Valentine’s Day Tea Time

Miss Cavendish – and no doubt Jolly – had created an enchanting setting for a tea party.  An assortment of little tables had been brought out and laid with lace cloths, an elaborate silver tea service, as well as a staggering assortment of sweets and cakes and sandwiches heaped on porcelain plates.  There were bowls of jam and sugar and little candies dotted here and there, and petals dropped from the trees like silken confetti spangling the grass.

- from Dark Road To Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

Take time to treat yourself to a special tea today. 

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Eating Royally

This book by Darren McGrady is full of wonderful photographs, recipes and anecdotes. 

The chapters are set up by The Royal Year and then The Royal Residences (Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, HMY Britannia, Balmoral Castle, Sandringham House, and Kensington Palace).  The author has worked for the Queen and was private chef to Princess Diana.

It’s interesting that the first recipe in the book is for Royal Tea Scones.  These were served every day.  There is a cute story about how the Queen didn’t actually eat the scones, but at the end of her tea she would crumble them on the floor for the corgis. 

Since scones are one of my favorite teatime treats, I decided to try the recipe.

 

Scones are very simple to make.  I usually cut mine in wedges, but the recipe called for 2 inch rounds.

They baked up nicely, but since I didn’t brush the tops with beaten egg yolk before putting them into the oven, they are not as brown as they could be.  I ate them warm with butter and strawberry-blackberry preserves.  A cup of Darjeeling tea was perfect with these.

There are photos of each of the beautiful Royal residences.  This is Kensington Palace, the home of Princess Diana and her sons William and Harry until her death. 

There are also photos of the many recipes which include Battenberg Cake, Chocolate Biscuit Cake, Spring Asparagus Soup, Salmon En Croute, Roasted Spring Vegetables and dozens more. 

The Queen’s birthday tea looks delicious and includes Royal Scones as well as her favorite chocolate cake.  I’m going to enjoy trying many of the recipes in this interesting book.  You can check out The Royal Chef at his fun website. 

Pu-erh - What a Surprise

I’ve heard so much about this tea, most of it good.  On the negative side, I’ve heard that it’s an acquired taste.  I’d only tried Pu-erh once before.  I shouldn’t say tried - I brewed it, but didn’t actually sip the tea because I couldn’t get past the extremely earthy fragrance.  

A while ago I posted about a company called Tea Vivre.  The tea samples they sent to me were wonderful, high quality tea, but due to my previous experience with Pu-erh, I was reluctant to sample their Mini Tuocha.

These are small cakes of ripened Pu-erh tea flakes.  They are individually wrapped and the little cakes of tea are shaped like birds nests.  They can be aged for many years, like fine wine.  The package said that these were produced in May 2007.

What a surprise – this is nothing like the Pu-erh from my first experience.  The flavor is very mellow and I did not find it too earthy.  It was interesting to read on the company website that this tea is served after large meals since it breaks down fat (may be helpful for weight loss).

I’m glad that I finally sampled the Ripened Aged Pu-erh Mini Tuocha.  This could easily become a favorite.  Have you tried it yet?

Any Cup Will Do fabric

On a recent trip to A Scarlet Thread to buy some navy blue cotton thread, I found this cute fabric, among other things.  I always ask if any new tea theme fabric has come in and this is what the sales assistant showed me.  For some reason I thought of the nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle”. 

This is from the Kitchen Collection fabric collection from Michael Miller Fabrics.  It is 100% cotton and it also comes in red (really cute) and green.

There was a sweet toddler size tunic on display in the clearance section and I knew that I wanted to use my new fabric to make one for my granddaughter.

One of the nice features of this tunic (on the left) is the way the straps are attached.  You thread the strap through a button hole on the yoke and tie the end in a knot.  I don’t know if you can see this in the photo, but it looks adorable.

I’m going to use the Any Cup Will Do fabric for the skirt, pink for the yoke and polka dot for the straps.  This tunic pattern should be quite versatile – a sundress for the summer or worn layered over a long sleeve top in cold weather.

Now, let’s see - the red and white would be really cute for an apron, or maybe a tea cozy.  No, no, no!  I really must finish some UFO’s before another trip to the quilt shop.

Good Earth tea winner

Joy is the winner of the Good Earth tea.  Please email your address and I’ll send your package of tea shortly.

 

Tea…will always be the favored beverage of the intellectual.

-  Thomas De Quincy

Calendar Holder

I’ve been buying the Collectible Teapot and Tea Calendar for many years.  It’s my favorite calendar.  The problem is, I don’t like to write in this one.

So, I waited until Books-A-Million reduced their 2012 calendars to half price and picked up this one to hang in my kitchen.

Shortly after that my sewing friends at Sewing Seeds Quilting Bee told me that they were going to make a patchwork calendar holder – perfect.

I chose some fabric from my stash and made this.

Unfortunately, the front pocket was too narrow to hold my Paula Deen calendar, so it was back to Books-A-Million to purchase this smaller one from The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

The holder features a clear pocket for a photo and a pen holder sleeve, perfect for my Slick Writer.  The pattern was from the October/November 2008 issue of Country Woman magazine.

Since there is another full length pocket on the back to insert cardboard for stability, I didn’t include a hanging sleeve.  Now I’m looking for a nice metal hanger with clips. 

 

Good Earth Tea giveaway

What took me so long to discover Good Earth Tea?  This company was one of the first herbal tea companies in America in the 1970’s.

They have over 25 different blends of tea, including the Original Sweet & Spicy tea that I sampled.  This blend is now another of my favorites, and compares well with Hot Cinnamon Spice by Harney & Sons. 

Good Earth Tea contains no sugar, artificial colors or preservatives and no MSG or soy.  This Sweet & Spicy tea was a real treat and I think it will be helpful to curb dessert cravings.  The cinnamon and orange taste was great and the other ingredients added subtle nuances of flavor to the blend.

The tea is grown in areas that include China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and others.  It was nice to read that the teabags are unbleached and the Good Earth factory is 75% solar powered.

I was pleased to see that this tea is sold on Amazon and is also available in many large grocery store chains.  You can check their website for a store location near you. 

Since I received two boxes of Original Sweet and Spicy tea to sample, I’m going to give a box away to one of my readers.  Just let me know that you’d like to enter the giveaway by Saturday, January 21 at 6 pm.

So I must rise at early dawn, as busy as can be,

To get my daily labor done, and pluck the leafy tea.

- Le Yih, 1644