Spring (or is it summer) came late to Northern California this year. But, despite a 4 week delay it seems to finally be here now with temperatures rising to the high eighties and low nineties. Spring and Summer have a lot of things going for them; one of my favorites though, is sun tea. What is sun tea? Well it’s tea, usually herbal, you brew in the sun. I suppose most people just call it iced tea but I like the phrase ‘sun tea.’ ‘Sun tea’ conjures up images of a blue sky, mild breeze, blinding white walls, and sparkling pools. Oh, and the delicious taste of ice-cold tea!
Sun tea is really easy to make. You don’t need any fancy teas or tea bags (though you can use these things! Lipton is the blandest of teas and there are so many great flavors out there!) Here’s how I make it!
This is an Orange blossom, clove, and cranberry tea. I bought it in bulk from my local grocery co-op
You’re going to need some tea, a tea bag (if it isn’t prepackaged tea), and a large water jug. My jug is an old Santa Cruz Juice gallon jug.
I find it easier to place the tea bag in the jug before you put in the teaI fill the bag up as much as possible
Once you have the tea bag full, make sure you close it tight. The bag is going to be submerged in water for several hours and you don’t want it spilling out into the water. The tea won’t be ruined if it is but you’ll have to pour everything through a strainer, you can save yourself the hassle by making sure it’s closed tight.
Push the tea bag into the water. Make sure it is fully submerged
Once the tea bag is in the water, make sure the strings are still hanging out of the jar’s mouth and that the bag has plenty of slack, seal the jar and set it out in the sun.
Place in a spot where it will be fully exposed to the sun for at least 3 or 4 hours
After the tea has been in the sun for a sufficient period of time (the longer it’s exposed the stronger the tea’s taste) bring it inside, remove the tea bag, and chill in the refrigerator. I rarely, if ever, add sugar, honey, or other sweeteners to my tea but you can of course. If you feel fancy enough you can mix sun tea with a simple syrup for some Sweet Tea. As you can see from the first picture I enjoy mine over ice with some lemon juice and a slice or two. Sun tea is best enjoyed anywhere summer is happening.
Anything in particular you associate strongly with the summer season? Share it in the comments below!
I could do this every week forever... And still have books left.
First, I want to announce the winners for week four of the DiMortuiSunt Book Giveaway: Rock!topus Prime, Shivam Bhatt, Lady, and Aleanil (names have been changed to protect the innocent). They’re books will be heading to them soon. I hope they enjoy them as much as I did.
Second, I want to congratulate everyone who participated in the giveaway and won something over the month of April, as well as thank everyone who commented. My views were up for the month though I haven’t sat down yet and looked through the logs to see if that was because of the book giveaway or I just happened to have particularly interesting postings. Regardless, I’m going to call the entire thing a success. Reader participation definitely increased and I had a lot of fun giving things away.
Keep a look out for future contests as well! I have all interesting stuff lying around to give away!
How many weeks are in April anyway? Five! Man, good thing I have a seemingly endless supply of books here. Before we talk about the four books being given away next week let’s congratulate the winners: Luana, Adam, and Nicolas! I’ll be getting in touch with all three of you to get these books out to you!
Now for next weeks books, reviews as always from Sacramento and San Francisco Book Review:
Darkwar by Glen Cook
Glen Cook’s Dark War trilogy tells the story of a young primitive meth named Marika whose life is unalterably changed when barbarians out of the north destroy her village. This sets her on a path that will lead her into the stars. It also shapes the fate of her race and their planet.
“Caution was the strongest lesson Marika had learned. Absolute, total caution. Absolute total distrust of all who pretended friendship. She was an island, alone, at war with the world because the world was at war with her.”
Originally published in the ’80s separately, Darkwar combines the Marika stories into a single book. The meth are a cat-like people with a strict hierarchical society in which males are subservient to females and all meth are subservient to the Silth, a sorority of mystic, magic-wielding meth who control the planet. Marika, after the destruction of her homestead and her worldview, finds herself a Silth novitiate just as the order of things on her planet begin to come undone, and she is drawn into the center of that change.
Combining fantasy and science fiction in this trilogy, Cook is a master at work. His books are always enjoyable while requiring the reader to think. Darkwar raises such diverse topics as gender roles in society and how the meeting of two alien races might have drastic impacts on the cultures of each race.
The God Engines by John Scalzi
John Scalzi isn’t the more recognized name in science fiction, despite having won awards in the field and having his first novel nominated for the Hugo. Despite this he’s quietly built up an impressive body of hard science fiction. Scalzi abandons this fertile and familiar turf in his latest piece of work, the novella The God Engines, an intriguing work of fantasy that somehow manages to center around interstellar travel, holy wars, and the role of the individual in society. Scalzi somehow manages in a mere 136 pages to create believable, likeable characters who exist in a world that, while fantastic (spaceships travel by dominating captured deities and forcing them to move them through the stars), is both wonderful and convincing. I have only two complaints with the book: it ends far too soon and the conclusion is rushed as if Scalzi forced an ending on a story that needed several more pages to it. In the future I hope Scalzi takes another stab at fantasy, one that lasts a little longer…
The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro (review by Theresa Lucas)
A Boeing 777 lands at JFK International Airport and immediately shuts down. All communication is cut off, and when the first responders arrive, they find the plane sitting quietly, completely dark, with all the shades pulled down and the doors pulled so tightly they cannot be opened. Just as the rescue crew gets ready to cut into the plane, the door quietly opens, and the horror begins. Almost all the passengers onboard are dead, sitting in their seats with no visible signs of struggle or panic. And in the cargo hold, a very large coffin filled with dirt is discovered. The Center for Disease Control is called in to investigate, but the virus they find is more deadly and ancient than anything they could have imagined. Strange alliances form as it becomes clear that the people on the plane aren’t staying dead, and vampires are real. From the imaginations of Guillermo Del Toro, the director of Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth and author Chuck Hogan, The Strain is a good old-fashioned horror novel that reminds us vampires really are monsters – not the emotionally tortured souls of paranormal romance novels. The Strain is a very satisfying read that will quench your thirst for a well-crafted, suspenseful book.
Lastly, we have Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow
Sharp Teeth is an epic poem about werewolves in modern day Los Angeles. This book is actually more awesome than it sounds, and if it doesn’t sound awesome to you, you need to re-evaluate your literary standards. Epic, gritty, fast-paced and surprising. Barlow stretches both his subject and poetry in this inventive piece of fiction.
Sorry, I don’t have a longer review of Sharp Teeth, I never reviewed the book when I originally picked it up. It has been a couple of years at least since I read it last and I don’t think I could do it justice by winging it from memory. If I had to pick one book out of the four it’d be Sharp Teeth, it’s just so much more interesting than the other three.
You know the rules by now. Leave a comment below and you’ll be entered to win one of these books next Friday.
Devere’s Irish Pub has these delicious BLTs that I tell everyone about. They use their own housemade Irish bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo, just like any other BLT. But, then you can have a fried egg put on your BLT too. I looked at that option many a time before actually trying it. I wish I hadn’t wasted all those opportunities! I am the last person who’d have thought that a fried egg on any sandwich, let alone a minimalist masterpiece like the BLT, was a good idea. I was wrong and so are you. The egg adds so much flavor and depth!
Stop whatever it is you are doing right now, go home, make yourself a BLT, fry an egg, combine them, and eat it. I’ll be waiting here when you want to thank me for giving you the idea.
For something even more decadent try the grilled cheese and egg sandwiches in this month’s (April ’11) Bon Appetit. That is the sandwich seen in the picture above: pancetta, provolone, arugula, green onions, and a fried egg on sourdough bread. Truly, to die for.
