I am terrible at ‘relaxing’, in the traditional sense. The thought of sitting around doing ‘nothing’ is almost dread inspiring. Give me a 10kg bucket of Davidson Plums to de-seed, a garden to weed, or paddocks to mow any day! However, I do appreciate that perhaps being busy all the time is not the most health conducive approach to life. So I have found a way for my body and mind to accept ‘relaxing’ . I pretend I am on a holiday. Literally. And on holidays I read books and drink these rosella nojitos… you should give it a go.

Rosella and lime nojito

Take a tall glass and place 2- 3 tablespoons of rosella syrup at the base (recipe below). Feel the glass with ice.

Muddle a few wedges of lime and a handful of mint and add to glass.

Top with soda water, gently so that the rosella syrup sits at the bottom - it looks pretty and makes it fun to stir (it is the small things, right?).

Serve with a stirring stick.

Relax and pretend you are on a holiday.

Rosella syrup

1.5kg de-seeded rosella flowers

2L water

2kg raw sugar

1. Place all ingredients in a large pan and heat, and heat gently, stirring to dissolve the sugar

2. Bring to a simmer and reduce by a 1/3 volume

3. Strain and bottle into sterilised hot bottles

4. Make a yummy mocktail to celebrate the fact you have worked hard and should have a rest…