- chamomile
- peppermint
Juicing & Fruit Drinks
- berries
- apple juice
- ginger
- tomato juice
- grapefruit
- cherry
- grape
- Pineapple
Tomato-Based Vegetable Blend
This should yield approximately 8 pints of juice.
- 10 or 11 pounds of tomatoes (so around 30 medium-sized fruits)
- 1/4 cup diced raw carrots
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- Bottled lemon juice Recipe Source
Simple Syrups
While syrup is hot, put into your jars and water bath for 5 minutes. Make sure the water in the Water Bath is at least an 2 inches over the jar and start the timing process when the water is boiling. You can do this in pints or quarts. Source
- lemonade
- green tea
- spritzer with lemongrass
- pineapple puree
- basil
- lime
- mint
- concentrates
Sterilized Pure Filtered, Naturally Flavored and Mineral Water
- Keep already previously used lids and reuse them for canning water – if the seal doesn’t hold during canning, it is no real loss and can simply be run back through on the next load with a new lid. Source
- If you need to open jars and pour out the water because you need the jar, remember your plants. Source
- Good first aid for washing out cuts and sores since it is sterile.
- Shake the water well before drinking as this re-aerates the water. Source
- Add 2-4 drops of pure edible essential oils – lemon, lime, tangerine, orange, grapefruit, peppermint, bergamot or others.
- Mineral Water – add an 1/8 of a tsp of essential minerals and pink salt.
- Instead of storing the empty jar in a shed or box, use the clean empty jar to can some water and place it back on the shelf where it sat with the food item. This keeps the jar clean until time for its next use and presents you with the potential for canned water should you need it. Source
- For empty space in the canner while canning something else, fill the empty spaces with jars of water. This helps to keep all of the other jars upright and the bonus is a canned jar/s of water at the end. Source
BluebirdPantry.org 