Summer is here! We had the rainiest month of May ever, and the green grass and gorgeous blooms were a great reward many soggy days.

My perfect summer morning is spent outside, reading the newspaper or a book and drinking iced coffee. Sometimes I even plan world domination.

The best thing about iced coffee is that you don’t even have to use your coffee machine. And if you don’t have a coffee machine, this is even better news for you!

What You Need:

1 cup ground coffee (I use a medium grind)

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 cups cold water

1 qt jar or pitcher with a lid

Long handled spoon

Sieve

Make It Happen:

Pour the coffee, sugar and cinnamon into the jar. (If you don’t normally sweeten your coffee, as I don’t, I urge you to try this recipe anyway. The sugar and cinnamon are not overwhelming – but gives the coffee some great depth.) Add the cold water. Stir until well blended. Place the lid securely on the jar or pitcher and either leave on the counter or in the fridge overnight. I’d say about 8-12 hours is the max.

When it’s ready, take off the lid and give it another stir. Pour the coffee through the sieve into another container – a 4-cup measuring cup works well if you have it. If you don’t, just use a mixing bowl. I like to pour the coffee through a sieve twice, just to make sure I’ve gotten as many of the grounds as possible out of the coffee.

To serve, fill a glass with ice and pour the coffee over. Add milk if you like. Don’t be surprised if you drink the whole jar in one day.