Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Sweet Tea

Makes 2 quarts

2 cups boiling water
6 tea bags
3/4 cup white sugar
6 cups cool water

Directions
Into a 64 oz. heat-proof, glass pitcher, pour in boiling water, and add tea bags. Cover, and allow to steep for 15 minutes.
Remove tea bags, and discard; stir in sugar until dissolved. Pour in cool water, then refrigerate until cold.
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My family has been making iced tea this way since the time of Noah. So it is is with wry amusement that I watch the TV commercials hyping Sweet Tea as though it were a new and phenomenal discovery.
Even on the grocery shelves they take up scads of space with different varieties of the beverage that has been a staple in southern homes for generations. It is one of the oldest and most exceptional Southern traditions, served over a glass of ice so cold that you can watch your napkin drown in a puddle of condensation.
As Dolly Parton’s character in Steel Magnolias puts it, it’s the “house wine of the South.” And we who have been raised on it know that when we leave Dixie and order sweet tea, we probably aren’t going to get it, even if we’re lucky enough to find something bearing its name, it won’t be the same.
Ask a waitress north of the Mason-Dixon line for a glass of sweet tea and she’ll look at you funny. She doesn’t know sweet tea where she comes from.
At my house it was served every day at mealtime, winter and summer. We had the special accouterments for making the tea, the same pan for boiling the water and the large pitcher that was reserved for iced tea only, the tea pitcher we called it. Sometimes we added lemon, if there were lemons in the house, but it really didn’t matter. We never served it hot. Tea was meant to be served ice cold at our dinner table. And a meal wasn’t complete without it. I’m sure this pattern was repeated in every household in our part of the South.
 I read a lot of British novels where a cup of tea cures all ills or disasters. A body is found in the library or some other calamity befalls the family and the usual reaction is “let’s have a cup of hot tea,” which always smooths over the seriousness of the situation. The Brits may have a handle (pun intended) on a cup of hot tea, but here in the South, our nectar of the Gods is a tall glass of iced tea. And sweet, if you don’t mind.

Crunchy bread and salad completes this meal.

Baked Pasta Casserole

12 ounces short whole grain pasta
1½ cups ricotta cheese
1 egg
3 cups tomato sauce
½ cup grated cheese (e.g. mozzarella, cheddar, jack)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta and the egg.
Boil the pasta according to the directions and drain.
Add the cooked pasta to the ricotta and stir to coat evenly.
In a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce along the bottom of the dish.
Add the pasta mixture to the dish.
Pour the remaining tomato sauce on top of the pasta, and sprinkle with the grated cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the grated cheese is melted and a few pieces of pasta are beginning to get brown.
Serve immediately.