58 Steps, 1 Fat Expat Cat

As you know, we live in an apartment on the 4th floor of the château. Being a medieval castle, there is of course no elevator, and only one staircase, a circular stone one in a tower. It is accessible to each floor and the four of use it, plus assorted guests–there are always a few at Balleure. I can tell you that if you lived here (and had a propensity to leave things at the wrong end of the tower, as I do) you would have beautiful strong legs and your arms would be in shape too, from carrying the groceries up and up.

We like the 58 steps (most days), it keeps us in good form. But our main problem was our cat Piccolo. The adored Piccolo accompanied us from the states, so she, too, has made a dramatic life change. She’s used to sashaying in and out as she pleases, and we had no clue how to manage this, with one common staircase and a door at the bottom, left open or shut depending on the weather.

To introduce you: Piccolo is a Southern Lady, girly and prissy. She lost her svelte figure early on. She’s not one for bravery; a mouse would send her packing. I once watched her get into an impressively intense crouching position, tail flipping, when she spotted a bird a few yards away in the grass; but then she suddenly keeled over, exhausted by the effort, and fell sound asleep. She did once catch up with a large caterpillar, which she gingerly poked with great trepidation. This is the extent of her hunting repertoire.

It seemed unlikely that we could raise and lower the full-figured Piccolo down 4 stories in a basket, the only solution we could think of. But in the end, it all worked out, as Pic took immediately to the château. We often leave our entry door open, so she can zip up and down the tower as she pleases, exploring the summer kitchen en bas, perhaps exchanging a greeting with Pierre in passing. Outside she didn’t know what to make of the cows or the open fields, so unlike her Charleston walled garden. And so she is happy to stay inside.

Anyway, several daily trips up and down those stairs on a summer day make one thirsty, which has made me think about my favorite drink, Southern Iced Tea. We call it Sweet Tea in the South (we drink it loaded with sugar). The Brits will make a terrible face if you even mention it, and the French are skeptical, though coming around; you can buy it in cans here now (in cans! Quelle horreur!). But why would you buy yucky canned ice tea when it is SO easy to make! You don’t even have to turn the stove on. So, for the unschooled, here is a primer on making PROPER Southern Sweet Tea. I’ve also included some fun variations, including my own French version. Messing with the recipe would be a felony in Charleston, but here we will allow it.

RECIPE: Traditional Sweet Tea

No need to measure, but to give you an idea, for a ½ gallon pitcher:
About 5 cups boiling water
2 family-size tea bags (you can buy tea bags for iced tea, but any regular old tea will work—nothing fancy, please)
1/3 to 3/4 cup sugar, or more to taste (MUCH more is not uncommon!)
about 4 cups water (room temperature)
Ice cubes
Mint or lemon to garnish

Pour boiling water over the tea bags in a large pitcher. Set aside and let steep 5 to 10 minutes, covered, until very dark in color. Smush tea bags just a bit with the back of a spoon, then remove.

Add sugar to warm tea, stirring until sugar is COMPLETELY dissolved. This may take a minute or so. Add the other 4 cups of water, or enough to make it the proper deep amber color, and stir again. Serve over ice with a slice of lemon, or with fresh mint, muddled a bit with a spoon.

Avoiding Cloudy Tea: Cloudy tea tastes OK, but clear tea is prettier. If your water is hard, use bottled water. When adding water, use lukewarm, not cold. Store tea at room temperature, then pour it over ice to serve.

SOLAR TEA

The lazy summer method. Just put a couple of family-size tea bags in a glass pitcher and cover. Leave it sitting in full sun for a few hours, until desired color is reached. Sweeten with sugar syrup (see below).

YANKEE TEA

Ron is from up north, and though I’ve trained him to like iced tea, he won’t drink it sweet. Here’s the solution if you’ve got a mixed marriage (southern & Yankee) as we do: Make a pitcher of unsweetened tea, but keep a little container of sugar syrup in your fridge to add a bit as desired (regular sugar won’t dissolve in iced tea). To make the syrup, add equal parts sugar and water to a pan Heat it and stir until completely dissolved. Boiling it a bit will make it more concentrated. Keeps a month.

A note on ordering tea in the South: Many restaurants have gotten real progressive, catering to all those visitors from Off, and the waitress will ask you if you want your tea sweetened or unsweetened. If you are not a native, you will want to reply ‘half & half’. This will assure that you don’t get more sugar than tea, but iced tea with NO sugar is just hot tea, chilled.

FLUFFED-UP TEAS:

French Iced Tea

In honor of our adopted country, I offer this summer aperitif recipe, made with raspberries from Pierre’s garden.

Fill tall glasses with ice and add 1 Tablespoon of raspberry liqueur or Cassis to each. Put several fresh raspberries in each glass. Pour lightly sweetened iced tea over ice and garnish with lime slices.

Fresh Fruit Tea

Add a generous splash of fruit juice to lightly sweetened tea: pineapple, orange, cranberry, limeade, or a combination. Or, stir a bit of frozen juice concentrate into your tea. Garnish with fresh fruit.

Posh tea

Purée some fresh fruit and add to Sweet Tea: strawberries, mangos or raspberries, for example, but fresh peaches are the best. A little fruit juice or fruit liqueur thrown in would kick it up a notch. Garnish with colorful slices of fruit and rounds of lemon or lime. A straw would not be out of place here, and we may even be getting into umbrella territory.

Come on y’all: how do you drink your Sweet Tea? Are you a purist, or have you got some new ideas for us?