MAMIE'S SWEET TEA

I was excited when Avis asked me to contribute some recipes over the course of the summer, as food has been a large part of my growing up. We are originally from Mississippi where cooking is a way of life. I come from a long line of women and men, my brother included, who I consider to be gourmet cooks. My mother is very creative, and my favorite place to watch her create is in the kitchen. We were spoiled growing up having homemade food for supper every night. On that note, I thought it was most appropriate to introduce our family recipes with the tried and true staple of homemade sweet tea.

This family recipe is from the Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader, which my mother Martha edited.

Ingredients:

2 large lemons

3 Lipton family size tea-bags, tags removed

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

Directions:

Yields about 10 cups.

1. Squeeze lemons into a small bowl, chill the juice, and reserve the skins.

2. Place the tea-bags, and reserve lemon hulls in a large pottery or glass pitcher and pour in two cups of cold water.

3. Bring a kettle of 4 cups water to a rolling boil. Pour the boiling water over the tea-bags and cover the pitcher with a small plate.

4. Steep for 10 minutes. Then, remove the tea-bags and lemon skins.

5. Add the sugar and the lemon juice and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

6. Add 3 more cups of cold water. Serve over ice and garnish with a fresh lemon slice.

Notes added by myself:

Ideally, you would use a clay pitcher. However, these are hard to find. If you can't find one, use a glass pitcher, not plastic. The cold water at the beginning is important, as the pitcher will crack if you pour the boiling water in first.

Mint can be substituted for lemon. You simply place fresh mint leaves into the water while the tea-bags are brewing for the flavor to steep with the tea.

Obviously, pitchers vary in size, so the sugar and water amounts may vary. Trial and error will produce the correct amounts for your particular pitcher.

If you prefer your tea to be stronger, add English breakfast tea-bags with the Lipton tea-bags.

Enjoy!

**image via arborteas**