Tea and Cake

You know you are getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.     - Bob Hope

Most of the time I’m a scratch baker, but once in a while something quick and easy is called for.  This book, along the line of semi-homemade recipes, uses cake mixes to speed up the preparation of all kinds of cakes, cookies, bars and other treats.

This cake will make a nice change from my usual banana loaf.

Mandarin Orange Tea Cake sounds lovely to eat with a favorite cuppa.

This PB & J Sandwich Cake was my main reason for buying this bargain book ($3.99 at Ross).  My grandson really likes PB & J sandwiches and insists on taking them for his school lunch every day.  Of course, I make his sandwich with whole wheat bread, not white.  I’m looking forward to seeing if this will turn out as cute as it looks in the photo.

Isn’t it nice to find a fun and useful book for less than the price of a magazine?

Tea Swap Package

I received another tea swap package in the mail yesterday.  There was a lovely Kimberly Shaw card with a nice little note from Kathleen.

The tea bags were enclosed in a lovely little paper arts gift box tied closed with pretty green ribbon.

There were several kinds of tea to try.

It is fun to see what kinds of tea you receive in the swap.  Thanks again, Kathleen.

Trend*tea Mug

My grandson and I went for a little drive this morning.  Since we didn’t find any yard sales to stop at, we drove to the mall.  I wanted some more London Cuppa tea, but Marshalls was all out.  So we went to Ross and here’s what I found.

   

These mugs are really cute and yes, I do like to drink my tea from a mug at home (unless I’m entertaining or treating myself).  The colors are lovely and the tea theme is great.  They have lids that can be used to cover the tea and help keep it hot, or as a teabag holder.  There is even a silicone gasket around the inside of the lid which keeps it in place nicely.

The striped mug has the names of fourteen different teas.   The blocked letter and tea leaf design on the pink mug is also pretty.   I noticed that there was also a matching honey dipper pot (at Ross) and a really cute striped tea for one (online).  The mugs are dishwasher and microwave safe.  Now I have to think of a way to use the cute tins that these mugs came in.

 

 

Tea Quote

 

Tea does our fancy aid,

Repress those vapours which the head invade

And keeps that palace of the soul serene.

- Edmund Waller

 

Blueberry Scones

Fresh Georgia blueberries are back in season.  I really enjoy these berries and when I saw the recipe in the June 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living – well, I couldn’t resist trying some.

I did change the recipe around some, but I think the result was good.

My pantry was lacking cake flour, so I substituted whole wheat flour for 1/4 cup of the flour.  I thought this might make a heavier textured scone, but that was not the case.

The dough was quite moist and as suggested I tried to handle the dough as little as possible.

  Most of the time I don’t sprinkle sugar on the tops of my unbaked scones and this time I didn’t even use an egg wash.  The scones are rather large since I cut eight wedges, instead of twelve.  Sorry about the ugly baking stone, but the Pampered Chef Company will tell you that the darker they get, the better.

My grandson and I did a taste test and he said they are really good.  I must agree.  These scones have a very nice flavor and a light texture and of course they are moist because of the juicy blueberries.  Isn’t it great when you try a new recipe and it turns out to be a keeper.   

 

Georgia Independence Day Festival

Happy 4th of July. I celebrated with my family yesterday at Nash Farm Park in Hampton. To experience Colonial Days there was a Creek Encampment, Fife and Drum Corps, Revolutionary Medicine, Wagon and Military Parade and Busy Needles Quilt Guild display. There was also live Colonial Music & Dancing, a Native American Camp & crafts, strolling actors and lots more. Unfortunately, I didn’t learn about the Ladies Tea until after we arrived and missed it by a couple of hours. I’ll be sure to look for the tea next year.

The main draw for me was the Henry Idol Competition at 8 pm. Both of my daughters were chosen as finalists (there were eight). We were thrilled when my younger daughter Cynthia took first place and our other daughter Meredith came fifth. First place prize was $500 and a cruise. The competition was filmed by SBN TV and will be televised on channel 22. There were also interviews and photos in a couple of local papers.

The perfect end to the evening was the Fireworks Extravaganza. It was a spectacular display and a couple of times I felt like I was watching one of those 3D movies with great balls of color coming toward me. My favorites were the huge bursts of gold streamers filled with a twinkling center and of course the simultaneous red, white and blue displays. The only downside to the evening was trying to leave the event and not having enough people to do traffic flow control, but we made it home before 11 pm.

Table Settings book by Victoria

This lovely book is packed with gorgeous photos and lots of ideas for pretty tea table settings.  There is even a chapter with the title Indulging in Tea.

The cover photo shows the blossom fold from the Romancing the Napkin chapter.

 The caption for this photo reads:

Collecting teacups can become an unmanageable obsession, but if you narrow your focus to a single color scheme or motif, a compatible set is virtually guaranteed.

The book is by Mary Forsell and the editors of Victoria magazine and was copyrighted in 2002 by Hearst Communications, Inc.  I highly recommend this book to any tea enthusiast or collector of china, glasses, linens and other beautiful tea things.