This Sweet Tea Recipe is a Must with Authentic BBQ!

A sweet tea recipe (a.k.a. southern sweet tea), and unsweetened iced tea are ubiquitous beverages for an authentic bbq meal. It would seem relatively simple to make a glass of tea, but with the influx of automatic brewing machines, and yes, tea from a soda machine, the quality is being lost.

Thankfully it is easy to make, and cheap! It's all about letting the iced tea steep, making sure the water is not too hot, mixing in the sugar while the tea is hot, and cooling it down before you add ice, so the tea strength remains strong enough. Here we go:

Recipe:

• Makes 1.25 gallons
• 3 oz. iced tea packets, such as Lipton
• 1 qt. sugar
• Bring 8 cups of water to a boil.
• Turn off heat and let the water cool to approximately 180 degrees.

Direction:

1. Add tea bags, and let steep for 5 minutes. Remove bags from water using a slotted spoon or strainer and let bags drain.
2. Add 1 quart of sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add cold water or ice cubes (they will melt and dilute as well as cool down at the same time) to make 1.25 gallons.

This magical southern "crack" will hold for 1 day, after that it will become stale and bitter.

Green Superfood Smoothie Drink

A foodie blogger that I've followed for awhile now has always ranted and raved about this stuff called Amazing Grass Green Superfood smoothie. She claims and it just makes me feel amazing, gives her tons of energy, etc etc. She posted pictures of herself drinking this bright green looking toxic water and I thought she was crazy. A cup of good coffee makes me feeling amazing, gives me tons of energy, etc...No green necessary.

This weekend B and I were talking about being healthy (keyword: talking about...while on our way to a pasta filled dinner) and these "green products" came up. Not Al Gore green but green as in...the color. I picked up the Chocolate Amazing Grass Green Superfood smoothie yesterday, bought a blender at Target and spent the night making smoothies. It took a few tries to get the proportions right but this stuff...is delicious. I'm hooked. If it's as good for you as everyone claims, I'll gladly drink my large Tervis full everyday. I used 1 frozen banana (hint: let them get fairly brown on the counter before freezing, the banana flavor is stronger when you blend it up than if you use a fresh banana), 2 big tablespoons of peanut butter, a big scoop of green powder, 1 cup of crushed ice, 1/2 a cup or so of fat free milk. I'm hooked! I'll let you know how I feel after drinking it for about a week.