A new twist on iced tea from an Australian food website called FoodDownUnder.com, this recipe combines passion fruit, mint, and a little bit of sugar. Passion fruit juice settles easily, so shake well before using and stir tea vigorously before serving (I like to keep a stir-stick in my glass). The recipe didn’t specify the type of tea to use, so I used Orange Pekoe.

6 tea bags
4 cups water
1 cup fresh mint, lightly crushed
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup passion fruit juice
sprigs of mint, for garnish

Bring water to a boil and pour over tea and mint. Steep 10 minutes. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add juice and stir well to combine. Strain tea into a pitcher.

Chill tea 1-2 hours. Stir well before serving. Pour over ice and garnish with sprigs of mint.

This recipe is great if you want to try something new, like passion fruit. I would discourage using fresh passion fruit because it’s a little pricey and you don’t get much juice from each fruit (you’d probably need 10-12 passion fruit to complete this recipe).

A quick and easy side dish from the book Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, this really would work with almost any fresh vegetable, but I really liked the parmesan flavor with asparagus.

1 1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450F

In a shallow baking dish or rimmed baking sheet, toss trimmed asparagus in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Bake 10-15 minutes or until asparagus is tender (will look bright green).

Another DIY Herbal Tea, from the website Recipe Goldmine. In this recipe, tea is made by water steeped in anise seed, which is similar to fennel seed but with a stronger licorice flavor. Can be served hot or chilled. I liked the flavor of honey with this tea better than sugar.

5 cups water
2 1/2 tsp anise seed
sugar, to taste

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add anise seed and remove from heat. Cover and steep 20 minutes. Strain out seeds and add sugar (or honey).

Serve immediately hot or chill 1-2 hours and serve over ice.

Anise Tea for One

Here is another version of Anise Tea, this one from About.com. Great on a chilly night or a day when the AC has been turned on for too long. A quick and easy treat to serve one.

1 cup boiling water
1 tsp anise seed
1 tsp honey or to taste

Pour boiling water over anise seed a small heat-resistant bowl or saucepan. Steep for 5-6 minutes.

Strain tea into a mug and sweeten to taste with honey.

To serve iced, chill for 20-30 minutes and serve over ice as shown below. Again, this herbal tea will not be as dark as regular tea.

Take advantage of seasonal zucchini and yellow squash available at Farmer’s Markets with this quick side dish. Adjust the seasoning to suit your tastes.

2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 yellow squash, thinly sliced
1/2 small onion, chopped or diced
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Melt butter in skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until tender and translucent, but not golden, about 3 minutes.

Add zucchini and squash to skillet, tossing to coat in onions. Season with salt and pepper. In batches, add breadcrumbs, coating vegetables. Add fresh herbs and spices as desired.

Here is the first in a short series of DIY Herbal Teas (do-it-yourself). No tea bags required! From the website www.about.com.

1 1/2 cups loosely packed sage leaves
1 large lemon
2 tbsp sugar
4 cups boiling water
sage sprigs or lemon wedge, for garnish

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan and maintain a slight simmer (not a full, rolling boil). Separate sage leaves from stems and discard stems. Using a vegetable peeler, remove rind from lemon in 3-inch long strips.

Add sage, lemon strips, juice from lemon, and sugar to simmering water. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Maintain simmer for 30 minutes, covering saucepan with lid.

Strain tea into a heat-resistant pitcher. Can be served hot. For sipper, chill tea for 1-2 hours. Serve over ice with garnish, if desired.

This herbal tea will not be as dark as regular tea.

Garnished with sage leaves: