Iced Tea

I drink a lot of water, at least a gallon a day, more if it’s hot out. I like plain, cool, refreshing water, but even I sometimes want variety. I am trying to lose some weight, so I avoid sugary drinks. I don’t like diet sodas because artificial sweeteners are not healthy—aspartame, the most common artificial sweetener, is an excitotoxin (heads up: you probably shouldn’t look that up right before bedtime--or eating, for that matter), and it actually gives me headaches and upsets my stomach.

Fortunately, there’s a healthy no-calorie alternative beverage that is easy to make and cheap: iced tea. Even if the box of 20 herbal or fancy teabags cost $5, it would make about 5 quarts at $1/quart. I don’t spent that much on tea. I usually buy my favorite flavors on sale, often with coupons, but I just found Celestial Seasonings at Target, selling for a little more than $2, regular price. So when I make iced tea, it usually costs 50 cents per quart, or $2 per gallon.

My favorite herbal teas to make into iced tea are “Country Peach Passion” and “True Blueberry” by Celestial Seasonings. (No, they're not paying me—but if they want to start, I would absolutely welcome it.) I also use Bigelow “Constant Comment” black tea, which also comes decaffeinated. I tried “Lemon Zinger” by Celestial Seasonings, but when it was brewed strong for iced tea, it became harsh, and even adding sugar didn’t redeem it.

Here are the directions provided by Celestial Seasonings, printed on the box.

“ICED TEA BY THE PITCHER”

Pour 2 cups boiling water over four tea bags in a heat-resistant container. Steep 4 to 6 minutes and remove tea bags. If desired, add sweetener while tea is hot. Add 2 cups cold water and chill.

Yes, it is that easy. But it’s hot out. Nobody wants to turn on the stove when it’s 90 degrees out and the humidity is suffocating. So I make it using the microwave.

I have a 900 watt microwave, so adjust the time up or down for whatever kind you have.

If I am making a quart of iced tea, I use the recipe above, but I boil the water in the microwave, about 2 1/2 minutes, in a microwave-safe glass measuring cup. For 2 quarts (half gallon), I follow the same procedure, with 4 cups of water boiling for about 4 or 5 minutes in the microwave. Sometimes, when making this double batch, I will use only 6 or 7 tea bags, and let the tea steep longer, like 10 minutes or whenever I remember that I was making tea and get off Facebook.

Since I use fruity herbal teas, we don’t sweeten our ice tea, and don’t miss the sugar. When Chris comes home from a long day at the office and a long crazy commute, seeing a freshly-brewed pitcher of iced tea in the fridge really makes his day. It’s like a liquid “I love you", and it only took a few minutes in the microwave to make.

Hey Onions! Whatcha doin' in the freezer? Just Chillin'.

OK, that was a lame joke, but I do store onions in my freezer.

To freeze onions, all you have to do is put them in the freezer, as they come, skins on, no preparation necessary. I buy the 2 pound bag of plain old yellow onions when they go on sale (often for cheaper than a pound of loose onions), and plunk the whole mesh bag into the freezer.

When it comes time to use them, don't thaw them. Run them under warm water just long enough to make the skins easy to peel off. (30 seconds to a minute or so.) Cut them while still frozen, because as they thaw, they will get mushy and more difficult to work with. I have found that freezing onions makes them a little sweeter, and cutting into a frozen onion has never caused me any tears.

Frozen onions really need to be served cooked (as opposed to raw on a sandwich or salad), because the texture after thawing is mushy, instead of crisp. I don't freeze my sweet onions (like Vidalia), because I tend use them up faster than the plain yellow kind , and often use them raw.