Strawberry, Lemon & Mint Infused Water

In keeping with our strawberry theme this week, I thought I would share with you a yummy alternative to soda for your summer parties.  It's very easy to make and looks pretty too!  It's great to serve at a get-together with your friends or to keep in the fridge to sip on throughout the day.

Ingredients:

The following worked well for me.  Feel free to adjust amounts depending on your pitcher size and personal preferences.

• 6 Medium Sized Strawberries, Sliced
• 1/2 of a Lemon, Sliced
• 4 Mint Leaves, Torn
• Water (you can also use sparkling water if you prefer)
• Ice (optional)

Instructions:

1. Place strawberries, lemon and mint in a pitcher.

2. Add water (and ice if you are using it) to fill up your pitcher.

3. Serve and enjoy!

That's the end of our strawberry-themed week. I hope you enjoyed it! In case you missed them, take a look at our Hello Summer Strawberry Cake and our refreshing Strawberry Popsicle and Prosecco Drink. Enjoy the weekend!

Strawberry Popsicles + Prosecco = A Refreshing Summer Drink!

Next up in my week of strawberry themed posts is a refreshing adult drink perfect for your summer parties (change the straw color to blue, and you've got a great drink for a Fourth of July celebration). It's a bit unexpected as you don't normally put popsicles in your prosecco, but it is really refreshing and gives your prosecco a yummy strawberry flavor. It also has the added benefit of keeping your drink cool longer.

There are a couple of ways to enjoy this drink. You can wait to drink this until the popsicle has melted all the way. Or, like I did it, drink some, then eat some of the popsicle, then drink some more, and so on. The bubbles mixed with the fresh strawberry taste makes a great combination. This works well with any sparkling wine or even sparkling water (for those who don't want to drink alcohol or for the kids).

The best thing is they are so easy to make:

1. Puree strawberries and freeze them in a popsicle mold for a minimum of 6 hours. I replaced the popsicle sticks with straws before freezing. 

2. Place the frozen popsicles in a glass and pour prosecco over them.

3. Serve immediately and enjoy! 

I promise your guests will enjoy this, especially on a hot summer day. Or just make it as a treat for yourself!

Sweet Mondays: A Hello Summer Strawberry Cake

Summer is officially here! My family and I picked our own strawberries at a farm this weekend. We enjoyed talking to the other pickers and sharing recipes. We had so much fun that by the time we knew it, we had a big boxful!

Since we had so many strawberries, I made a few things with them that I'll be sharing with you this week. First up is this cake that I made to bring to a summer BBQ. It is a strawberry cake, from scratch, that uses strawberry puree in the batter.  The frosting is a strawberry buttercream, also made with fresh strawberry puree, and as my friend said, it tasted "amazing".

I wish I could take credit for the recipe, but I can't.  I used this recipe and followed it pretty closely. The only changes I made were to add a layer of strawberries in between the cake layers, and to add a strawberry "flower" on top of the cake. I also made a "Hello Summer" cake topper to tie it to the summer theme and to make my cake a little less ordinary.

I highly recommend trying the recipe. It really does taste as good as it looks. 

Coming soon: Strawberry Popsicles with Prosecco!