They're Ba-ack

Every summer I end up getting just about eaten alive by mosquitoes. I'm not sure why, but they've always seemed to prefer me to anyone else I may be around. My mom always used to tease me, saying that it was because I had "sweet blood". I highly doubt that, but they're obviously attracted to something about me. So far, it's not even June and the tally reads Mosquitoes-3, Hannah-0. I have a feeling this is going to be a long, and itchy, summer.

Bring it on bugs, I can take you.

Golden Sweet Cornbread

I found this recipe earlier today on allrecipes.com and I absolutely love the end result and had to share it! You can see the original recipe here if you'd like, but I thought I'd write it down as well.

Golden Sweet Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2/3 cup sugar (I used half white and half brown)

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 C), and grease one 9 inch round cake pan.

2. Combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl. Stir in egg, milk, and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour in prepared pan.

3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

I actually used a 13 x 9 inch cake pan and baked it at 350 degrees and it turned out perfectly.

Easy Sun Tea

Every year when the weather starts to get warmer and the sun stays out for longer periods of time, I make sun tea. Sun tea is extremely easy to make and, apart from the time left in the sun, only takes a few minutes to prepare.

What you need:

A pitcher or container of some kind for holding the tea

Several tea bags of your choice, preferably with attached strings.

( I used 6 black tea bags for 2.75 quarts/2600 mL of water.)

Water

First, fill the container with water.

Then, unwrap the tea bags and put them in the container, with the strings hanging out.

Screw the lid onto the container so that the strings stay hanging on the outside of the container.

Set out in a sunny spot in the yard for several hours.

Here the tea is after a half hour out in the sun.

I tend to keep the tea outside for a longer period of time, because I like mine strong, but it depends on your preference. When the tea is strong enough, bring it inside, take out the tea bags, add sugar (again this is based on your personal preference), and either put in the refrigerator or pour into a glass over glass.

And there you have it, easy sun tea to enjoy on a hot summer day.