Shades of Red

My mom used to say that red looked good on me and when I was a kid I was drowning under cherry-color clothes: socks, jumpers and even hair pins.
Maybe this is why even today I instantly fall in love with anything that has even the slightest hint of pink or red. Strawberries, raspberries, cherries. But also cranberries, the Red Velvet Cake, poinsettias and that old FIAT 500 that drives around San Francisco with a California plate. Up to the LV Neverfull bag with roses and the HP mini notebook designed by Vivienne Tam (these last two luxuries are a recent discovery that a temptress friend pointed out to me. I still have to convince myself that one can live without them... : )

You'll find raspberry vinegar quite often here, used as a condiment for salads. To be honest I like it thousands times better than any other kind of creamy dressing of ambiguous colors. Its gorgeous color and sweetish taste go very well both with a simple mixed greens-arugula salad and with fancier creations like the watermelon-feta mix or those yummy salads with caramelized nuts and goat cheese.
When I realized this vinegar is very easy to make on your own, I didn't think twice. I'm a sucker for these recipes-non-recipes. And you know what, now that I think of it I'll even create a new category for them. Recipe-non-recipe: minimum labour, maximum satisfaction : )
And then, don't you go crazy for this color as well?


Raspberry Vinegar
for approximately 1 liter

white wine vinegar 1 liter
raspberries 2 packages
pink or black peppercorns to taste

Choose ripe but firm raspberries, wash them carefully and pat them really dry. Mix them with the vinegar and few peppercorns if you wish. Put in a container and let rest for one month in a cool place. Stir every 3 or 4 days, to mix the fruit better.
When it's ready, strain, discard the raspberries and pour in a bottle.