This recipe is inspired completely by my wife, who told me about something similar she had in Turkey shortly after her return there.  It’s nothing more than Squeezed lemon, a bit of mint and sugar with boiling water added but like so many simple dishes the final product is something that is somehow ethereal and infinitely sublime.

Perhaps it’s that this simple drink looks as magical as it tastes.  The mint leaves and lemon pulp swirling slowly in the glass are equally as enticing as the combination of sweet, sour and savory that greets your tongue when you take a sip.  sure, it could be made with perfectly strained lemon juice, but why in the world would you do that?  It would take something away from the experience in my opinion.

I have no idea what the Turkish name for this drink is, nor does my wife (Nor can she find the restaurant she had it in again.).  I’ve searched all over trying to find it, but haven’t been able to, so if anyone knows the proper name for this drink, please let me know.

Thanks to Oz for letting me know that this drink is called “Nane-Limon” or simply “Mint Lemon”.  I’m glad to have the proper name of the drink, but whatever you want to call it, it is extraordinary!

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Popularity: 45% [?]

There’s nothing that speaks to me of home like a tall, frosty cold glass of iced tea.  Whether you like yours sweet in the southern tradition or with little or no sugar, nothing says summer like iced tea, and nobody…  And I mean nobody, made it better than my mother did.

Agree or disagree with the last statement as you like, this is my family’s closely guarded recipe for iced tea.  It’s not something that I think has been shared before, but it is something that I think the world needs to know about.  It’s the drink my wife requests when she’s home to visit.  It’s what my sister expects to find in my refrigerator in the summer months.  It’s the one thing I can”t live without when the temperatures start climbing into higher didgits.

And there is only one right way to make it…  At least for us.

The key to good iced tea is to make it strong.  That way the ice  doesn’t dilute the taste of the tea.  Too many people forget this.  If it’s hot outside, the ice in your glass is going to melt, and your tea tastes more like sweetened murky water than it does of anything else.  It’s something I can’t tolerate, and is one of the reasons I rarely order iced tea in a restaurant .

I hope you enjoy this one.  It’s a very simple recipe that has seen my family through many decades of summers, BBQ’s, parties and outdoor gatherings.  It has outlived both of the women who perfected the recipe and has comforted hundreds of people on hot California afternoons.

This is a piece of my life that I need the world to share with me.

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Popularity: 7% [?]