30 Days of [Blank] - Day 5 - Your Liver needs a Break!

I decided that for the 5th day of my 30 Days of Beverages, our overworked livers could use a day of reprieve...a little break...a little time to gear up for what's coming next. So, today's drink is one the whole family can enjoy! A rated G beverage, what more could you ask for? What? What's that you say? You say today is cocktail day? Well, for those who still want a little sumpin', sumpin' in your beverage, I'll give you a twist at the end....so hang in there a few more minutes!

I'm a fan of The Pioneer Woman and she recently launched a new site called Tasty Kitchen where readers can contribute recipes. Readers can comment and review recipes as well. I went surfing the site last night in search of today's treat. I found a recipe for Summer Sweet Raspberry Lemonade that sounded irresistible....so here it is!

I pureed some of these, but the frozen variety, with sugar and water....

Then I pushed the puree through a sieve to get rid of the raspberry seeds...

While that was dripping along...literally...

Look how incredibly smooth this sauce comes out - I will be making this portion of the recipe as a cheesecake topping, ice cream topping, brownie topping, etc soon!!!

I made a simple syrup (I wasn't going to post this photo because my pots are so old and ugly, but I guess that just shows you can make yummy stuff in old pots!)

I added the simple syrup to the raspberry sauce and some lemons I juiced (I decided to spare you from another day with a photo of a lemon being cut and juiced. You're welcome.) And I added the rest of the water.....and here's what I ended up with - Pure Bliss - and for those who really wanted a cocktail? Add a shot of vodka per 8 oz of lemonade and I think you'll be happy as a clam. =) Cheers!

Summer Sweet Raspberry Lemonade

from joythebaker at Tasty Kitchen

For the Raspberry Sauce

6 oz frozen raspberries

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon water

For the Lemonade

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

4 cups cold water

1/4 cup Raspberry Sauce

For the Raspberry Sauce:

Place the thawed raspberries in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Add sugar and water and mix until the raspberries form a smooth puree. Transfer raspberry puree to a fine mesh strainer fit over a bowl. Press the puree through the strainer, until only the raspberry seeds and a bit of pulp remain the the strainer, and a beautiful raspberry sauce is all that’s in the bowl.

For the Lemonade:

Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.

While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.

Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Add the prepared raspberry sauce and stir to combine. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.

Serve over ice.

You’ll have extra raspberry sauce, save it for your next ice cream sundae or next batch of lemonade!