A brief glimpse of summer...

Cyd installed the air conditioners this past weekend because the heat was doing us in. Then last night, I froze to death with the windows open and a fan blowing on me all night. Tonight, I am running around, closing all the windows and reaching for a blanket because it's too late to build a fire. I'm afraid that Spring 2013 has a bipolar disorder.

But during that brief burst of heat, I fashioned a lovely summery beverage to cool us off, based on a recipe in the May Bon Appetit (photo credit to them as well): Thai Chai Berry Iced Tea!

Combine ten star anise pods, three tablespoons sugar, and eight cups of water in a large saucepan. Scrape in seeds from one vanilla bean and add the scraped bean to the pot as well. Bring just to a boil, then remove from heat and add 15 black tea bags (I used an organic berry white tea). Cover and let steep for about 20 minutes. Strain into another large pitcher. Stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk until dissolved. Chill thoroughly, then serve over ice.