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
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Juice one lemon, catching all the seeds, and put this into a jar or measuring cup for mixing.
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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.
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Add the sugar and water and then stir or shake to combine.
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Add plenty of ice to two glasses, and pour the lemonade overtop. Garnish with fresh lemon slices or mint leaves, if desired.
