Strawberry Drunken Arnold Palmer

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.