Part of farm life for me is cooking, and I absolutely love to try new things. In fact when we built our barndiminium, I wanted to make sure that while we downsized our living space, our kitchen space still had plenty of room to experiment and let this southern girl do what we love to do – cook to show our love for family, friends, and neighbors.

I’ll be sharing recipes that I’ve tried and that have made it into our family repetoire of pure yumminess. Instead of creating another page, if you ever want to search the recipes, just click on the Farmtastic Recipes in the categories list.

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To get us started, the first recipe had to be some delicious sweet tea, perfect for porch sitting. Now, don’t tell me your are shocked because everyone loves a drink on the porch and tea is the elixir of the South. Back in May 2011, Southern Living had a large section of their magazine dedicated to all things sweet tea. Holy moly was I in heaven! I tweaked the recipe a bit based on what I had on hand and have some tips for what makes it work.

The Recipe: Citrus Sweet Tea

The Source: Southern Living and MyRecipes.com (click for the official recipe)

Farmtastic Notes:

• I prepared this just like the recipe, except I swapped out apple juice for pineapple juice, as it is what I had on hand. Delicious!
• Crushed ice really makes this special, so don’t go with the big cubes.
• This is sweet. Honestly, I think you could cut back on the sugar a scooch, and it would be just as tasty.
• It says to let it chill for at least one hour. Well this farmgirl, just couldn’t wait to taste this concoction. So, I filled a large mason jar to the brim with ice and poured it over. Divine!
• And finally, tea alway tastes better in a mason jar. Truly, give it a try! (My current favorites are the Ball Blue Heritage Collection Jars, pictured left.)

I’d love to hear what you think of this recipe, so give it a try and share your thoughts.