Fresh strawberry iced tea

from the kitchen of Diana Smith

6 c. water

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. lemon juice

1/4 c. instant tea

1 pt. fresh strawberries, cut in halves

Mix strawberries and sugar in bowl. Let stand 10 minutes. Mix water and lemon juice in 2-qt. pitchers.

Stir in tea. Add strawberry mixture. Stir well. Add ice cubes and serve very cold.

Variation: Substitute fresh peach slices or fresh pineapple chunks instead of strawberries.

Sun tea

from www.simplyrecipes.com

4 to 6 tea bags

Put tea bags into a clean 2-qt. glass container. Fill with water and cap. Place outside where the sunlight can strike the container for about 3 to 5 hours. Move the container if necessary to keep it in the sun. When tea has reached its desired strength, remove from sun and put it in the refrigerator. Remove tea bags if desired.

Tea will probably taste more mellow than what you are used to from using boiling water. The slow steeping has a way of bringing out a slightly different flavor from the tea. Sun tea will not keep as well as iced tea made from boiling water, only a day or two Sweet Tea Courtesy of Alton Brown, www.foodnetwork.com

1 oz. loose black tea

1 qt. hot water

1 qt. room temperature water

Simple Syrup:

5 c. sugar

3 c. cold water

Infuse loose tea into hot water for 4 to 5 minutes.

Strain tea into room temperature water. Sweeten with simple syrup if desired.

For simple syrup, in a small non-reactive pot, combine 5 c. of sugar and 3 c. of cold water. Slowly bring to a boil and add 6 sliced lemons and a few sprigs of fresh mint. Remove from heat. Allow to cool 10 minutes and strain.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 04/21/2010