Iced Tea and Lemonade made better

Summer is the time for doing things outdoors, swimming, fishing, bicycling, golf... the list goes on and on and with all that outdoor fun we get thirsty and need some re-hydration. Water is obviously the best way to get re-hydrated but sometimes ya just have to have a big ol glass of Iced Tea or Lemonade. 

And they are so good in the summer! Depending on where you live in the U.S. one or the other is the go-to drink of the summer months. 

Making good iced tea or lemonade is not really all that hard, just a simple recipe for either and it is done in under 5 minutes. However I have come up with a way to make both way better and no it does not require a trip to the liquor store! 

The secret is: lemon zest.

You can add it directly to the water you use to make either drink and the oils in the lemon zest make tea or lemonade way better than just using the juice. Here is how I make both drinks: 

Tim's Awesome Sweet Iced Tea with Lemon

You'll need: 

• 2 cups water
• Two long peels of lemon zest with no pith. 
• 4 to 5 tea bags
• half cup superfine sugar (If all you have is regular sugar you can place 1 cup in a food processor and pulse for 3 or so minutes, this will make about 3/4ths a cup of superfine) 

Place water, peel and bags into a large enough pan and bring just to a simmer, do not allow to boil! Turn off heat and allow to steep for about 8 to 10 minutes (remember we are going to add more water to the pitcher so the tea has to be strong). 

Remove tea bags and and discard, leave peels in for at least an hour with the lid on. 

After 1 hour remove peels and discard, add to pitcher through a strainer then add sugar to taste. Add ice and enough water to fill the pitcher and enjoy! 

Lemonade is similar in the recipe you just add some zest to the water that you are going to make your lemonade with and bring it to a simmer then cut off the heat, cover and let it sit for 1 or 2 hours. It is so much better than just with the lemon juice.  

Have an awesome day everyone and remember summer ain't over yet!