lemon verbena lemonade?

[GardenFan]

In this months GYO the editor mentions "lemon verbena lemonade", any ideas on a recipe for this?

[FoxHillGardener]

Pinched the following from http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/alotriphylla.htm

Chop just half a cup of fresh lemon verbena leaves and put in a jar. Add 4 cups of vodka and let sit covered for two weeks, shaking every once in a while. After two weeks, add 2 cups of sugar and shake to dissolve. Let THAT sit for two weeks. Strain out the leaves, bottle the gloriously fragrant, delicious liqueur and either add it to desserts, or seltzer. If you REALLY want to drink it straight, I suggest doing that by the THIMBLEFUL!!!! It honestly tastes JUST the way fresh Lemon Verbena leaves smell.

And a non-alcoholic one from here http://www.epicurious.com/drinking/d...s/views/233581

LEMON VERBENA SODA
This refreshing, slightly sweet soda is one of several kinds that Erin O'Shea, sommelier at Clio, in Boston, pairs with chef Ken Oringer's exciting food as part of the restaurant's nonalcoholic drink program.

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
10 fresh leaves lemon verbena
4 cups chilled club soda or seltzer In heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together water and sugar until sugar dissolves. Simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and add lemon verbena. Let steep 10 minutes, then strain. Fill 4 tall glasses with ice. Divide syrup among them, pour in club soda, stir, and serve.

Serves 4.

Shall be trying those myself

[nick the grief]

..........exciting food as part of the restaurant's nonalcoholic drink program.

Is there such a beast as exciting nonalchoholic I remember a plaque that used to hang in my uncles pub

" A teetotaller is someone who suffer there thirst rather than enjoys it "

[GardenFan]

I like the sound of both, thanks FHG for digging these up (excuse the pun).

[GardenFan]

I made a bottle of soda using this as my basis, when I did it I forgot the recipe so did it from memory and it was a bit ad-hoc and based around both recipes

3 cups (mug size) of water
2 cups (mug size) of sugar
big bunch of lemon verbena

Add sugar and water to pan and boil until disolved, add lemon verbena and keep stiring until reduced to quarter. Take off heat and fish out lemon verbna and add to a bottle (watch your fingers) then pour syryp into bottle and cap.

Store for a few weeks some place dark and cool and keep shaking it every now again. After that it's ready to use and you can at this point either.

Add vodka and repeat storeage and shake for two more weeks or use stright away adding to soda and ice.

[Marge]

can you use lemon balm instead?