The weatherman keeps talking about how its hot but the air is dry so its wonderful. Truth is its hot and if I do any kind of work outside or in (like cleaning house or digging in the garden), I'm going to get hot and sweaty. I try to keep a big pitcher of iced tea in the refrigerator (I know, you shouldn't keep it in the frig but I like it that way). There is still a lot of mint in the garden, peppermint that is, and even though I generally like my tea unsweetened, still a teaspoon or two of my homemade peppermint/lemon sugar syrup is perfect in my iced tea right now.
 |
| Saucepan of sugar, water, mint & lemon zest. |
This is so easy to make. In a medium saucepan put 2 cups white granulated sugar, 2 cups water, a cup of loosely packed, washed, fresh mint leaves and the zest of 1/2 a large or all of a small lemon (don't forget to wash the lemon). You want just the oily outer peel of the lemon. Use a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler to skin the lemon.
Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and let it simmer five minutes. Take it off the heat and let it sit to cool.
 |
| Strain mixture into measuring cup |
When its cool, strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup that is more than two cups capacity. Then, using a funnel, pour the syrup into a storage container of your choice. I like these plastic squeeze bottles for convenience and because a only use a couple of squirts.
 |
| Pour mixture into plastic squeeze bottle using a funnel |
You can also use those fancy decorative bottles you've been keeping for gift giving. This makes a great hostess gift or just a nice anytime little gift for a friend who loves sweet tea.
 |
| A fancy bottle of mint and lemon sugar syrup ready for gift giving. Iced tea ready for me! |
No comments:
Post a Comment