6/6/11

Summer Iced Tea



By Mademoiselle Noodle Poodle



Guest Contributor 
By Invitation of Cooky Cat

[Mademoiselle Noodle Poodle is an old friend. Not, like she is old. But, our friendship goes back some. She's one of the few canines that Cooky Cat can cuddle. Not in any seamy way, just cuddle. OK? 

She’s from the Land of Cotton and has her antebellum ways firmly in tow. Her accent even comes through thick in her prose. But, she is now living in the Yankee North and has become a darling of the Upper East Side. No group rate, multi-dog walker will you see her with. She travels solo, or not at all. She is as good in the kitchen as she is at being seen parading down the Avenue in all her finery. Cars do stop. Some addresses prearrange floral tributes at the times she is expected to pass. Doormen always have a big supply of biscuits to tempt her with. But enough about how wonderful she is. The glowing praise is beginning to make Cooky Cat feel a little shabby. So, here is her approach to the prrrr-fect summer cooler.]

Uber Editor’s Note: Any catch phrase coinages in the following are the sole property of Cooky Cat. Take that Rachel Ray!

Mlle. Noodle Poodle, S'il vous plaît …

Well!  On such a day as this, it’s simply heaven, all you sweet things, I must say, to be invited as guest contributor, while my good friend Cooky takes a nice snooze curled up on the porch. So much more of an introduction than I would ever, lands sakes alive, ever expect. Thank you Cooky, sweetie!


(Cooky, Pussycat Sweetie, gets 5 big bow-wows and a long, but friendly "Grrrrr" for the invite! Thanks a bunch, honeybunch.)
But be advised, in the summer we keep it short (just like my hairstyle); this lil’ poodle’s recipe writing is quite “caz” (that is short for casual, y’all) Hope you like it.
Can you ever imagine such a thing as we have these days, with massive solar flare-ups and intense unpredictable heat waves! And everybody in a fuss over some hot dog in the legislature. Sure makes me wish I was a Long Tall Sally from the Deep South, reclining on the veranda, sipping a long tall iced tea, and watching the Spanish Moss wave in the gentle breeze, instead being a northern puppy used to being walked along the (hot!!!) pavements of Park Avenue, as I do.
If only my human companions would add some fashionable booties to save my princess toes! Four matching snappy cute little slip-ons to go with the happy scarf and Cartier pin I always wear — that is so Ladies Who Lunch. Uohhh!  Even in the summer? Of course. Fashion! Don’t you just love it… dahrlin’?
Here are some words to the wise (beverage-wise), for summer days when the sun acts up and does naughty things to the atmosphere. Keep your cool, as I do; prepare this neat and easy treat that will make you feel like you are on a desert isle with white sandy beaches and a beckoning turquoise sea. Throw a stick in the water, and I'm all over it. 
What else would you expect from this Southern Belle. Refreshing iced tea!
First take a medium pot and add a quart of good water; not that tap stuff. Maybe it comes from a deep cool natural spring somewhere in a mountain range far, far away. We suggest



Mountain Valley Spring Water from down in Dixie. A distant cousin of ours was the guard poodle for Mr. Benjamin Lockett way back in 1871 just after the, ahem, difficulties with the Yankees.
Put it on to boil, but don’t let it get that far. First sign of bubbles, that’s the right temperature. Now turn off the heat and add some loose leaf tea. Today I reached into my box of Ceylon whole leaf and put about a small handful in the pot. Since I am a poodle you may not know what exactly a handful would be. For you lesser creatures, that’s about 1-2 level Tablespoons.
Then I got inspired!  Some nice Chinese Green Osmanthus tea leaves went in too!

Oh, the leaves sat in there about 3 minutes before I put the beverage through my trusty strainer with the ever so cute bamboo handle into a bowl and got it sugared up to just the right sweetness, as only oneself can judge what that is. We add the sugar while the tea is hot to be sure the crystals melt quickly. (We are not a fan of endlessly stirring sugar into cold iced tea, and having that layer of undissolved crystals nestled at the bottom. This doggie say, pooh on that!)

Okay, here is the good part. Have a larger bowl filled with ice (you can have the help do this while you are sweetening the brew). Place the bowl with sweetened tea onto the ice, and in less than ten minutes voila! You have your tea at a temperature ready for to chillin’ in the fridge. You keep all the tea flavor strength, and not diluted one bit by adding ice to cool in down! (That last bit, that’s so Yankee.)

Of course, ya’ll may want to add a squeeze of lemon wedge later on for a bit of tang.

Can you stand it?  Anyway, happy sippin’ from your one and only Lil’ Mademoiselle Noodle Poodle.

Ya’ll come back now, hear?


Catch ya’ll later, mmm-wahhh! [= Air kiss]

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Cooky Cat, back again. Hey, that Mountain Valley Spring Water is really somethin' to wet you whiskers with ...



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