It’s a time of merry making and JANE HUTTON is celebrating the season of bountiful produce available for feasting.
THE sun is blazing down, the sky is a cloudless azure, nature is going bananas, and my garden produce needs daily harvesting – this can mean only one thing; summer! To make it extra special we are celebrating Reconnect’s 50th issue! The wonderful (and irritating) thing about our quirky English climate is its ability to produce a heatwave of Saharan proportions, hailstones the size of birds’ eggs, and enough rain to float a battleship, all in the space of a week. Whether it rains or shines during our 50th issue summer season in August and September, we’ll be celebrating fifty fabulous issues of articles covering events, food, health, eco news, local economy, sustainability, initiatives, projects, and so much more. Celebrating is a central theme in food and health, of course: cakes, feasts, treats, and tipples, eating and drinking are a natural part of the joy and community, the social gathering, that occasions and celebrations entail. A summer celebration is such an incredibly easy one with the huge amount of fresh, seasonal produce available for feasting on. For me, one of the best things about summer, and always the focus of a spectacular dessert, is the proliferation of different berries any of us can grow in our back garden. I love the season of soft fruit, and it’s coming in abundantly now. With the first bowlful of fresh raspberries from my garden, all the way through the summer, that heavenly sweet, yet softly tangy, burst of flavour has been worth waiting for since last summer. I’m lucky enough to have blueberries and blackcurrants too, as well as wild Alpine strawberries all over my garden, weaving in and out of the other plants. But the raspberries – they are my favourite. So why are my fresh raspberries such a health blessing? Like all brightly coloured foods, they’re excellent sources of antioxidants and phytonutrients. Raspberries, though, provide them in significant amounts for protecting against inflammation, helping lower the risk of diseases associated with chronic oxidative stress and inflammation, like obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and atherosclerosis. The ellagic acid content has also been found to counter inflammation particular to Crohn’s disease, making them a soothingly enjoyable treat for sufferers. Piled on a pavlova, or just fresh with a little vanilla scented cream, raspberries feel celebratory and endlessly summery. As you can see from this issue’s recipe, they also make a wonderful drink. You don’t need alcohol to have something that tastes and feels special, but it can certainly be topped up with champagne….. Happy celebrating!
Lip-smacking raspberry lemonade
BEAUTIFUL just on their own (and needing nothing else), raspberries are perfect for any celebration dessert, and a drop or two of rosewater enhances the fl avour incredibly, as does this luscious lemonade. Top up with fi zz for a proper celebration drink! Raspberry Lemonade (makes about 4 long summery glasses) 200g raspberries 9 unwaxed lemons, zested and juiced 220g caster sugar 1.5 litres of boiling water ice cubes to serve Reserve a few of the raspberries to garnish the glasses, and put the rest in a blender, add enough water to cover and puree. You could do this in a jug with a hand blender if you like. Mix the lemon juice, zest, sugar and pureed raspberries with the boiling water. Leave to cool, then sieve into a large jug. Gently press the pulp to extract all the liquid. Pour into glasses and garnish with the remaining raspberries. Serve over ice if desired, or store in the fridge to chill fi rst if you don’t wish to dilute the lovely lemony raspberry fl avours!