Fresh Raspberry Lemonade

I prepared this recipe with Blackberry Margaritas (along with an apple-strawberry wine, a blueberry wine, and a key lime wine) for beverages, Baked Black Beans with Chorizo, Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos, and Strawberry-Avocado Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips for appetizers, Flank Steak Tacos with Cabbage Slaw and Chimichurri Halibut Tacos with Grilled Pineapple-Avocado Salsa for the main course, and Blueberry Crisp with nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt for dessert for our first Finer Things Book Club meeting ~ they were all a hit!

 
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups water, divided
2 cups fresh raspberries
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 1 orange)
1 3/4 cups fresh lemon juice (about 13 medium lemons)
16 ounces sparkling water, chilled

Preparation:
1. Combine sugar and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature.
2. Combine remaining 1 1/4 cups water and raspberries in a blender; pulse 10 times or until well blended. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a large pitcher; discard solids. Add orange juice, lemon juice, sparkling water, and cooled syrup to pitcher; stir to combine. Serve immediately over ice.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 115
Fat: 0.3g
Saturated fat: 0.0g
Monounsaturated fat: 0.0g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.2g
Protein: 0.8g
Carbohydrate: 30g
Fiber: 0.5g
Cholesterol: 0.0mg
Iron: 0.4mg
Sodium: 15mg
Calcium: 21mg