Farewell, Summer.

I made an OFFICIAL icy cold get the hell out of here, Summer, drink yesterday. I walked outside and says to the summer heat, I says, "This is the last time I'm celebrating you, pal. You can't occupy every single month. Time to go. Get off my lawn." We'll see what happens.

This recipe came about yesterday after I'd decided I was going to make some homemade lemonade. I am not a big lemonade drinker, but my life companion, Matt, is. I originally set out to make blueberry lemonade, but I couldn't find blueberries at the grocery because I didn't look very hard, so I settled for raspberries, and they worked beautifully. I added ginger ale at the last minute to my buggy, because I like fizzy things and I also have a grocery shopping problem.

You'll need sugar and water to make simple syrup, lemons, 6 oz. of raspberries, and ginger ale. Also a fine mesh strainer. If you don't already have one of these, I'd recommend taking the FMS plunge. I've used mine 4x since I got it less than 2 weeks ago. UPDATE: Just said "Damn, mesh, you fine!" out loud and rammed my leg into a chair, so it is with a heavy heart and bruised knee that I continue this post.

Start by heating 2/3 cup sugar + 1 cup water over medium heat. Dissolve the sugar, then remove from heat and allow to just chill out while you gut your lemons.

Go ahead and juice 1+1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice (for me, that was 10 lemons). Use your FMS to remove seedsies and pulpsies.

Do you have one of these small blenders? They're for, like, sportsball athletes who make protein shakes on-the-go or for girls like me who are trying to puree just a handful of berries. Only one or the other, though. It literally won't turn on if you're using it for any other purpose. You can, of course, use any size blender to totally obliterate your berries.

Run that raspberry puree through your FMS. You'll need a spoon this time to help the juices out.

In a pitcher combine your simple syrup, lemon juice, and strained raspberry juice. Allow to sit in fridge for about 30 minutes to cool.

Once it has cooled, or you've decided to quit waiting, pour some ice in a glass, fill it 3/4 with raspberry lemonade, and top with ginger ale. Drop (or throw from a distance) a couple of berries on top.

The perfect late summer afternoon beverage. If you're feeling fun as heck, you could splash in some Pimm's or vodka. What a treat! Hope you make this tasty bev!