As winter slowly moves into spring, the weather in Melbourne goes topsy turvy. Yesterday was so warm and sunny I was wearing a teeshirt and sandals. This morning I’m rugged up in pyjamas and a dressing gown, listening to the rain pouring outside. That’s change of season time in Melbourne – and I love it!
Last week I celebrated the last nights of winter by visiting the Queen Victoria Winter Night Market. I was pretty excited as there were so many new food stalls and some of them had food I could eat!
I started with dessert because it’s one of the safest food groups 🙂 for me due to my allergies and sensitivities. (Also the queue was short and I had a feeling it would get longer.) I wasn’t disappointed with my huge serve of apple crumble with granola topping served with custard and ice cream.
I wasn’t really looking for a drink but a stall selling hot buttered lemonade caught my eye.
Butter in lemonade? I just had to try it. It was as I suspected – fresh lemonade mixed with butter and a surprise hint of cinnamon and it was divine. The butter added a creamy element to the drink and helped balance the sweet acidity of the lemons. I loved that it was served hot. Excited at the new food on offer I continued my culinary journey.
As I wandered the food stalls I stopped and drooled at one serving polenta. A mound of soft, piping hot polenta was just waiting to be scooped up and topped with a choice of delicious accompaniments. My mouth watered as I wondered if any of the toppings had chilli or tomato. And then I saw them; fried polenta chips. My choice was made and my order quickly placed. As I bit into the crispy crust I was rewarded with a mouthful of that soft, creamy polenta. The dipping sauce of lemon myrtle mayonnaise paired beautifully with my buttered lemonade. It was a wonderful way to enjoy the last of our winter nights.
I couldn’t get the hot buttered lemonade out of my mind so I just had to make some myself. I decided to make another one of my favourite lemonades – pink lemonade – and then turn it into a hot buttered lemonade. The recipe below makes about 3 cups of lemonade so you can have some cold and some hot – just like Melbourne weather!
Pink Lemonade
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups water
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed ruby grapefruit juice
Instructions
Place the sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan.
Heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat. Set aside.
Pour the remaining 1 + 1/2 cups water, lemon juice and cranberry juice into a jug.
Stir in the sugar syrup.
Place in the refrigerator and chill before serving.
Buttered Pink Lemonade
Ingredients
1 teaspoon butter (or to taste)*
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup Pink Lemonade
Instructions
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Add the cinnamon stick and juice.
Stir until the juice is cloudy and hot.
Pour into a mug or heatproof glass.
*my drink was quite buttery so you may want to experiment with the amount of butter and tailor it to your taste 🙂
Are you sure this shouldn’t be named for that delicate, sensitive and all-around example of diplomacy The Princess Pinky? As in Princess Pinky’s Hot Buttered Pink Lemonade? I do believe this would be a big hit in more sophisticated locations such as San Diego, Atlanta, and Seattle. Sadly, I might have to hit up my grad school cohort or former bellydancer sorts to share a picture in my current location. GSO can be full of stubborn eaters. It makes me crazy; I’m desperate for decent sashimi, Japanese food in general or Thai. What the locals do to fresh fish here should be punishable by cooking lessons; however, they are about the best community as a whole I have ever met. So many kind, honest, and generous people. Thank you for your inspiration; I can’t wait until it cools down to enjoy this drink! 🌸🐼💖
BSL, the hostest at my residence, wonders if this is something that could be served “with” or “without”? No hurry, but any thoughts. You are such a Blessing. 💞
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Well I did have Pinky in mind when I made this drink. I think she would enjoy it with some Pink Lemonade Cuppycakes 🙂
I love “punishable by cooking lessons” – I know a few eating places here that need that punishment!
Please tell the lovely BSL that she can play around with the recipe as she likes.
You can serve it hot without the butter.
You can make it less sweet too by changing the sugar syrup recipe. For sugar syrup you need to heat equal parts water to sugars so you can experiment with different sugars too.
For cool days you can add sparkling or mineral water for a refreshing spritz.
Love to you and BSL 🙂
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I always get so hungry reading your posts! I have never heard of polenta chips, but they sound good! The buttery lemonade does not strike me as too strange — we eat seafood with butter and lemon — it is a great combination. In winter I love a hot lemonade with honey 🙂 Can’t wait to try these recipes 🙂
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You can’t go wrong with deep fried cornmeal porridge! I’ve tried making baked polenta chips (or fries) but after tasting the market ones I’m going to deep fry them next time. I’ll definitely post my recipe if it works.
I love warm lemonade too. Can’t wait to try it with honey 🙂
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Hot lemonade and honey was something I tried years ago for sore throats. But it tastes good, you do not need to be sick to drink it!
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I look forward to your recipe for deep fried polenta chips. Have a lovely day.
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You too Candy 🙂
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The sound of fried polenta chips has my mouth watering washed down with buttered pink lemonade my kind of meal yum.
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I thought of you when I saw the polenta stall 🙂
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ahhh I didn’t try dessert at all when I went there last week because there were just too many foods… I ended up so being full LOL… might need to go there again 😉
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I was so full I couldn’t try the cheese fondue which looked delicious. I might have to go back too 🙂
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