The Do's and Dont's of Making Raspberry Syrup

So I went out and bought a bunch of healthy food. Of course I had to get some berries! I wanted to try that soaking them in vinegar water to make them last longer thing. So I did, only we don't have paper towels (bc I hate buying them). And the trick is to get the berries completely dry before putting them in the air tight container...well that just couldn't be done with the raspberries. I ended up with a soggy pile of berries that were already turning into mush. [Next time I will soak the strawberries and raspberries seperately and have paper towels] 

Since I already had raspberry mush I decided I'd try and make raspberry syrup for my lemonade!

So I took my raspberries and really turned them to mush with a spoon.

Next I made simple syrup with 1/2 a cup of sugar and a whole cup of hot water. Then added in the raspberry mush and stirred it all up. [Next time I will try only using a half a cup of hot water to make the syrup stronger]

And here's where it got experimental. (I suggest using a mesh strainer, this will make this process very quick for you). I on the other hand had to strain a couple different ways. All of the big chunks were floating on top so I skimmed my spoon over the top to get some of it out. Then I put a vegetable steamer over a glass and poured the mixture through which got most of the mush part out.

Then I poked holes into coffee filters and fastened them to a glass. This took forever. I ended up having to stand there and poke new and bigger holes with a straight pin because the seeds would get caught. Over all this took me about an hour haha. And I ended up with a little over a cup of Raspberry Syrup.

I also tried to make a little filter pouch, but the mush was too heavy and this ended up being very messy.

To sum it all up DON'T do it my way and DO do it with the correct tools. Either way you'll get some yummy syrup to put in your lemonade or other drinks!

The Bennett Garden : Stage 1 & 2

I have wanted a garden for years now. These last two years we attempted it but the first year we started too late and last Summer was so hot it faught to keep my few plants in containers alive. This year we are doing it right!

I made my DIY seed starters about two weeks ago. I tried leaving them outside and I think they got too cold so I did a second round about a week ago and have them in the window in my craft room and taking them outside on nice days.

{You can find the How To for my DIY Biodegradable Seed Starters here.

Thankfully my Mom works at Home Depot who was having a Black Friday in April sale and we got our 15 landscaping timbers for $25! We then went back and bought a bunch of Miracle Grow Garden Soil, Top Soil and Cow Manure on sale as well. So far we have just put everything where it's supposed to be. Phillip is going to bolt everything down Tuesday and I'm going to start tilling up the land today. Here's some pictures of our progress so far!

I marked the bed with sticks so we wouldn't have to remeasure everytime we moved them.

We picked these head board pieces down the road from our house on a walk one day. We got the idea to possibly use them at the end of the bed. We are going to make a fence around the garden to keep Houdini out (he loves fruits and veggies!)

[While Phillip was home on his break we discussed the fence some more: I really want to be able to lean over the edge and work; with a fence I wouldn't be able to do that. So I think we are going to try it without the fence, at least till the plants mature. I'm thinking the edging will be enough to keep him out...at least till they start bearing fruit.]

Next step : Till the ground and add in our Garden Soil, Top Soil and Manure. This is going to be a feat because we are doing it by hand. But we love a good challenge and I believe the more love and hard work you put into the ground the better your garden will be. Well I'm off to start tearing up some dirt! See you guys soon!

It's a Start!

Tonight was soo GOOD! After Phillip got home we spent the evening outside enjoying the lovely weather. While he was at work I went and got the 1"x8' wooden planks we needed and as soon as we got home we went to work! He mowed the grass while I nailed the planks to the railing of our porch and strung the lights across the awning of the house using a cool lil cheat I found at thefamilyhandyman.com, clothes pins go right into the vinyl up there. After he mowed the yard we strung the lights together; and then he built a fire while I painted the planks each a color of a rainbow. Then we ate pizza around the fire and soaked in the cool night and our lighting success before coming inside to watch some Supernatural and go to bed. This weekend has been productive and inspired: my heart is full :)