Today I have Carolina In My Mind.
If you haven’t figured out by now, I listen to lots of music. I listen to music when I work, when I run or do yoga, in the car, on the train and when I just need to relax. It’s rubbed off on Miss A too. She sings constantly, and I do mean constantly. She sings everything from Adele to Ozzy Osbourne. I’m fairly certain she knows the words to more popular music than she does children songs (and she knows lots of those too).
Music for me defines certain moments in my life, represents different journeys and is often a direct extension of many of my inner most thoughts and feelings. Recently, Mike and I were able to venture on a little journey of our own. While the kids were off having a great time with Nana and Papa, Mike and I took a mid-week road trip to North Carolina. 
Neither of us had ever stayed in the tar heel state before, and we were both looking forward to the drive and the destination. As we ambled our way around North Carolina we came across an area where we could access the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail is approximately 2,184 miles extending from Mount Katahdin, Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia. It passes through 14 different states and has been on my list of things to do since I was 18. While not hiking the AT on this particular trip, just standing on it gave me quite a thrill. 
Eventually Mike and I wound up in Asheville, North Carolina at the Tupelo Honey Cafe. One glance at the menu and we knew we picked the perfect spot. While nearly everything on the menu looked fantastic, the first thing that grabbed my attention was the Rosemary Peach Lemonade. Rosemary in lemonade? I knew I had to give it a try and after one sip, I was blown away. The flavors are intense – peaches, lemons and of course, rosemary which brought such a refreshing crispness to the perfect summer drink. It instantly got my wheels spinning…how could I make this at home? I mean now that I had experienced this drink I knew I couldn’t wait until our next trip to North Carolina, especially not knowing when that would be! 
Fortunately, in scanning my Cooking Light issue for the month of June I came across a recipe for Peach Lemonade. I took this as a sign, so today we bring you our first recipe from North Carolina, a nod to the Tupelo Honey Cafe, Rosemary Peach Lemonade. We started by making a simple syrup infused with rosemary. 
The sugar is dissolved in water, and the syrup and left to simmer with the rosemary sprigs for 15 to 20 minutes. We then strained the syrup and discarded the rosemary, leaving the liquid to chill. 
Next we began to prepare the peach juice. We combined peaches, water and sugar in a saucepan, brought it to a boil and then simmered it for five minutes. 
We let the peaches stand for a few more minutes without any heat and then carefully poured the hot juice into the blender. 
We removed the center of the blender, placed a towel over the lid and blended until smooth. We then poured the juice into a large bowl and placed it in the refrigerator to chill. In the meantime, Miss A took care of juicing the lemons. Put your muscles into it girl! Woo! 
After a few hours, and preschool, it was time to strain the peach juice. We poured the juice through a sieve, pressing out the solids to extract as much juice as possible. 
Then finally it was time to mix our three components, the peach juice, lemon juice and rosemary syrup. (The kitchen smelled fabulous by the way.) 
We poured our rosemary peach lemonade over ice in glass which we lined with some red-colored sugar. The kids were super excited about that! 
Miss A even asked in utter bewilderment, “I get to eat the sugar?” And Mr. N gave an “Oh, does that look good!” 
After a few sips, the kids conferred with one another. 
For Miss A, this was an instant hit. Four spoons. 
Mr. N needed a bit more before rendering his vote. (He takes his critiques very seriously.) 
And the final vote was, four spoons. Definitely four spoons. 
The rosemary peach lemonade was a big hit with Mike and I as well. Four spoons each. I’m not sure that it tasted exactly like the Tupelo Honey Cafe’s version, but they are the experts after all. That said, it sure was fantastically refreshing, at least as good as my memory and certainly brought Carolina In My Mind. 
And while I don’t have any immediate plans to tackle the AT, it’s certainly still on my list of things to do, and this refreshing drink will help to keep it in my sights. I wonder what music I’ll bring along for that journey! By the way, Mr. N says he’ll be joining me. Now that would be a journey of a lifetime! 🙂 
For all those in the Northern Hemisphere, I hope you’re enjoying the first weekend of the summer season. I know we certainly are, afterall with these two, 
it’s always a journey of some kind. Cheers!
Print this recipe: Rosemary Peach Lemonade
Eat, Play, Love 
love the kiddos..!! and your way of narration just takes us there:):)
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Oh yes, this sounds just wonderful. Would it be wrong to add a smidgen of gin to it? For the grownups only, of course 😉
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I HAVE to try this. I made a basil & mint lemonade last year that was amazing, and I’d love to try a version with rosemary. Yum!
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Your kids are so adorable!! And I’ve never mixed rosemary and peach in lemonade. Sounds naturally sweet and delicious!
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Local peaches should be at the farmers market pretty soon and my rosemary is growing, wouldn’t be long when I can make this drink. Thanks for sharing.
We have 88.4 miles of the Appalachian trail running through NYS.
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Hey.. a mother and daughter sing along is always a great thing :). And was I gone long, or has Mr. N and Miss A got taller and older on me? They better not have.. I can’t miss them growing up :). I missed you guys.. seriously I have. Glad to be back with my blog family which is you 🙂
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You know Kay, I think they have grown up a bit recently. 🙂 Time flies with these two. Missed you too! Welcome back!
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What a great post, Kristy! I’ve never heard of peach lemonade and infusing it with rosemary sounds really tasty. Your kids are adorable — and my Zia concurs. I brought and showed her the cookbook. She loved it and marveled about your kids’ in the kitchen. 🙂
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We (Mike and I) are both so flattered John. Zia has become something of a legend to us through your blog. 🙂
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Still haven’t made it to North Carolina for pleasure (only for work, and in the confinement of offices and rental car, blah). LOVE the peach lemonade. Cute pictures of the kiddos.
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That’s so nice you and Mike were able to go on a trip, just the two of you. Sounds like you had a blast! Love the photos. I don’t think I’ve been to North Carolina–just South (we have a place out there). This lemonade sounds amazing! The proof is in the smiles of Mr. N and Miss A. 😉 Also–congrats on getting your photo featured on Food Porn Daily today!! x
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That sounds delicious! I went to The Tupelo Honey Cafe once, and it was amazing! (Love the song too :))
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Their peach lemonade (and the rest of their food) sure didn’t disappoint! 🙂
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Isn’t it comforting to know that many things (including JT”s voice) get better with age?
Thanks for another beautiful blog. I must try the tea. Check out my recent blog about the berry patch! 😉
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I love your picture of the steam coming off the blender. Really nice!
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This is so cute! What a perfect summer drink!
Sadly where I live it’s raining. I will have to hold off on the cold drinks. But only for a while 😉
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Four spoons, from both?? Then it has to be awesome! Love their smiles, Kristy – you’ve got some cute kiddos.
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My daughter and I had the pleasure of drinking some of Tupelo Honey’s Peach Rosemary Lemonade when we attended a bread festival in Asheville and it was delicious. Thanks for sharing your version. Can’t wait to try it.
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It’s down right amazing isn’t it?! I couldn’t believe how refreshing it was. I’d still take Tupelo’s version over this, but we came close. 🙂
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The lemonade looks so refreshing! It’s supposed to be 32 Celsius here today, so I may need to make this recipe right away!
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Your highly rated lemonade certainly put smiles on little faces so it must be great.
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I just loved your last line Kristy, it is always a journey of some kind with kids and the more you venture into it, the more precious it becomes.
I am pinning this to try as soon as peaches come in here, I can imagine how refreshingly amazing this must be
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I’ll have to shoot you a note. I thought of you the other day! 🙂
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Wow, Kritsty. Really beautiful photos!
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So glad to hear you and Mike had some alone time. Looks like a fantastic road trip. I’ve never been to the Carolina’s, I’ll have to add that to my list of places to visit. Great your kids love a wide variety of music. Love jammin to music in my kitchen with my kiddo’s! Makes life so beautiful.
I wish I would have saw this recipe the other day, I could have made it for our family get together yesterday! I will definitely print this recipe out. I love the idea of using infused rosemary sugar syrup! Brilliant idea! Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
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What wonderful photos! I can definitely see from the smiles on those faces that the 4 Spoons is a genuine reflection of a great recipe. I’m glad to see how you prepared it…lots of steps, but this would be a treat. And I would just love to be on the Appalachian Trail, even if just to touch it 🙂
My children have very broad tastes in their music because they were also raised in a home where they listened to “my” music. It’s delightful for me to think that Miss A has a musical soul! She’ll also have years of enjoyment. Lovely family post, Kristy. I so enjoy seeing those beautiful faces! Debra
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I like that Debra…a musical soul. 🙂
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Hi Kristy!
Love the drink. Looks amazing!
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We’re big fans of music in this family too. My husband wired up our backyard — now we have those speakers that look like rocks to belt out the tunes for us. (I’m sure our neighbours just love us.) Anyway, this looks like the perfect summer drink. I have to say that I’m impressed that both Miss A and Mr N were okay with the rosemary flavour. I haven’t been able to get the girls to eat anything with Rosemary in it. (Such cute photos as well!.)
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I knew we had more in common than food and shoes Kristy! I love music too. When we did our Reno it was one of the must haves to wire the main floor with a central sound system; even out tiny powder room has music (we call it the sound pod). We’ve even got speakers outside at both the cocktail lounge and the dining area! I love it too.
I’m definitely bookmarking this for a friend who doesn’t drink alcohol, they are coming over to celebrate their wedding anniversary in July, and I wanted a special beverage for her.
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Meant to mention that we’re in New York City so I may not be as quick to comment.
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I totally want to do that in our house and on our patio too. Right now just one room is wired and it’s not nearly enough. 🙂
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I give this post 5 spoons! Beautifully done and what a fantastic lemonade recipe.
🙂 Mandy
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Looks like your little ones enjoyed them alot! Therye so cute
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Kristy, I am totally going to make this!! I cut this out of Cooking Light the other week. I am going to make an adult version though :). Lemonade with rosemary is just amazing…I am a closet bartender, and that is a completely winning combination. Nice job!!
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Oh! I’d love to see your adult version. 🙂
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Refreshing! I give it 4 spoons. 😀
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What a great post Kristy. Rosemary peach lemonade would have definitely caught my attention as well and you’ve done such a good job capturing the character of this drink through your beautiful photos… I particularly like the one of the hot juice in the blender with the steam rolling off the top. And of course Mr. N and Miss A enjoying their drinks in the brilliant light of the outdoors. (I’m on my third listen of James Taylor… a classic for sure ;-)).
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One of his songs is also our wedding song. Something in the Way She Moves. I think you would really like this recipe Kelly. 🙂
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I understand what you mean my friend – music says everything words cannot 🙂
Gorgeous looking drink as well!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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Lovely post! I share something with you… I used to listen to this song in Brazil, when I spoke no English, understood a few words here and there, but still sang the song according to my understanding… It is interesting to listen to it again decades later, and all of a sudden the words have full meaning!
what an unexpected great gift this post meant to me!
thank you!
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OH! I’m so glad Sally. Isn’t it amazing what music can do. 🙂
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What a wonderful post Kristy – beautiful photos as always… I loved them all. Fabulous story as well and the drink sounds positively delectable. Peaches are just coming in here. I bought some today… a bit sharp and tasteless still so needs another month or so and then I can give this a try – definitely adding this to my list of things to try! Thanks so much for sharing.
Definitely agree with you about music too. My father’s not a fan at all. He once said he could live without any music. Me however – I appreciate silence, sure, but I really think that there’s music for every mood and time. Smooth jazz at 7pm, classics at night-time, oh and Rammstein when there’s cleaning to be done!
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I think I already mentioned on your blog – but that’s a great LEGO video. (Even if I don’t understand the words.) And fantastic music for cleaning. Oh the dreaded cleaning. 😉
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That lemonade looks so very refreshing. I too had never thought of infusing lemonade with some rosemary. I would love to try this. Miss A will have great sized biceps if she keeps squeezing all those lemons!
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She already puts mine to shame. The little thing can lift her body weight! 🙂
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