A pitcher of Arnold Palmers is always in the fridge at my parent's house during summertime. My mom makes them with half iced tea, half powdered lemonade. They are really good.
I started thinking what about using lemons and agave nectar. I looked lemonade recipe up on the internet. By that I was able to estimate that I should use ½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, ½ cup agave nectar, and 3 cups of water for the lemonade. Turned out great.
My mom uses a quart of tea made by steeping 5 Lipton's tea bags in water that is cooling from boiling. I did the same. I let the tea steep for 20 minutes. That is a standard.
I grew up learning to be a black and white dark room tech at my dad's studio. One thing I was taught was to vary only one thing, so your creativity was repeatable. So for now, the tea is always made in exactly the same manner.
First I tried replacing a cup of the water in the lemonade with rum. It was nice, but I thought it still needed something.
Then I thought, wait a minute, what if I replace the lemonade with margarita...Strawberry Margarita. I know, I'm breaking the rule of only changing one thing at once. I should first change the lemonade to limeade in one batch, and then in the next, introduce the tequila....but THERE'S NO TIME FOR THAT!! I've already got a standard Strawberry Margarita recipe, so I just got around the rules by using two standards...
What I wound up with was a wonderful tasting, very repeatable recipe, that is a new standard here in the Whitmire home.
What's needed:
5 Lipton's tea bags
1 cup Cabo Wabo Blanco Tequila
2 lemons
6 to 10 limes
½ cup Cointreau
½ cup agave nectar
1 qt. of water
First juice the strawberries. It's best if you run them through a juicer. It takes about 4 lbs. to make a cup. Strain the juice at least twice. The pink foam is not wanted.
Put the quart of water on to boil. Put the tea bags in a 4 cup measuring cup so the paper labels are secured under the glass, (What I usually do is string them through the pouring spout. As soon as the water comes to a boil, take it off the stove and pour it in the mixing cup, over the tea bags. Let it steep for a full 20 minutes.
While the tea is steeping...Mix a ½ cup of Cointreau with a ½ cup of agave nectar, stir until it's a syrup. This is the first thing you add to a 2 qt. pitcher.
Cut one of the lemons in half, and juice one of the halves. That should be about ⅛ to a ¼ of a cup. Fill it up to a full cup with lime juice. Strain the citrus juice at least twice. Add this, along with the Strawberry juice to the pitcher. Add the cup of tequila, and you have a quart of strawberry margaritas. When 20 minutes have passed, add the tea. Decorate with lemon and lime slices. Let it cool in the fridge for a half an hour, before pouring it on the rocks to properly enjoy a summer evening.
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