It’s berry picking season.  There is nothing better than strolling to the wild vines at the back of our property and plucking fresh, warm, untainted berries from their spiky perch.  Except maybe, the lemonade one can make with those berries.  It will never cease to amaze me how excited the kiddos get about going out to pluck a handful of fresh berries or climb the tree after cherries.  I don’t even mind the purple and red stained hands.

The photo is our fresh pitcher of berry lemonade made just moments ago and already teetering on the edge of emptiness again.  This batch was made with blackberries and raspberries which had gotten a little soft over the last couple days.

Our children especially love the sugar crystals around the rim… its simple to achieve.  We keep our glasses in the freezer door so they are always icy-cold.  I simply dipped the rim right into our canister holding Wholesome Sweeteners Organic (Fair Trade, mind you) Evaporated Cane Sugar.  Mmmmm…

Here’s the lemonade recipe, which is of course Raw… see eating Raw isn’t hard at all.

Organic Berry Lemonade 2 quarts

1 cup berries of choice

1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)

1 cup Raw honey,  Raw agave or cane sugar (each will provide a slightly different flavor)

6 1/2 cups cold, filtered, tap water

Allow berries to sit out to get a little warm and mushy/juicy.  Once they are nice and squishy, place in the bottom of your pitcher.  Take a wooden spoon and squash them up.  Add lemon juice and keep squashing.  Add your honey and water.  Mix well.  Enjoy!