This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
"That's awfully nice raspberry cordial, Anne,' she said. 'I didn't know raspberry cordial was so nice."
Yes, it's no wonder Anne's friend, Diane, likes the drink so much. She is actually lugging down glass after glass of homemade currant wine. Whoops.
Anne of Green Gables cannot help but get herself into scrapes. Whether it be serving her friend alcohol instead of cordial and unintentionally getting her drunk, rigging up her Sunday hat with buttercups or confessing to being responsible for Marilla's lost amethyst brooch, it is no wonder she once commented: "Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"
Anne grew up without her mother and father and was passed around from pillar to post including an orphanage until she settled, accidentally, with brother and sister Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of Green Gables. Anne, with her bright red hair, has a wonderful view on everything surrounding her. She observes beauty in everything and, if on those occasions she does struggle to find the beauty, she imagines it instead.
She chatters constantly but people cannot help warming to her. She is oddly and uniquely wonderful.
I'm rather embarrassed to say that I came to Anne of Green Gables as an adult rather than a child. But it is one of those wonderful novels that can be enjoyed by any age group.
To make the raspberry cordial:
- Mix 500g of fresh or frozen raspberries with 500g caster sugar in a saucepan.
- Add three tablespoons of red wine vinegar.
- Heat it gently on the stove whilst mashing it with a potato masher.
- Once it is gloopy and thick then press through a sieve to remove the seeds.
- Add a little water (about 400ml) to swish out the saucepan and to pour over the raspberry pulp in the sieve in order to get as much taste as possible.
- Pour the strained liquid back into the saucepan and bring to the boil for two minutes.
- Pour into a sterilised bottle and store in the fridge for up to four weeks.
- Serve with water and ice, prosecco – or even make into ice lollies! The possibilities are endless.