I’m all for a cold beer or cider in the evening, but it’s nice to have some alternatives around when you’re simply thirsty and looking for something other than water! The easiest by far is to stick a few teabags in a jar and put it in the sun (along with some fresh mint if you have it) and stick it in the fridge when it looks dark enough, about 8 hours or so for me. Mint iced tea! It’s easy enough.
Another biiiig fave in our house, though I don’t make it often, is Lemon/Mint Punch. It takes a bit of prep, but as it’s a concentrate it take little fridge space, or even better you can freeze it in ice cube trays and just use a few cubes at a time. Recipe after the jump …
Lemon/Mint Punch
- 2 c. sugar (i subbed in about half maple syrup)
- 2 1/2 c. water
- juice of 6 lemons
- zest of one orange
- juice of 2 oranges (i subbed grapefruit!)
- 1 c. fresh mint.
Boil the sugar and water together for 5 min to make a simple syrup. Take off the heat, add the rest of the ingredients, and cover. Let cool for one hour, then strain and chill.
To serve, mix 1/3 c. of syrup in an 8oz glass, and fill with crushed ice and water. Enjoy, and find yourself wishing you’d made a double batch!
The simple syrup is good as a base for any flavored concentrate, you can add any kind of citrus/herb/tea combo you want while it’s cooling, and end up with a concentrated flavor base that stores well, keeps well, and tastes great!
I have a honey-bourbon lemonade receipe I’ve never tried that looks great, if you want me to dig it up just holler. What are your favorite cold summer drinks?