Herbal Soda and Lemonade

Use any fresh garden herbs to flavor soda and lemonade. Try basil, thyme, lemon verbena, tarragon, rosemary, and mint. I also tried fresh stevia leaves, and they were very good! A little herby around the edges, but very nice.

First make an infusion with the herb of your choice. Simply put the herb into a container of hot water as you would to make tea. I used three large basil leaves, three branches of thyme, about four inches of rosemary, for one cup of water. Let steep for one minute and then start tasting by sipping a bit cooled in a teaspoon. Flavors can get strong fast, and you don't want them to get bitter. Remove the herbs when the flavor is to the strength you prefer, then refrigerate the infusion until it is cold.

To make herbal soda, fill a glass with ice and add the infusion until the glass is half full. Then fill the remainder of the glass with sparkling water. Sweeten to taste.

To make herbal lemonade, fill a glass with ice and add the infusion until the glass is half full. Then fill the remainder of the glass with still or sparking water, and add lemon juice and sweetener to taste.

Garnish the glass with a bit of the herb.

To sweetene both beverages, my first could would be to use stevia as the sweetener, also an herb. But I also think honey and agave would both be great.