Summer Iced Tea

Iced tea is another thing I love about summer!  Oh, and a grammar lesson for you--it's iced tea, not ice tea.  Tea that is iced.  Like iced coffee.  Look it up.  Don't worry; I still love you.  :)

Here's something else you may not have known.  I'm not a teetotaler.  I may drink a glass of wine, or a mixed drink, simply for the pleasure of it.

Honor the Lord from your wealth

And from the first of all your produce;

So your barns will be filled with plenty

And your vats will overflow with new wine.

My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord

Or loathe His reproof,

Proverbs 3:9-11 NASB

Okay, that's just a snippet.  God has given us all things to enjoy, and this is one of them.  While I'm not going to defend my stance here (though I'll happily share with you my beliefs), I'm simply going to share a recipe I developed.

Just one more thing.  If you come to my house and I offer you iced tea, don't worry.  It's not spiked.  Because I love you.  :)

Here's the recipe.

Summer Iced Tea
Yield:  One half-gallon pitcher of summertime refreshment.

4 cups cold filtered water
6 tea bags (I use 4 black + 2 flavored, peach or cherry or something fruity)
1/4 to 1/3 cup cane juice crystals (or white sugar)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup triple sec

In a medium covered saucepan, bring the water to a boil.  Once it boils, turn it down to a simmer, place the tea bags in the water, put the lid back on, and simmer 15 minutes.

At the end of the 15 minutes, remove the tea bags, gently squeezing the excess tea out of each and back into the saucepan.  Stir in the sugar until dissolved.  This mixture is your tea concentrate.

To a half-gallon pitcher, add enough ice to fill about 2/3 full (don't worry about being exact here).  Now add the lime juice and triple sec to the saucepan, give it a quick stir, and carefully pour this tea mixture into the pitcher over the ice.  Using a spoon that fits into the pitcher, stir the iced tea to mix everything well.  Much of the ice will melt; that's okay, since the tea was in concentrate form.

You can pour the iced tea immediately into a glass and enjoy.  Keeps in the fridge, though I can't tell you how long it should last since our half-gallon pitcher is usually done in two or three days!  There is very little alcohol in this; it's just a beautifully flavored summertime drink.

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,

And vegetation for the labor of man,

So that he may bring forth food from the earth,

And wine which makes man’s heart glad,

So that he may make his face glisten with oil,

And food which sustains man’s heart.

The trees of the Lord drink their fill,

The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,

Psalm 104:14-16 NASB

Back to life,
Christine

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