Tea party

I didn't write this morning because (a) I was enjoying the furnace making my bedroom toasty and (b) the Dear Daughter is running for student government vice president and has a speech today. She asked for bacon and eggs, so of course, I went to cooking instead of writing.

That's worth putting off a few hundred words for a little while.

If she runs for president of the United States one day, I will make her an omelet before her first debate.

She's a member of the tea party. That's right. Her platform includes a plank on making sweet tea available in the cafeteria.

At least I am raising her right, with the proper appreciation for sweet tea.

Of course, I don't see this happening with sugar-sweetened tea. It'd be Splenda or Nutrasweet or something in that tea, but not sugar. Sugar in the middle school cafeteria these days would be like opening a beer in the middle of lunchtime there. People would lose their minds equally.

Back when I was in school, there was a Coke machine in the lunchroom, and they were only 20 cents. I get nostalgic just thinking about a peanut butter sandwich and a Coke in a glass bottle.

Anyhow, she's in a crowded field of 20 candidates, but at least she's fighting the good fight for sweet tea.

By the way, even though it is cold out, I will tell y'all how to make sweet tea, because people north of Atlanta don't have a clue.

Fill a saucepan with about two cups of water or a microwavable pitcher. No need to get too exact on the amount of water.

Bring it to a rolling boil.

Drop in six individual tea bags or three family-size ones. Wait.

After a while (again, not super exact with this, maybe 10 minutes), remove and squeeze out the tea bags.

In a gallon-size pitcher, add about 3/4 cup Splenda or 1 cup sugar (we go with Splenda because I want to wear skinny jeans) and pour tea over it. Stir. This is key, as you want the tea still hot enough that it will dissolve the sugar. This is where a lot of people screw up sweet tea. It needs to be like a tea syrup. Otherwise you have a bunch of sweetener stuck at the bottom of your pitcher, and that is just nasty.

Then fill to about halfway with cold water and stick in the fridge. That is how I do a batch of sweet tea for my family. There's no recipe, but apparently, it's good enough to make the Dear Daughter's list of campaign issues. Sweet tea to the people!