Favorite Berry Punch

Early August. Heat. The pot rack is finished. I delivered it to Caleb and Miriam's new house Saturday morning. Six feet of black iron, hand-forged hooks, suspended on chains from ceiling joists. I installed it myself with Caleb holding the level. Miriam came in from the bedroom while we were tightening the chains. She stood in the kitchen doorway and put her hand to her mouth. She said: this is the most beautiful gift. I said: it's a pot rack. She said: it's art. Caleb said: it is art. I said: hang your pots on it. She did. The pots went up. The kitchen filled in. The new house started becoming theirs.

Sunday Hannah and I sat on the porch and read. Hannah is reading a book on indigenous food sovereignty by an author from Mexico. I am reading a book Lily gave me last year that I had not finished — a history of the Cherokee Nation in the twentieth century. The book is dense. I am taking it slow. The reading was on my list of didn't-do last year. I am doing it this year, finally.

The cohort fall registration closed. Eight slots. Henry is in. Two new returners from prior cohorts who want intermediate work. Five new students. The roster is set. Class starts the first week of September.

Wednesday I drove to Tahlequah for the Cherokee Nation's annual employee gathering — a kind of staff appreciation event the cultural center hosts in August. I am not technically an employee but I am close enough that they invited me. I went. Hannah came with me. We ate. We talked to people. Linda Walkingstick brought me a copy of the memory project catalog. The exhibit had closed in late June and the catalog was the documentation of it. My name was on the cover. I had not known. Hannah said: that's your book. I said: it's not my book. She said: your name is on it. I said: it's Linda's book. The arguing went nowhere. I have a book on the kitchen counter now with my name on the cover. The world keeps changing.

After Saturday morning — watching Miriam’s face when those pots went up, the kitchen finally filling in — I wanted something to mark the week that didn’t require turning on the oven in August heat. This berry punch is what I keep coming back to for moments like that: big enough to share, cold enough for early August, and simple enough that making it feels like a small exhale. It’s the kind of thing I’d bring to a new house, or set out on the porch on a Sunday afternoon while someone finishes a chapter.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 10 min | Servings: 14

Ingredients

1 (12 oz) can frozen raspberry lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 (12 oz) can frozen cranberry juice concentrate, thawed
2 liters ginger ale, chilled
1 liter lemon-lime soda, chilled
1 pint raspberry sherbet
2 cups fresh or frozen mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
Ice, as needed
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Combine concentrates. In a large punch bowl, stir together the thawed raspberry lemonade concentrate and cranberry juice concentrate until fully combined.
Add the sodas. Slowly pour in the ginger ale and lemon-lime soda, tilting the bowl slightly if needed to preserve carbonation. Stir gently once or twice.
Add sherbet. Scoop the raspberry sherbet in large spoonfuls directly into the punch bowl. It will slowly melt into the punch, adding creaminess and color — don’t stir it in fully; let it float.
Add berries and ice. Scatter the fresh or frozen mixed berries across the surface. Add ice as needed to keep the punch cold without over-diluting.
Garnish and serve. Tuck in a few sprigs of fresh mint if using. Serve immediately with a ladle.

Nutrition (per serving)

Favorite Berry Punch — The New House Finally Feels Like Theirs