If you came to my door right now you might think that I’ve been having a fantastically lazy day. This would be based on the fact that I am still in my pajamas and it is nearing one o’clock. However, being in my pajamas in the afternoon is more likely a result of a productivity “super” day. Am I the only one that sometimes gets going on a project and keeps moving on to the next while the momentum is good? Stopping to shower and get dressed would just slow me down. I can do that before dinner (I hope).

Today, after unpacking from our latest adventures and getting laundry going, it was Raspberries I threw myself into. Raspberry butter, Raspberry-Almond Frangipane, Raspberry Crostata, Home-made Marinara (not raspberries but it was part of the cooking madness so I had to include it) and Raspberry Cordial were all made before noon today.

My Raspberry Crostata with Frangipane turned out hideously ugly. That didn’t stop the girls and I from diving into it as soon as it was cool enough to try. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. It was amazing! We did, at least leave the majority to enjoy with Andy tonight:

But you’re here for the Raspberry Cordial. So let me get to it. Even the name is delicious. After the girls and I went Raspberry picking earlier this week, I went looking for new recipes to try. I came across several professing to be old fashioned Raspberry Cordial, such as that in “Anne of Green Gables”  but they were all very different. So I modified. Trinity will be reading the book later this year but by then raspberries will be out of season. You have to strike while the iron is hot, so to speak. We’ll enjoy this now and reminisce about it when we read the book.

I perused many recipes but most seemed more like a Raspberry Simple Syrup. I wanted something ready to serve rather than a syrupy concoction you later add water to. I found one by Tori Avey that had far less sugar. Some recipes call for mashing the berries, some do not. I wanted every last possible bit of raspberry goodness to infuse the sugar water mixture, so I mashed. After sitting for 24 hours, my raspberries had given up most of their color (juicy goodness).

Serve this to the young readers in your life. Give some away as a summer gift. Add it to lemonade, make it bubbly by adding club soda, or make it grown up by adding a splash of Raspberry Rum, Limoncello, Whipped (or regular) Vodka…The possibilities seem endless. 😀

Raspberry Cordial

• 4 cups fresh raspberries
• 6 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar (I did not use organic sugar with this as I did not want the gorgeous color to be made cloudy by any color the sugar might add)
• juice of half a lemon

Mash the raspberries in a large bowl.

Combine water and sugar over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Stir to ensure the sugar is dissolved, then pour over the berries. Squeeze half of a lemon over the mixture and stir to combine.

Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Strain mixture through a sieve in several batches, gently pressing on the berries to ensure you get all the juice – but do not press the berry solids through the sieve. Discard solids. Place several layers of cheesecloth in the sieve and strain again. This will get the finer particles that slipped through from pressing on the berries and give you a final product that is more clear. There may still be some very fine particles that settle to the bottom when you are finished.

Serve chilled straight, slightly watered down or try any of the above recommendations. If you come up with your own fun way to use it, please let me know. 😀

Our first round was served in my grandmother’s small cordial glasses. The girls felt VERY grown up. It’s as delicious as it is pretty!