Now that we’re in the fill throes of summer, I’ve been sucking down the H2O like nobody’s business, but sometimes water gets boring. Lately I’ve been craving icy glasses of lemonade, imagining myself to be in a white wicker rocking chair on a huge wraparound porch, complete with sundresses and Southern accents.


In reality, I’m wilting away in an overly-hot upstairs bedroom, watching Ed, Edd n Eddy episodes, lounging in a bathing suit [the barest I dare go; who knows what sort of company might stop by?] and sitting in front of a large and noisy box fan, dying for this humidity to go away.


I couldn’t begin to tell you how excited I was when I saw the new post on Honey & Jam containing a recipe for homemade Arnold Palmers. Why hadn’t I thought to make these before? In years past I haven’t been much of an iced tea fan – I prefer it hot – but I’m slowly acclimating myself to the drink so synonymous with Southern summers. But you know what? It’s infinitely tastier when there’s lemonade added into the mix, and incredibly easy to mix up.


Named after the pro-golfer that made the concoction famous in the 1960s, Arnold Palmers are a nice relief on sweltering summer days when the air is so oppressive you have to gracefully remind yourself why you love this season.


Arnold Palmers
Adapted from Honey & Jam
Yields just over 2 quarts

After mixing up the drink according to the instructions, I found it a bit too sweet and pungent for my tastes, so I diluted the mixture by adding two more cups of cold water at the end. You could use any black tea to make Arnold Palmers; I have an abundance of British Breakfast blend that I used, but something fruity might add a nice note. I cut back the amount of simple syrup and made up for it by adding honey, which I prefer in tea. I think next time I might experiment with more honey. I also left some of the lemon pulp in, just to annoy my brother, who has already drank more than half of the jug since I made it a day ago. That’s a pretty good excuse to make more though, isn’t it?

For tea:
5 or 6 tea bags
7 cups of water

For lemonade:
3/4 cup of water
3/4 cup of white sugar
1/4 cup of honey
1 cup of lemon juice, from 3-5 lemons

Directions
For tea:
Place tea bags in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the 6 cups of water just to a boil and pour over tea bags. Let steep for about 10 minutes.

For lemonade:
Begin by making the simple syrup. Add the sugar, water and honey to a small saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside and let cool. Juice lemons. I also cut off large shavings of the lemon peel and added them into the final mixture for a more lemony-taste, but you don’t have to do this. Combine lemon juice and cooled syrup.

Add tea and lemonade mixture together and taste. If the mixture is too strong for you, add cold water until it is diluted enough. I added 2 more cups of cold water. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour. Serve over ice in mason jars with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!



All my best,
Miss Cristina O'Hara

Labels: arnold palmers, summer