ADVENTURES IN SODA STREAM

      ALL NATURAL SODA-STREAM SYRUPS

We decided to buy a Soda Stream.  Really not supposed to drink soda - mostly cola - but thought this would be a much healthier alternative as we could choose all natural flavors and I found some great recipes for syrups made with fruits, herbs and natural sweeteners.  We ordered the machine from Amazon and within a week we'd tried the sample pack of flavors that came with the unit along with some flavors we'd concocted on our own.  I ordered some cucumber/mint no calorie flavoring and I decided it was time to try some of the recipes that I had gleaned off the internet and put on Pinterest; not to mention a book I had purchased for my Kindle.

1st Recipe - Berry Basil Syrup

The hubby had purchased some beautiful berries at Sprouts.  Juicy strawberries, plump blueberries and some ripe raspberries.  I took about 3 cups of strawberries that I had hulled and sliced and boiled them in a saucepan with the washed berries, 1 cups of water, ½ tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 cups of raw cane sugar and some fresh basil leaves.

I brought the mixture to a boil over high heat then reduced the heat and let them mixture simmer and I stirred to make sure the sugar was dissolved.  After cooking 10 minutes making sure the berries were soft, I then muddled the fruit and herb mixture and let that simmer for another 5 minutes.

 I then had to strain the mixture through a strainer to extract all the juice.  The recipe said to thro the mashed berry mixture away but I am saving it to mix with some quinoa or other grain for a delicious breakfast.  

    Strained juice mixed with berry-basil syrup is delicious!  Not too sweet and oh so refreshing!!!  The basil is subtle and the berry syrup not too sweet.  

After bottling up the Berry Basil Syrup I started on the next recipe.

2nd Recipe - Ginger Syrup

This began by slicing up some fresh ginger root into thin slices and added that to 2 cups of water and a cup of granulated sugar.    As the mixture boiled over a high heat I whisked in ¾ tablespoon of ground ginger to give it some added ginger flavor.  The heat was then reduced so the mixture could simmer and cook down until the the syrup is reduced by ½.  After boiling it was strained and put into a bottle and labeled to mix with the soda for some dry, refreshing ginger ale.