There are enough "kitchen hacks" out there, but we're tired of being in the kitchen. Here are a few tips to start enjoying our warmer weather with some Patio Hacks instead!Make a flavoured iced tea - fast! Does anyone remember making 'sun tea', where you added the tea bags to a punch dispenser or large jar of cold water. Essentially, it was a long "cold-brew" technique where you left the jug in the sun for hours and hours until it became strong enough and then you added sugar.
While we can all appreciate the delicate technique of bringing out the best in tea flavours, different temperatures and steeping times for different tea varietals, sometimes you just want a decent homemade iced tea FAST. So how about doing a hot steep instead, adding extra tea bags to create intense flavour?
Here's a quick recipe: Add four bags of your favourite tea to four cups of hot water. Steep for four minutes. Remove one cup of tea and stir in 1/4 cup of honey (or to taste). Add the sweetened tea and the rest of the steeped tea to a pitcher full of ice and stir. The ice will largely melt under the hot tea, cooling it off, and a few ice cubes will remain to keep it cool. Done! Quick and tasty, with that homemade taste and way less sugar than using a mix.
Take it up a notch by drizzling in 1 Tbsp. of your favourite White Balsamic to create your custom flavour. Here are a few combos to try:
regular black tea + Cucumber Melon White Balsamic
green tea + Pink Grapefruit White Balsamic
rooibos or Chai tea + Granny Smith White Balsamic
More Patio Hacks:
1. Chill Wine Super Fast - Place the wine bottle into a tall pitcher. Surround it with ice and sprinkle a few tablespoons of salt around the ice, filling the rest up with water and rotating the bottle slightly every few minutes. Your bottle will chill in 20 minutes (or less!). Then make a quick sangria with some fresh fruit, sparkling water and - you guessed it - a flavour shot of your favourite Balsamic Vinegar. We recommend Cherry, Chocolate or Blackberry Ginger Balsamic. What would YOU try?
2. No Patio Tray, No Problem - Bring out your drinks and appies in style by placing a colourful napkin or tea towel on a large baking tray. Easy peasy! Plus, the fabric underneath will prevent items from sliding around the tray as you are carrying it. It's never been a better time to put out a spread of crackers or baguette with cheese, antipasto, pesto, and olives. Yum!
3. Ice Cream Saver - Stop ice cream from during into gazpacho with bubble wrap. Surround your bucket with a layer of the temptingly-poppable bubble barrier and create an instant insulating effect. If you have an ice cream maker, go ahead and try this technique with a NEW flavour of ice cream like our Cherry Balsamic Ice Cream, Lemon Olive Oil Ice Cream, or Banana "Nice" Cream today!
