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Ingredients: Serves 8

1/2 cup Earl Grey Simple Syrup or other tea infused simple syrup

6 cups mixed fresh fruit cut into cubes or rounds

Mint sprigs for garnish

Directions:

If you want slightly softer fruit, heat the syrup, then pour it over the fruit in a large bowl and chill. For fresh, crisp fruit, use cool syrup. Toss it with the fruit, garnish with frest mint sprigs, and serve.

Earl Grey Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

2.5 cups boiling water

1/4 cup loose-leaf Earl Grey tea leaves

2 cups granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

1 teaspoon dried lavender

Grated zest of 1 orange

Grated zest of 1 lime

Impression:

I love fruit as much as I love tea. Discovering this recipe from the book, Culinary Tea, was an absolutely blissful moment for me.  Making the simple syrup was just that: simple. I didn't have plain Earl Grey tea, nor did I have a vanilla bean, even though dried lavender is ornated around my house. But what I did have is our Vanilla Creme Earl Grey which does contain vanilla and lavender, so this was perfect in making the syrup without deviating from the recipe at all!  The zested orange and limes were a pleasantly refreshing touch. I used blueberries and raspberries and boy was I in heaven from the first bite. This is a perfect snack to have while you watch either the sunrise or the sunset. I even had enough left over the next day to drizzle in a cup of greek plain yogurt and that too... was scrumptious.

While flying to Las Vegas for a friend's bachelorette party, I was page-turning Southwest airline's magazine called "Spirit" when I happened upon a most interesting tea alcoholic drink.  With its main ingredient being tea, naturally I was eager to try this on our trip and figured it would do the ladies a lot of good to loosen up the right way while tanning at the Hard Rock poolside.

The article's title was "Bourbon Slush"  and it was a recipe provided by Fred Thompson, author of Bourbon: 50 Rousing Recipes for a Classic American Spirit.  I will soon discover that Fred properly characterizes this concoction as a "slurpee for grownups."  Fred described the drink as a whiskey sour meets a granita. He promises that it makes a great beach drink.  Hmmm...this sounded too dangerous for a pack of wild and sexy ladies in Sin City.  But why else go to Vegas if we can't walk on the wild side?

So I tore out the article (yes, I'm THAT girl) with the plan of attack that the poolside bartender would make a whole pitcher for us. Needless to say, my high hopes where just that. Of course they couldn't take special orders and didn't have fresh brewed iced tea with concentrated lemonade and orange juice!  

Determined to have this made, I kept the recipe in my bra for safe-keeping and enjoyed it with some friends the following Sunday at home. I must say, slushie and delishious it was! Freshing I might add, but I soon realized that one was more than plenty...

and a good idea to have kept it a secret from the ladies!

Ingredients: (Makes 6 Bourbon Slushes)

2 cups brewed black tea (I used Organic Darjeeling)

1 pint Maker's Mark

2 tablespoons sugar

1 12 ounce can frozen lemonade, concentrate, thawed

16 ounce can frozen orange juice, concentrate, thawed

Chilled lemon-lime soda

Directions:

1. Combine in large metal bowl. Put bowl in freezer, stir with a whisk every two hours until mixture is frozen.

2. Scoop frozen tea into an old-fashioned glass until it's about two-thirds full.

3. Top off with soda without stirring the mix. Serve when soda has turned the frozen tea slushy.

These days, non-tea-drinkers categorize our fun loving group into two stereotypes: the zen and serene / the pretentious (and possibly British).  I'm sure the health-conscious are thrown somewhere into the mix.  This weekend, I vow to throw those preconceived notions to the wind and let lose with a high in tea, low in calorie, summer cocktail.  The days are warm and the nights are long, what better time than now?  Move over Long Island Ice Tea, there's an electrifying new antioxidant-rich drink on the block.  Enjoy...

 ELECTRIC HONEYDEW

1 Tbsp green tea leaves (White Monkey Paw green tea works great)

1 Tbsp dried chamomile leaves

2 oz gin

3 leaves anise-hyssop

2 oz pureed honeydew (puree in blender)

3/4 oz lemon juice

1/4 oz agave syrup

1 fennel frond, for garnish

In a jar or glass, mix green tea and chamomile leaves with gin and let sit for 3 hours at room temperature.  Muddle anise-hyssop leaves, then combine with tea-infused gin, honeydew puree, lemon juice, and agave in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake and strain into a martini glass and garnish with a fennel frond.

MAKES 1 SERVING

Calories: 178

Recipe courtesy of Women's Health Magazine