Well, August is well and truly underway, and all I want to do is sit on the patio drinking lemonade and making art. Luckily, I do get to do this pretty frequently. And I got to thinking, why have I never made my own lemonade before? I am a serial lemon purchaser and use them for pretty much everything else.
So I set out to remedy this, but I didn’t want to make something boring. That’s kind of a regular problem with me. I needed to make it ~*~jazzy~*~.
Enter the raspberries. No ordinary berries, mind you – I had a bowl of small wild berries that I had picked myself from a wild patch of scrub at the edge of the woods. I had intended to use them for topping desserts, but frankly they were too small to look striking.
The recipe that I’ve shared with you here makes two glasses of lemonade. I only wanted to make a small batch, so that’s what all the proportions are for. But you can simply double or triple the recipe as you like it.
And for a fun extra twist: use sparkling water!
Also, did you know that raspberries are a member of the rose family? I think this is funny only because I originally wanted to make rose-infused lemonade (I’ve had it at a cafe I love in Toronto) but I couldn’t find any rosewater when I was out. I guess this sort of counts, right?
Raspberry Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 cup water (still or sparkling)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup raspberries
- 1 juiced lemon
- ice
Instructions
Juice one lemon, catching all the seeds, and put this into a jar or measuring cup for mixing.
Using a small food processor, blend the raspberries (adding a tablespoon or so of additional water to help this process). Then strain the liquid into the jar, catching the seeds in a sieve. If you don't have a small mixer, you could use a mortar and pestle to break up the berries. It'll just be messier.
Add the sugar and water and then stir or shake to combine.
Add plenty of ice to two glasses, and pour the lemonade overtop. Garnish with fresh lemon slices or mint leaves, if desired.
