Sanctuary, Rose and Watercolors
Yesterday, my husband delighted me with an afternoon spritz while I was watercoloring. It was so refreshing and effervescently uplifting that I wanted to share the recipe with you. After all, we’re heading into summer and we all need a little libation now and then. I love to sip something while I paint — it silences that inner editor/critic that is always telling me what a lousy artist I am.
Our long tourist season in Naples is over and we’re back to that delicious time of year that we don’t need reservations to get into restaurants and it doesn’t take long traffic light change cycles to get through an intersection. I love spring. Baby bunnies jumping around in my back yard, little ducklings waddling frantically after their mamas toward the lake. New beginnings everywhere.
Commence with daytime, weekend concoctions!
Philip made a lavender lemonade with rosé wine and a touch of soda. To start, he zested several lemons into a bowl of sugar and dried lavender seeds, massaging it all together to release the oils. Adding water and stirring it all into a small sauce pan, he heated it until the sugar dissolved into a syrup and then cooled the mixture down and mixed it with fresh-squeezed lemon juice. The nectar of the gods? I’m thinking yes. The smell in my kitchen had my mouth watering.
In a tall, ice filled glass he poured a measure of the lemon lavender syrup, some chilled rosé Provençal and then topped it off with a quick pour of sparking water. A little stir and a little sip brought a smile to both of our lips. Poetic and heavenly.
There is something to be said for an alchemically-oriented partner — especially one that uses beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks and test tubes for mixing. Am I kidding? No. If you know Philip, you are laughing. Dude loves his chemistry equipment. I am surely the only woman I know with scientific tools for measuring liquids in my kitchen cupboards. I am not complaining, however. What is produced there is nothing short of divine.
So what did I paint, you might be wondering? A spring iris. Will I show it to you? No. It’s terrible. I think I need another spritz.
With love and gratitude,
Lisa
PS: Here’s the original recipe, but Philip tells me he cut the water in half to bring out the flavors.