How to Make Southern Sweet Tea

As I've written about before, I've got a bit of American Southern heritage in my upbringing, and one of the main components of Southern culture is tea.

Not hot tea.

Not herbal tea.

SWEET TEA.

Sweet ICED tea.

A few posts ago, someone asked about how to make Southern sweet tea, and I told her I'd be glad to oblige with a recipe!  You know what's even better?  You may notice that the photos below are when I had long hair... and it's sunny outside...

I've been anticipating this post for a long time!

The first thing you gotta know about Southern sweet tea is that it's basically diabetes in a glass, and also that it's delicious.  It may take a while to learn how to hold your tea like a Southerner, so don't feel bad if you go into a sugar coma the first time you try it.  That's how it's supposed to be.

That being said, you can adjust the sugar content as you like.  In America, the sugar levels in ice tea increase the further south you go in the country, so this beverage can still be authentically American no matter how much sugar you've got in it.  But if you want it to be Southern.... add the sugar.

So enough of the back story, here's how you make Southern sweet tea, via my husband's technique.  This recipe will make about a gallon.

Ingredients:

- 2 family sized tea bags, or 4 individual ones

Orange pekoe tea tastes the best, but black tea works, too. Try to find a brand of tea that is "smooth" when brewed. Cain's and Tetley are good brands to use if you can find them!

- 3/4 cup of sugar

- medium pot

Directions:

1. Fill the pot full of water and put it on the stove to heat.

2. Add in the tea bags and sugar and let it steep.

3. It's okay if the water boils; just make sure the sugar is dissolved and the water is pretty dark from the steeped tea.  This is your sweet tea concentrate.

4. Pour this mixture into a pitcher, and fill the rest of the container up with cold water, and add some ice cubes if you want to drink it immediately.

There you go!  Now you've got Southern sweet tea!  Grab a wine glass or giant mason jar and get to sipping!

Snippets of My Christmas Party

snowball cups | chalkboard tray tutorial

Jacob and I have decided that we want to be the annual Christmas party type of people, so I started small this year and held a Christmas crafting party for a few friends.  We all worked on our Christmas gift projects we had yet to finish while eating delicious food and enjoying each other's company!

And in case you would like some more Christmas inspiration for future use, I've included information on where I got some of the ideas for food and decor and such.

Do you have any tried and true Christmas ideas?  Anything that has been a big hit this holiday season that others should know about?

Christmas tree decorations | fireplace DVD

mini potatoes (these were a HUGE hit!)

candied orange peels, in Vintage Notions book

Sand tart cookies, in Vintage Notions book | dessert stand

Grinch fruit kabobs

Family Recipe: Southern Biscuits & Chocolate Gravy

There are few things that I remember more fondly about my childhood than biscuits and chocolate gravy.

I spent a lot of time at my grandmother's house before she died, and this was one of the tried-and-true, sure-fire winners at her house!  Chocolate gravy was always a celebrated meal choice.  The recipe itself has been passed down many generations in my mother's family, and I shall carry on the proud heritage and spread the joy that is chocolate gravy with you, dear readers.  This is a recipe found in many American Southern homes, and everyone claims with pride that their mother or grandmother makes the best!  (But others are lying.  I am telling the real truth when I say this is the best version.)

I will warn you, however, that this is a true Southern recipe in that it starts with a stick of butter.  It is not gluten-free, low-fat, or healthy in any way, but it will raise your spirits and comfort your disheartened morale in a way that a literal ton of carrot sticks and bran muffins could never, ever do.

Though this recipe is from many generations ago, it was my grandmother who made the chocolate gravy I remember from my childhood, and she was especially known for her "dippin' biscuits" that were hardier than normal and could withstand being dipped in chocolate gravy.

And, without further ado, here is the chocolate gravy recipe:

Chocolate Gravy

(Serves 2-4 hearty servings)

1 stick butter

1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar

4 tbsp cocoa powder

dash vanilla extract

2 cups milk

pinch of salt

Directions: Melt the butter in a large pot first.  Add the dry ingredients in and mix thoroughly.  (Set the burner on a medium-high heat.)

Next, pour in the milk and stir for a long time.  The gravy will continue to thicken.  When the gravy begins to thicken up (and begins to glop off the stirring utensil rather than run), add in the vanilla extract.  Stir a little bit longer to work in vanilla, then remove from heat.  (It will continue to thicken as it sits, even off the heat, so don't worry if it's not quite as thick as you like it yet!)

Note:  There are two camps in the chocolate gravy world: dippin' and forkin'.  Dippers choose to place a bunch of gravy on the plate and dip the biscuit in.  Fork-users pour the gravy over biscuits.  Choose wisely.

Serve these with thick slice bacon and coffee for a perfectly Southern breakfast!

Be sure to subscribe to Flashback Summer Emails for tomorrow's email that includes my grandmother's "hearty dippin' biscuit" recipe!  Created just to go with this gravy, these dense biscuits hold up to dipping without falling apart and won't get soggy quickly like normal biscuits!
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Tea Latte Recipe and the Importance of Hot Beverages in Life

Perhaps some of you are not quite as passionate about tea as Mr. Suzuki up there (why don't I have a room specifically devoted to drinking tea?!), but I think as the cold weather comes around even the most Larry the Cable Guy-esque of Americans could concede that hot beverages have a place in everyone's heart.

Since living in Egypt and Sudan where tea is had more often than water, I have learned the power of a hot beverage in bringing people together to enjoy life.  Tea requires preparation (if you'd like to do it right!) in getting the tea ready, warming the water, etc.  It isn't something you can do fast.  If you've ever tried to drink hot tea quickly, you know that the result is unhappiness and a burnt tongue.  Drinking tea forces you to take a pause and enjoy life slowly.

And what better time to pause and enjoy life but in fall?  The leaves change colors so quickly, and if you don't take the time to enjoy them, you'll miss them altogether!  Perhaps you can take time this week to make a tea latte with the recipe below, sit outside in a scarf and mittens, and sip and chat with a loved one and just enjoy how pretty the world is right now.

Tea Latte Recipe
I credit my discovery of the drink to Eurasia Cafe, the company whose delicious tea I am also using for this recipe!  This fantastic company not only produces amazing tea and coffee products, but the box explains the good they're doing with their products: "Handpicked quality teas are sourced directly from gardens that guarantee livable wages and better opportunities for farmers and their families."  As well, the company gives their profits back to social justice causes in 44 countries and territories.  These causes include sex trafficking prevention and rehabilitation, education, addressing poverty & spiritual emptiness, helping refugees, and healthcare for those with HIV/AIDS.  Check out their site to learn more and take part in their awesome business!

Ingredients:
1 tea bag (I recommend a berry or floral tea.  I'm using Eurasia Cafe's Jasmine Green tea.)
vanilla flavor syrup
hot milk
hot water

Directions: 
- Put the tea bag in the mug, and add just enough hot water to give the tea something to steep in.
- As the tea steeps, heat up the milk.  (If you're doing this on the stove, the secret is to never stop stirring so the milk won't burn!)
- Add 2-3 pumps of vanilla flavor syrup to the tea-steeping water (for a 12 oz cup).
- Lastly, add the hot milk, stir, and enjoy!

You can also use an espresso machine to heat and froth the milk!

Eurasia Cafe has not collaborated with me on this, and I spent my own money for their tea.  I truly love the company and all they do, so I wanted to share about this company with you guys!

African Curry Recipe

This African curry is the ultimate "make do and mend" version of a recipe.  It works well in Africa because so much of it can be substituted or skipped, depending on what's available.  It's a great way to use up random bits from the fridge and pantry while making a filling meal that everyone can customize to their own liking!
This recipe is basically a chicken curry sauce served over rice.  The thing that makes it awesome is all the optional toppings, which I've listed below.  You can use as many or as few as you like, but the more the merrier!
Curry Sauce Ingredients:
This makes enough sauce for about half a chicken.
1/4 cup curry (I used mild yellow curry)
1 diced apple
1 diced tomato
1 diced onion
1/3 cup margarine/butter
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp dry mustard powder or a dash of mustard
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp sugar
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk (evaporated milk, whatever)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 chicken (any cut, whatever works)

Directions:
- Boil the chicken and keep the broth.
- Cook onion and garlic in butter until clear, then mix in the rest of the spices.
- Add in and stir the flour until all is coated.
- Add the tomato, apple, and cocunt and let it simmer for 5 minutes.  (It burns easily!)
- Stir in chicken broth and milk.
- Shred up chicken and add to sauce.  Let it simmer for 15 more minutes.
- Serve over rice and enjoy!

Granted, the color of the curry looks a little icky here.  But I SWEAR it's good!

Optional ingredients:
nuts
shredded coconut
pineapple chunks
apple bits
tomato bits
raisins
diced onion
banana pieces
mango bits
bell pepper
(and whatever else you think of!)

Family Recipe: Egyptian Salad

First, to clarify, no, my family is not technically Egyptian, and despite this, I am still going to share this recipe as a family recipe.  I will tell you why.

Egyptian salad is eaten by every family in Egypt, and I'm pretty sure there are no exceptions.  I call it a family recipe now because this salad is one of those things that, to me, tangibly represents how my family has been affected by our move overseas.  When we went to Egypt, we didn't know.... well, anything, basically, about Egypt.  As we grew to love the people and the culture, we began integrating parts of that culture into our own lives.

For me, Egyptian salad represents that.

When I eat this salad, it tastes like home.  It reminds me of how my Egyptian friend David teased me and said I would never get married because I didn't know how to make a correct salad or even dice the vegetables "properly."  It reminds me of sitting in the kitchen talking to my mom and sister as I chopped the vegetables into tediously small cubes.  It reminds me of going to the local vegetable store and having the owner, Mohammed, help me pick out the best vegetables to use in the salad.

This salad has become a family recipe that represents all the good about Egypt that has become a part of each of us.

An Egyptian family eating.  source.

So now that you now how awesome the meaning behind this salad is, I will share the recipe with you!  It's super simple, extremely healthy, and ridiculously refreshing.  Seriously, I make a giant bowl to leave in the fridge and eat as a snack throughout the week.  And I normally consider salads to be "rabbit food," dear readers, so you know this salad is GOOD STUFF.

This salad is very much done in a "to taste" fashion, meaning there are no specific measurements.  I've tasted lots of versions of it with differing proportions of ingredients, and the instructions below can be considered a base that you can work off of to make it your own!

Ingredients:

cucumbers

onions

tomatoes

cilantro (not pictured, but definitely worth including)

olive oil

lemon juice

salt and pepper

* A good veggie proportion would be 1 cucumber and 1 tomato to 1/2 onion.

1.  Dice the tomatoes into small pieces and put in a bowl large enough to mix everything in.  The smaller the pieces, the more authentically Egyptian.  Chop up the cilantro and add it as well.


2.  Do the same with the cucumbers and onions.
3.  Next, pour enough olive oil in to coat the veggies, but not so much to as to make them feel oily and drippy.  Just a bit.

4.  Next, add a quick splash of lemon juice and mix the salad.  Now taste it, and if you'd like more lemon taste, splash some more in there.  (Note, it's always better to have to add more than to have a too-sour salad, so start with small amounts until you like it.)

5.  Lastly, salt and pepper all of it to taste.

You can leave this in the fridge and it will get better after sitting for a day or so.  The flavors blend together more and become even tastier! 

P.S. In the making of this post I had a very sad jadeite accident.  Does anyone do mosaic/craft/collage work that could use jadeite pieces?  They're such a beautiful color, I'd prefer not to waste them by throwing them away.  Anyone have a use for these or know someone who would?  I'll give them to you!

Hospitality: Company's Comin'!

In honor of everyone's Thanksgiving preparations, I have the song "Company's Comin'" by Porter Wagoner!  It pretty well describes the atmosphere in my house.  Haha.

"Company's Comin" - Porter Wagoner (1963)

(And just look at his sweet suit!)

This evening my mom and I made the pies, and I also tried out my great-aunt Cindy's cornbread casserole recipe, which I'll share with you guys!  It's super easy, quick, and a delicious twist on a good ol' southern food.

Ingredients:

- 1 can creamed corn

- 1 can drained whole kernel corn

- 8 oz sour cream

- 1 stick butter

- 1 egg

- 1 small box corn muffin mix

Directions:

1. Melt stick of butter.

2. Add butter, sour cream, and egg into mixing bowl and stir well.

3. Add in the corn muffin mix and cans of corn.

4. Pour everything into a greased, preferably glass pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

5. Serve and enjoy!