A refreshing Mediterranean iced tea with an exotic twist!

Have you ever prepared an iced tea that is refreshing and tasty and has an exotic twist as well? That is very easy to do. You only need few ingredients: your favourite flavor of tea, sugar, lemon, a small bunch of fresh mint and a piece of fresh ginger, big more or less like a clove of garlic.

So let's start by making a normal tea in the teapot, leave the tea in infusion for at least 15 minutes. Add 2 or 3 spoons full of sugar while the water is still hot, 10 mint leaves or more, an entire lemon cut in slices and the piece of ginger without the skin.

Leave everything together until the tea has reached the room temperature. After a good couple of hours (at least two) remove the slices of lemon and the ginger.

Put the tea in a jug or a bottle and place it in the fridge for other 2-3 hours. You can also take the mint out but I love it so much I keep it there until the moment I serve it. 

With this heat dear friends, don't miss the opportunity of preparing this lovely refreshing drink at home, definitely healthier than the ones you buy it. You can offer it to your friends when they come visit you or to your husband when he comes tired and hot from work. I am sure that they will love it and appreciate the fact that you had this sweet thought and prepared it with love just for them.

Mint-flavored potato salads, a delicious summer side dish

Do you know how to prepare a lovely fresh side dish with mint-flavored potatoes that taste like Summer? Easy. Just keep on reading :)

The dish I am talking about today is inevitably tied to summer memories back in my childhood and especially to my Grandma: nonna Nuccia, so I wanted to render homage to her with this picture.

In july and august we used to live all together in a big country house and we all prepared something for dinner or helped mum and grandma in cooking. The mint-flavored potato salads was a typical dish she liked to prepare and eat as well. Very easy and tasty, perfect for a light summer meal.

Recipe for 6 people:

1 kg potatoes

a small bunch of fresh mint

2-3 cloves of garlic

extra virgin olive oil

vinegar

salt

black pepper

First wash the potatoes under running water then boil them in salted water inside a large casserole.

In the meantime prepare a kind of marinate in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, black pepper as you like, some vinegar, the fresh mint thinly chopped and the garlic cut in thick slices (you don't have to eat it but at least would perfume the dish together with the mint and will make a difference!)


Try the potatoes with a fork, when they are cooked (careful not to overcook them!) drain and let them cool about half an hour, then remove the skin and cut them in pieces, placing them in the bowl with the marinate and mixing well with the oil and the other ingredients together. They have to stay in the fridge at least a couple of hours before being served because they must have time to season and become tasty at their best. Then your palate will enjoy this lovely combination of freshness and goodness!


I like this side dish not only because of my memories but also because is perfect when you are desperate and don't know what to cook. Everyone usually love potatoes and if you want to prepare them in a light Mediterrenean style.... this is definetely the perfect way. You will make all the people happy as it perfect also for vegeterians!