Summerberry Tea

So there is not much I can do in my kitchen these days. It is hot with no ceiling! Breakfasts are about the only meal tolerable to cook. I have plastic sheeting up for the ceiling.(sort of a ceiling, more like a tent) That catches most of the exposed insulation. But since our weather remains around a hundred, we all clear out of the house during the daytime hours. Needless to say, my cooking adventures are very limited. Probably by the time we get ceilings and the weather cools off, the insurance money will be in and we will be getting new floors and wallpaper in there, also making it unfit for cooking.  Not fabulous news for a food blogger.

It is hard to keep me down, and tonight I did venture into the heat to make this cooling beverage. I am copycatting a drink served to me at Wendy's the other day. Yes, we are eating out a lot of meals. That time I had their chili and side salad. I figure the beans wouldn't hurt too much compared to french fries. We are concerned with just how much our insurance will cover in the meals out expenses, and they are being vague. We are trying to be careful on that point. When the tea was a suggested sale, I asked the manager what was in it, and he promised it was simply pureed fruit with no added sugar.  I liked the tea, sweetened it a bit with the pink packets they had available...and made some plans to try some at home.

Today as most days, I stayed out all afternoon to avoid the heat. It is amazing how much time one can spend in Michael's when you just want to stay in the air conditioning! I did get some ideas for fun fall goodies--but I will save that for later...like when it is fall. Please Lord, send fall!  When I got home I was thirsty and it was hot, so I got busy with this recipe in mind.

It is fruity and healthy, made with green tea. Berries are good for us low carbers too. My berries are a combination of blueberry, blackberry and raspberry.You may want to strain out the seeds, but I am drinking it as is because I was getting overheated just waiting for the water to boil for the tea. Did I mention it was hot?

Summerberry Tea


1 quart boiling water
4 green tea bags with lemon
1 cup frozen berry blend
1/2 cup ZSweet
1 tube raspberry flavored Splenda
1 cup ice, plus more in pitcher


Prepare tea with the boiling water. Let steep while preparing the fruit. Into a food processor blender--I use my Ninja--add the fruit, sweeteners and ice. Blend well. My mixture remained a little chunky. Pour the tea into the frozen fruit mixture and blend again. Pour into a serving pitcher and add ice to fill. Add more sweetener if desired. 

If you don't have the flavored Splenda, it doesn't make too much difference. A couple of packets of another sweetener will do. Of course, this recipe can be easily adapted to whatever sweetener you prefer. Also, my green tea happened to be lemon flavored. I like the slight tartness, so if you only have plain tea, add a squirt of lemon juice or a packet of true lemon.

We went out of town last week on a trip to Branson paid for by my hubbie's station. It was fun, other than riding there and back with no air conditioning. Yes again, me complaining about being hot. We used the trip to celebrate our 25th anniversary, although it is actually tomorrow. Wow. 25  years went so fast! We will probably go out for a steak to celebrate again, although eating out is not such the treat it used to be.

Remember, I am still looking for reader contributions for the newsletter. With all this mess, I just cannot get in there to test new recipes for you this month. I would love some more contributions, and it will get you 6 free months of the newsletter. What a deal. One might even say it was a hot deal.