Happy National Iced Tea Day – 2013

By Terry Orr

With the official start of summer just a few days away, the timing is perfect for National Iced Tea Day.

Chances are, it is already hot in your area. Today may serve as a good reminder to make and enjoy your first (of many) Iced Tea drink of the season. Have it plain, add a little lemon, or sweeten it with sugar. Iced Tea is certainly a favorite summer cooler of millions of Americans. And best of all, tea is good for your health!

It takes no imagination to decide how to enjoy this great day: Grab an Iced Tea and head out to the hammock strung under a shady tree.

Medicinal value:

Since ancient times, people have believed that tea has a wide range of medicinal uses. Modern research has given credibility to many of these beliefs and identified more in some cases research is not conclusive. Regardless of the final determination as to it's value over time, drink and enjoy because there is no research to suggest that it can hurt you and it just tastes good.

Here are some of the known or suspected medicinal applications:

Avoidance of heart disease

Cancer and tumors

Stomach ailments

Sore throats and colds (often flavored with honey)

Soothing, relaxing

The Origin of Iced Tea:

In 1904, English tea plantation owner Richard Blechynden set up a booth to sell hot tea at the St. Louis World Fair. It was a sizzler of a day, and fair visitors didn't want anything hot. Rather, they needed something to quench their thirst... something cold. He dumped some of his hot tea into ice and served it cold. It was an immediate hit. This was the first known use of iced tea. (Source: http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/June/icedteaday.htm)

Did you know?

Today iced tea accounts for about eight-five per cent of all tea consumed in the U.S, and that it is served in stores, vending machines, and restaurants across the country. With a wide range of varieties including bottled, boxed, sweetened, unsweetened, spiced, Thai, and chai brands, there is a flavor out there for just about ever tea lover. (Source: http://theyearoflivingunofficially.com/06/10/national-iced-tea-day/)

Sweetened or unsweetened, flavored or unflavored, celebrate Iced Tea Day with a nice, tall glass of your favorite iced tea!

 (Images from Google) 

National Hot Toddy Day

(Google Image)

By Diane Forrest

The University of Mississippi is a major university in our state.  They have a chant at football games that says,

Hotty Toddy Gosh Almighty

Who in the hell are we??

Flim Flam Bim Bam

Ole Miss by damn!

I think of this chant every time I see the words hot toddy.  However, this hot toddy is not a football chant, but a drink.  A Hot Toddy is made with honey, lemon, hot water and a choice of rum, whiskey or scotch.  You can also include coffee, tea or cocoa too.  A hot toddy is a favorite drink of those who have cold weather and signs of a cold or sore throat.

(Google Image)

According to punchbowl.com, hot toddies originated in Scotland sometime during the 18th century. While the exact details are unknown, historians believe that the recipe was developed to make the taste of Scotch whiskey more palatable. (Apparently the women of the day didn’t care for the smoky, peat flavor.) One theory suggests that the word “toddy” evolved from “Tod’s well” (also known as Todian Spring), the water supply for Edinburgh.

(Google Image)

So today, on National Hot Toddy day, try a favorite warm drink to knock off the winter chill, and get rid of those nasty cold bugs!

Pina Colada Day!!!

By Diane Forrest

On a scorching day like today, what could be better than laying back on a chaise lounge, under an umbrella by the beach, sipping on a frosty pina colada?

I love the tropics, the sounds of the waves crashing against the shores, the calls of the sea gulls as they fly in search of food, and the smell of pineapples and coconut.  Listening to the far off sounds of a Jamaican band playing while sipping on a frozen pina colada would just be a perfect day for me.

The pina colada hasn't been around all that long, with the first mention of it in 1950.  In 1978, it became the official drink of Puerto Rico.  It is a light rum based drink made with pineapple juice and coconut cream.  It can be served over ice, or blended with ice until slushed.

There are many ways to make a pina colada, however the original recipe by the proclaimed inventor is:

• Pour 3 ounces of coconut cream, 6 ounces of pineapple juice and 1 1/2 ounces of white rum into a blender or shaker with crushed ice, and blend or shake very well until smooth. Pour into chilled glass, garnish with pineapple wedge and/or a maraschino cherry.

You can also find mixes at your grocery store or liquer store.  Since I am constantly striving to bring you the most current, accurate information possible, and will go to any lengths to research for my articles, I put myself on the line once again to try a new pina colada recipe.  Nothing but the best for you guys!  As I was driving through town I saw a large sign that flashed in neon letters, Frozen Pina Coladas!  So, only in thoughts of my research did I stop to try one. It was pretty good, sweet, frozen, a little tangy, the only problem I could find with it was there was not one drop of rum!  You see, it was a new drink from Taco Bell.

So, today, on Pina Colada day, you can feel free to celebrate with an ice cold drink with, or without rum.  In the words of Rupert Holmes' "Escape"

"If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.

If you're not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain.

If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape.

I'm the lady you've looked for, write to me, and escape."