And the heat wave rolls on. Rumor has it that tomorrow we're going to cool way down to a high of 70 degrees. To say I'm excited about that prospect would be an understatement. In the meantime, I have parked myself in front of our tower fan. Luckily, today there is a bit of a breeze, so we're getting some nice crosswinds through the house, as all the windows are wide-open.
As I type this post, my fingers smell like lemons, as I just finished squeezing a whole bunch of 'em to make a cooling batch of lemonade. But this refreshing lemon beverage features more than just citrus fruit. As I was wandering the aisles of our local natural foods store this morning, I spied some locally-grown raspberries, and I couldn't resist picking up a couple of half-pints. To up the ante even higher, each glass of raspberry lemonade is finished with sparkling water to add a little fizz. If you want to kick it up even another notch, spiking your sparkling raspberry lemonade with a little champagne, tequila, or vodka would be an excellent idea. Since I still have an afternoon of work to get through, I'll wait until later this evening to give the adult version a whirl. :)
Sparkling Raspberry Lemonade (printer-friendly version)
makes about one quart
For the simple syrup:
1 cup filtered water
1 cup raw sugar
For the lemonade:
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (I used 10 lemons)
1 cup (about 1 half-pint) fresh raspberries, pureed
4-5 cups filtered water
sparkling water
fresh mint leaves
additional fresh raspberries, for garnish
1. Combine the water and sugar in a small sauce pot. Heat over medium-high heat. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved in the water. Remove from the heat and let cool.
2. Press the pureed raspberries through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl to remove the solids.
3. Stir together the lemon juice, cooled simple syrup, and raspberry juice in a large pitcher. Add in enough water to achieve the sweetness you prefer.
4. Pour the lemonade into each ice-filled glass until they are 2/3 - 3/4 full. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with fresh raspberries and fresh mint leaves.
makes about one quart
For the simple syrup:
1 cup filtered water
1 cup raw sugar
For the lemonade:
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (I used 10 lemons)
1 cup (about 1 half-pint) fresh raspberries, pureed
4-5 cups filtered water
sparkling water
fresh mint leaves
additional fresh raspberries, for garnish
1. Combine the water and sugar in a small sauce pot. Heat over medium-high heat. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved in the water. Remove from the heat and let cool.
2. Press the pureed raspberries through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl to remove the solids.
3. Stir together the lemon juice, cooled simple syrup, and raspberry juice in a large pitcher. Add in enough water to achieve the sweetness you prefer.
4. Pour the lemonade into each ice-filled glass until they are 2/3 - 3/4 full. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with fresh raspberries and fresh mint leaves.
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