Ice Tea Quickie

So just a quick post for now... I've gotten back into my ice tea habit for the summer, though it doesn't quite feel like summer here yet. I found these really great ice tea bags at Trader Joe's which you put in the coffee maker and brew. I ran out last week so I just put a few tablespoons of loose leaf tea in a coffee filter and brewed it with 12 cups of water and it worked like a charm. I have some lovely key lime tea I got in St. John which I brewed and it turned out great. I've been getting Agave Nectar to sweeten the tea, I think this provides more of an illusion of health than an actual reduction of calories, but I do what I can. It is convenient thought because it is already in syrup format, not that making simple syrup is that hard, but you know I get lazy. Also a quick hit on a spring dinner:

Potato and Corn Chowder:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 4 slices bacon, chopped (I use turkey bacon) 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1 pound small potatoes, cut into small chunks 4 to 5 large ears corn, kernels scraped from the cobs, or one 10-ounce box frozen corn 1 medium or 2 small zucchini, finely chopped 1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika 3 tablespoons flour One 32-ounce container (4 cups) chicken broth (I've been using "Better than Bullion" concentrate) 1 cup milk 1 cup heavy cream Salt and pepper

1. In a medium soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp at the edges. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the potatoes, corn, zucchini, and paprika and cook for 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the pot, stir and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the broth and simmer until thickened a bit. Stir in the milk and cream and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 8 minutes. 2. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. This is adapted from a recipe from Every Day With Rachel Ray (I know she is a little scary and perky, but the woman can cook!) Quick and Dirty Method: Replace veggies with a bag or two of precut ones from the store. I used Wegman's Minestrone veggies (which has carrots, celery and leaks too) and added some fresh green beans at the last minute (don't over cook them) and a bag of frozen corn. I think you can put in whatever veggies you like with this, it is mostly the method of starting with bacon and adding flour in to thicken it which gives it that nice smoky but fresh flavor from the cream. I made this for my dad and he thinks it would benefit from taking out some of the potatoes and pureeing them to thicken it more. I think you could probably do the same with the frozen corn, but I was too lazy to do that tonight so I can't tell you how it would turn out. I like to serve it with a white pizza, store bought dough rubbed with olive oil, chopped garlic, some spiced (herbes de Provence is nice) with a four cheese Italian blend on top. Enjoy!