Do you like to sweeten your iced tea, or make tasty alcoholic drinks like mint juleps and mojitos? Frustrated by the fact that your sugar never dissolves, so you get an unsweetened drink and a pile of sugar at the bottom? Simple syrup is the solution!

To make simple syrup:

1. Get a container; I like an oil pourer, but an empty soda bottle or something like that would work fine too
2. Fill the container about 40% with plain white granulated sugar
3. Fill the container the rest of the way with the hottest water that comes from your tap
4. Close the bottle and shake for a few minutes until the liquid is clear

Congratulations! You now have water that is super-saturated with sugar! You can pour this into any drink and easily sweeten that drink, without the undissolved sugar problem you get with sugars in packets.

If you want to add some flavor, throw in sprigs of mint, or lemon zest, or berries or seeds or apple slices or something like that, you'll have apple or mint flavor that you can pour into your drink! It's a great addition to an iced tea or can add that kick of mint to a julep.

(If you have more time, you can make the simple syrup on the stovetop, which actually gives you a sweeter-than-sugar syrup, but takes a couple of minutes.)