Rose Petal & Prosecco Punch

When it comes to drinks, be they hot or cold, alcoholic or not, I'm pretty much a straight-up kind of a girl.  As far as hot beverages go, I'll drink coffee (either a flat white or a short black, depending on my mood at the time), green tea, or some kind of fruit or herbal infusion.  When it comes to a non-alcoholic, cold beverage, tap water is my tipple of choice - fruit juices and sodas generally don't appeal.  And in the alcohol department, I would normally opt for a glass of wine, a gin & tonic, or a blizzardly cold beer on a hot day.  Cocktails don't particularly interest me, though I can on occasion be tempted by a margarita or a martini.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, our theme is "Raise Your Glass", sharing and posting the Donna Hay beverage of our choice.  Whilst I know that there are many of you out there who are always looking to try out a new beverage or tipple, I have to admit that in any new cookbook the drinks section is usually the one I skip right over.  So I really agonised this week over what to share with you, but with romance in the air this week and Valentines Day just passed, this pretty Rose Petal & Prosesso Punch from the Donna Hay 10th Birthday Collector's Edition magazine seemed like a natural choice.  This was refreshing & lovely and would be perfect for a summer celebration.

Rose Petal & Prosecco Punch Recipe

Adapted from recipe by Donna Hay

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup rosewater

1/2 cup gin

2 cups prosecco (or other sparkling wine)

2 cups soda water

To serve:

ice cubes

pink rose petals (make sure you use spray-free roses)

Put sugar, water and rosewater into a small saucepan.  Set over low heat and stir constantly until sugar has dissolved.  Increase heat, bring to a boil, and continue to boil for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened and syrupy.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

Put plenty of ice into a large jug.  Add the rosewater syrup, gin, prosecco and soda water.  Stir to combine, and top with the rose petals.

If you would like to get to know Donna Hay a little better, and to see all the fabulous dishes my friends have come up with, then do go visit I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links.

I will also be submitting this post to Sweet New Zealand.  Inspired by Alessandra Zecchini, and hosted this month by Frances at Bake Club, Sweet New Zealand is an event for all Kiwi bloggers (whether living at home or abroad), or all foreign bloggers living in New Zealand, to link up their sweet treats.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely Michelle at Ms. enPlace, Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollam.