Ugh. It has been so nasty gross out. A four day heat wave, and no, not just hot hot days, but those gross, hot hot with all the humidity in the world, kind of days. My body has rebelled and turned into a slug and my hair… well let's not talk about my hair.
Yup, it's been way to freaking hot to do anything, especially cook. And eating food is't even especially appealing either (living off raw kale and, yes, lots of tomatoes at the moment) . What we all want is to drink something nice and cold and refreshing (and boozy). And what do I do when I want this, and have a lot of that? I turn that into this. That being tomatoes, and this, being a cold drink. Did that confuse you?
What I am trying to say is that I have a butt load of cherry tomatoes to eat but what I really want is a cold drink. So I took the tomatoes and make them into a lemonade. And it is amazing. It hits all the end of summer, super gross heatwave, I don't want to move, spots that needed to be hit. And just in time for the weekend sow e get to add a little splash or two of something hard, cause we all know that after this past week, we all deserve it.
Think that combination sounds weird? Well don't cause lemons and tomatoes are perfectly paired together. Tart and tangy, but still with a bit of sweetness from the tomatoes ( especially if using a sweeter variety like the sun-gold). It really is a great, refreshing drink, with or without the booze. A perfect match!
Tomato lemonade here we go!
The stuff. Tomatoes ( I used sun-gold cherry cause I have a buttload, but you can sure use whatever tomato you have to many of), lemons, water, and if your into it vodka.
Note. The mr. and I are not big on sweet drinks, so I didn't add any sweetener, the tomatoes being sweet enough. But feel free to add a little sugar or honey to yours.
Start by dumping tomatoes into a pot with water. Stick on high heat and bring to boil, then turn heat to medium low,stick a lid on pot, and let tomatoes simmer for a little while.
About 30 ish minutes later, the tomatoes have reduced to about 1/3 of what you started with and have turned into a a chunky like syrup.
Strain the juice from the solids into a big pitcher.
Tomato juice! and it's so pretty bright gold. Now let it cool far a little bit.
And while juice is cooling, juice your lemons
When the tomato juice is cooled off, add the lemon juice to the tomato.
Add water and stir
Taste, and if you think it need sweetener, by all means, add a drizzle or two of some honey or spoonful of sugar.
A couple of glasses of ice, and if you shall,, a shot of vodka (add the shot to the glass, not the pitcher)
Me being so fancy added a garnish/snack. Basil leaf and cherry tomato skewer looks so nice.
And sit back, put your feet up. and take it all in.
Weekend here we come!
-C
Tomato Lemonade with or Without Some Booze
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes (can use 2 cups of any tomato)
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice (4-5 lemons)
- 1 cup water plus 3 1/2 -4 cups water
- a few basil leaves and extra tomatoes for garnish (optional)
Note. I did not add any sweetener to my lemonade but you could totally add in a few tablespoons honey or sugar. Do what floats your boat.
Dump tomatoes into a pot with 1 cup of water. Bring to boil then cover and turn heat to a medium low heat. Cook tomatoes down for about 30 minutes or until the tomatoes have reduced about 1/3 and is almost sauce like.
Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the tomato mixture into pitcher or jug that you can serve your drinks from. Use a wood spoon or spatula to scrap the tomato around strainer to really make sure you get all the juicy goodness. Let tomato juice cool.
While cooling, juice lemons until you get a cup of fresh lemon juice. Add lemon juice to cool tomato juice along with 3 1/2 cups water. Mix and taste. If you think it needs a little sweetener, add a little in. If you think it tastes to strong, add in more water.
Good stir, ice in cups, a 2-3oz shot of vodka per 8-12oz cup of lemonade (the ratio is up to you my friend)… and your sitting pretty. Feeling a little fancy, take a basil leaf and wrap around a cherry tomato. Stab it with a tooth pick and garnish your drink. It ames for anise snack too.
Sit back, sip and enjoy.