Citrus Mint Iced Tea

For about the 100th time, I'm trying to kick the diet Coke habit.  This time it's going surprisingly well.  { Guess it helps to start when you're not feeling well and already taking medicine so that the withdrawal headache doesn't come back to bite you. }

But with limiting myself to just one can of diet Coke a day... I've been getting bored with water.  And with as warm as it's been, I took Saturday as the perfect opportunity to test out an iced tea recipe I've been mulling over. Last spring, I was at a shower and they served a fabulous citrus mint iced tea.  I've been trying to recreate it ever since, and I think this is it!

Citrus Mint Iced Tea

Yield - One Gallon

Three tea bags (I used Lipton decaffeinated)
1 lemon (or lemon juice)
1 lime (or lime juice)
1 cup granulated sugar (although I used Splenda)
Fresh mint springs (I used two about 3-4 inches long, plus additional for garnish)

• Fill a 2-cup measuring cup with water, add tea bags, and microwave on high for 3 minutes.
• Remove measuring cup from microwave and remove tea bags.  Add mint springs and replace tea bags.  The tea bags should hold the mint beneath the surface of the liquid.
• Allow tea and mint to steep at least 10 minutes.
• While tea is steeping, pour sugar into pitcher or other container.  Add hot tap water and stir, dissolving sugar.
• When tea is finished steeping, pour over sugar water.  Squeeze out tea bags and discard mint sprigs if desired.
• Add the juice of 1/2 the lemon and 1/2 the lime (or 1-2 tablespoons of each juice) to the pitcher and stir well.
• Fill remainder of pitcher with water and add more lemon/lime juice or sugar to taste.
• Serve over ice and garnish with lemon/lime slices or mint sprigs.

Crisp, refreshing, and perfect for a sweltering summer (or at this point, spring!) day.  Next time I throw a baby shower or a brunch I think I'll serve this instead of punch.  I made a pitcher Saturday and we drank the whole thing in 24 hours... so I might be making more tonight.  Enjoy!

Just Peachy

Nothing says Georgia like peaches!  As a kid, my grandparents would take us to Montezuma in the summer to pick our own, and we'd bring back a whole bushel.  We'd have cobbler and ice cream until we popped.  (Unless of course I managed to get the rock salt into the ice cream instead of onto the ice... which may or may not have happened once or twice. : )

We had friends over this afternoon to send summer out in style (and let the boys watch football), so I thought one last peach cobbler would be the perfect way to end the season.  While I love the crumbly, strudel-like topping my mom makes, I went for a Paula Dean recipe today instead.  Something about the way that the crust starts out on the bottom and yet somehow winds up on top is just fun.  And it's perfectly thick without being too dense.

I used a mixture of traditional and white peaches, as I couldn't find enough traditional peaches that were ripe to my liking at the grocery store.  That, and I didn't realize I'd gotten three regular and and two white ones until we got home.  Apparently it didn't matter much, because between the seven of us we nearly ate the dish clean!

Paula's Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

• 4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Ground cinnamon, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350* F.
2. Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.
4. Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
5. To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.