southern sweet tea

The secrets of true Southern sweet tea had always eluded me. That is, until I married my dear husband. About three months into our marriage, my mother-in-law - north Georgia mountain native - unlocked the vault and let me in on the precious southern secret.

And here I am, sharing it with you! I feel kinda like that dog on the Bush's baked beans commercial, wanting to sell the family secret. But its not really like that at all. If you asked her this afternoon, I'm sure she would be happy to share it with you.  :)

A few things before we enter the "vault":

First, I can only make this tea in one gallon batches. Its the way the recipe was given, and no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to half or double (or any other fraction or multiple) this recipe.

Next, my mother-in-law will tell you that you have to use the Luzianne brand (and I do recommend this). But if you are like me, trying to save pennies by buying the store brand, it will get you by.

Ok, here's the list you'll need to get together:

tea kettle, or small pot
water
4 family sized tea bags
1 cup sugar
a one gallon pitcher
more water
a spoon for stirring


Fill your tea kettle with COLD water, and bring to a boil. Get your tea bags ready while you are waiting. You need 4 family sized bags for one gallon of sweet tea.

Also, while waiting, get your gallon pitcher out, and go ahead and pour your sugar into the bottom. A note about the sugar - feel free to exaggerate the one cup - a heaping cup will do you well. I always scoop in a cup, and then go back for a little bit more just for good measure. Maybe it would be more like a cup and a quarter. Feel free to add more or less to your liking.

Once the water has boiled, remove the kettle from the heat, and place the tea bags right inside. Allow them to steep for 15 minutes.

You can now remove your tea bags from the kettle, squeezing as much tea from them as you can with a spoon. Be careful, though....it will still be hot!

Now, pour the concentrated tea into your pitcher. Stir gently while the water is still hot in order to dissolve all of the sugar. Once your sugar is dissolved, you can now add the rest of the water - enough to make one gallon. Continue stirring until well combined.

If you plan on enjoying your sweet tea soon, you can add some ice to the water you are pouring in to help cool the hot tea down. That way when you add ice to your glass, it won't water your deliciousness down so much because it will already be cold.

You are now ready to enjoy! Get yourself a tall glass of ice, maybe some mint leaves or lemon slices, and pour you a glass.



Now that is some sweet southern goodness. Sigh!

strawberries

What a cute little fruit strawberries are!

This time of year they are always on sale... and always delicious! While enjoying some at breakfast, I decided that I just had to blog about them. So, here are seven of my thoughts about strawberries:

1. A favorite breakfast of mine is a side of bacon, a slice of oatnut toast with butter, and a big ole pile of sliced strawberries! Something about the way the textures and flavors compliment each other....I don't know. But try it, I'm sure you'll agree!

2. This year I am going to try growing my own strawberries in a container on our patio. I never have tried before, so this should be interesting. But aren't the little blooms they have are so adorable!?! More on this as the summer progresses!

 

solitary strawberry bloom

3. My Papa had a favorite dessert, and I must say it competes for my top three (I just don't think I could commit to saying any one of them was my absolute favorite, because the next time I had another of the three, I would be changing my mind - I just can't decide!!). Anyways, its a version of strawberry shortcake. A post coming on it soon, detailing how to prepare such wonderfulness. In the meantime, its my grannie's recipe for pound cake, covered in sweetened strawberries and vanilla ice cream. (Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my chin....ahem).



4. I saw this idea on Martha Stewart for these adorable little strawberry pincushions ages ago. Maybe one day I will get around to making one or two. Get the how-to here. Let me know how they turn out!

5. I learned this little idea from my Pampered Chef consulting days - slice up a bunch of strawberries and put them in a pitcher of water and give 'em a stir. Very Kool-Aid like. No sugar even needed! You might want to strain it before pouring, but not completely necessary.

6. My mom uses an egg slicer to slice them. They come out so perfect and with such little effort! My mom is so clever!

7. And how could you talk about strawberries without mentioning that sweet little childhood icon, Strawberry Shortcake? Who else grew up scratching and sniffing her stickers and wanting to be her?

What about you? Any strawberry inspirations??