Orange Mint Juice

It's May, and I think we have already had 2 days that were above 90 degrees.  I live in a state that is more well known for its winters.  A state where the most popular high school sports are basketball and hockey.  Basketball because it's inside.  Hockey because outside the ground is covered in ice 6 months out of the year.

Summer decided to show up early.  I've already planted my plants.  I've already have had my first harvest of lettuce.  The kale looks about ready, too.  The mint has gone crazy.  I stumbled across a bunch of recipes for mint drinks the week of the Kentucky Derby, and one of them was for a orange juice.

This is pretty good, if I do say so myself.  Although, the lemon is a little overpowering.  That's okay by me.  I love lemonaide!  It's good stuff.  The kids liked it, and although it does have some added sugar, it is reasonable by my standards.  If you don't like to add sugar/honey, you could cut back on the lemon juice in the recipe. 

Orange Mint Juice

3 cups water
6 sprigs fresh mint
1/3 cup sugar (or to taste)
2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add mint, cover, and remove from heat and let sit 15 minutes. Remove mint.
Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
Combine juices in a serving container. Add mint "tea" and water to bring to 2 liters. Chill completely and serve .

Simple Breakfasts - Deviled Eggs

I know it isn't traditional to serve deviled eggs for breakfast, but sometimes mornings need to be a little different.  I don't like kids starting their day off with cereal all the time.  Cereal is pretty high in carbohydrates and not very high in protein and fat.  With their growing bodies and minds, its good to get them a hearty breakfast.  

For a while, they were happy with scrambled eggs.  Smoothies are good, too.  But, they eventually get bored of it, and more often than not, I just don't feel like making a mess for breakfast.  One day, I decided to see how they would like deviled eggs for breakfast.  It's easy, I can make them ahead of time, and then the breakfast mess is minimal.  

I usually put a little mustard in my deviled eggs, but I couldn't find any yesterday.  Instead, I added about 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric.  (I remember hearing or reading about it somewhere.)  It gave the yolks a great color.  

I had some chives that needed to be used up, so I cut up a bit and added that to a few eggs.  Kids loved it!  I loved how the turmeric added such a nice color to the yolks.