As for the iced tea, I do drink the store-bought in a pinch, but I prefer to make it myself, in the Southern "Sweet Tea" style. There are more ways to make this then there are leaves on trees, but here's how I do it (those of you south of the M-D line can tune out now, as y'all have heard this since you were knee-high to a junebug.
) :
Start boiling a full kettle of water.
Add about 10 Teabags (Lipton's fine) to a gallon pitcher.
Pour the water into the pitcher after it boils.
Let steep for about 3 minutes; add a bunch of sugar while the tea's still hot.
Use a wooden spoon to scoop out the teabags.
Take a collander, and line it with a paper towel. Get a bowl or another pitcher.
Pour the tea through the collander and paper towel, and into the other receptacle. This filters it again, and seems to improve the color too.
Add more sugar (tea should still be hot), and then let sit in the fridge as long as you can stand it.
The stuff's good and sweet, but doesn't taste artificial like the store stuff that uses corn syrup. The most important thing is to add the sugar while the tea's still hot, as that lets it dissolve properly, and keeps it from being gritty. You can add a sprig of mint or something while it's in the fridge too, if that's your thing.
