Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea

Kitsch or Kewl?

I can't decide if this wabbit fambly tea set is cute-and-collectible or just gawdy-but-good-for-a-giggle. 

It was a gift from somebody who figured I needed more tea sets for my collection, so I'm loathe to throw it out.  It's a complete set - teapot, creamer, sugar bunny, 4 cups, saucers and little spoons.  Momma wabbit's head comes off, as does sugar bunny. 

It gave me a great chuckle when I unwrapped the box, and I do love bunny wabbits, but could I actually leave it out and serve tea with it?  I dunno, whaddya think ... kitsch or kewl?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ok, first I have to apologize.  This is NOT the recipe for cream cheese brownies that I've been promising.  I will get that posted soon. I will, no really, I will!!!  But for today, I'm bumping some old posts here by way of wishing everybunny a Happy Valentine's Day. 

Be sure to take a trip back a year and visit the Valentine's Day Carnival of the Recipes, which has some truly splendelicious goodies for you and your Valentine.

And here are some pictures I shared many moons ago, of a fun and scrummy Valentine's Tea Party I had:

First, I baked some Wally-Mari-Brownies (that's brownies with walnuts and marascino cherries inside). 

I just used a brownie mix, and these cute little heart-shaped tins I found in the baking aisle.

Added some chocolate kisses to the plate because ... well... you can never have too much chocolate.

The perfect complement to go with the brownies: Rosebud Gong Fu tea, which just arrived from JingTeas.com.

This is the perfect tea.  I lovelovelove it. Lightly scented/flavored, and there are tiny little rosebuds right in the tea.  It's a treat for all the senses.  Pretty to look at, wonderful smell, the taste is perfect, and the little afterbreath of roses is delightful.

And of course, the only possible china to use was my gold-rimmed roses cup and plate.

Crack-Me-Up Teapots

While searching for cups on the net, I ran across Andy Titcomb's hilarious teapots. 

These on the right are the Toddler Teapots.  Aren't they a hoot?? If I had muy ducets I'd prolly become a teapot collector.  I just love kitschy stuff like this.

They're a little (a lot!) out of my price range - the one I really want is this cutey little dormouse teapot, but £75.00 translates to about $150 I think. Holy cats.

And at that price I'd be afraid to use it. 

Victoria Magazine

Happy happy dancing feet!!!  My favorite magazine is being lazarus'd!  Yep it's true.  According to this news release, Hearst, in partnership with Hoffman Media is reviving my Tea Party Lady's most favorite mag, Victoria. 

Color me ecstatic.

If you haven't experienced this magazine, put it on your list.  It was sumptuous! It had the most beautiful photos of antiques, roses, beautiful gardens, silver and china and linens, homes, anything to do with romantic and gracious living.  The articles and features were good, of course, but I have to admit I was addicted to the eye-candy that could be found on almost every page.  I just hope this new Victoria lives up to the standards of the old one.

I still have all my old Victoria magazines, stacked on a shelf.   I confess, not all of them are whole and hale.  Some issues are quite dog-eared from searching for recipes and such.  And some have little teeny cutout holes in the pages. 

I know, I know.  Sacrilege.  But, a few years ago I was decoupaging a tea tray.  Much as I hated to do it, there were no better sources for beautiful pictures of tea things at that time, so I started cutting out little pictures to decoupage onto my tray. GASP.  It seemed vitally important at the time.  Of course I regretted it later, especially when I needed a recipe only to find I had cut out the tea cup on the other side of the page and was missing half the ingredients list! 

There's a url for the mag: www.victoriamag.com, which I assume will have subscription information eventually.  Right now it goes nowhere.  The new Victoria will be coming out in October 2007 (WOOT!), with a Nov/December issue.  Bimonthly just isn't enough for me, but I guess it's better than nothing at all.  (double WOOT!)

Butter Problem Solved

There are two problems here, really. 

One is a Tea Party Lady issue.  The TPL in me wants to have pretty butter pats arranged nicely on a plate for tea parties and other gatherings.  And what a mess that is to try to do by hand!

The second is that man I live with.  We've never been able to find a butter dish that he likes AND that fits in the fridge slot.  So what happens is - he leaves the butter, still partially in the paper wrapping, sitting on the counter.  You can imagine how much I enjoy that.  Awful, buttery, melted mess.  I've tried just leaving it there for him to deal with later, but ... well ... you know how that goes.

So, along comes this nifty little doo-dad that I just had to try.  It seemed like the perfect answer to all my butter problems!  It's called the One-Click Butter Cutter, and it's truly ingenious.  It was conceived 10 years ago by a gentleman in NY, who believed that one ought to be able to

reach into the refrigerator with one hand and take out a device, a Butter Cutter, and be able to squeeze off a couple of slices quickly before ones muffin might cool or maybe to add to the frying pan quickly while in the midst of doing all the other things that have to be done while cooking.

Many years later, his invention became a reality, finally hitting the market for the public to enjoy, a tribute to human ingenuity.

Some caveats.  I've actually had this thing for a while, but couldn't find butter to fit it!  Apparently on the east coast, long skinny butter sticks are the norm, but out here in the west, short and fat is what you find in most places.  So it took me a while to find a long, skinny butter stick to test it with, and even longer to find a brand of long skinny butter that the hubs would eat. 

After all, it's a fun gadget, and it turns out pretty pats, but if the hubs won't use it on a daily basis, it's not much more than a TPL toy. 

Other than that, I have nothing bad to say about it.  This is a great gadget.  It's easy to use - it does work best with very chilled butter, so refrigerator storage is a must - and easy to clean, another very important factor.  And it comes in a bunch of different colors, which you can see on their website.  All in all, this gadget gets a big thumbs up from me.

Lemon Cream Scones

There is a lemon scone recipe in this post, I promise, and an answer to the question, what can you do with lemon curd?.  But first...

A Tea Party Lady Moment

I had the most wonderful cream tea yesterday.  All by myself, sitting in a corner with my pretty tea tray, laid with the good china, sipping a cup of my favorite tea - Yunnan Gold - and nibbling on a freshly baked lemon scone, smothered in real Devonshire clotted cream and lemon curd.  With the  dogs sleeping at my feet, and the wild lovebirds filling the tree outside my window with color, everything was toasty warm and for a moment, perfectly perfect.  It was truly one of those magical moments that seem to hang suspended in time. 

I had been planning this special afternoon tea for a while, and I was afraid that, like most overly planned moments, it wouldn't be as enjoyable as anticipated.  But this one blossomed full, in so many ways, taste, smell, sound, sight... and heart.  The only thing that could have made it any better was having my mom here to enjoy it with me.

From the Complaint Department

Before I move on to the scone recipe (I'm getting there!), I want to mention the clotted cream.  I ordered several small jars from British Delights at the beginning of October.  By mid-October, having received no email confirmation or notification of shipping, I got worried and tried to check my order.  This website has the most awful, out-dated, hard to use shopping system I've ever used.  I could find no way to check the status of my order, so I finally emailed them directly.  The terse reply I received said my order had been flagged "Christmas" and would ship in "early November".  I was a little miffed, to say the least, and emailed again to say if they couldn't get my order shipped sooner than that I wanted to cancel it.  I waited, but got no reply.  No word at all, not a sausage.  After fuming for a while on incompetence, I forgot about it.  And then, in the middle of December, the package arrived.  What kind of stupid system are they running there???

In spite of all that, the clotted cream was delicious.  I got a 6 oz jar of English Double Devon cream made by The Devon Cream Company.  I would buy this again, if I could find a better place to order from.

Ok, on to the recipe!  This recipe originally came from OChef.com, who got it from The Best Quick Breads, by Beth Hensperger.  I modified it some, so it's not really "Old-Fashioned Lemon Cream Scones" anymore.  It's ...

Christine's Yogurt Lemon Scones
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
Grated zest of 3 lemons
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp lemon yogurt

Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt. Cut in the butter with a fork or a heavy-duty electric mixer until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (At this point I usually have to get my fingers into the mix to help break up the butter.  Or is that just the child in me...)

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt and cream. Add to the dry mixture and stir until a sticky dough is formed.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently just until the dough holds together, about 6 times.  There are many different ways to cut the scones.  Some folx use the "round" method - patting the dough into a 1-inch thick round, and cutting like a pie.  I prefer the "log" method.  Roll out the dough into a long log and pat down to about 1 inch thick.  Cut as shown in the picture here.

Place the scones about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with sugar, if desired. Bake in the center of the oven until crusty and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately with butter, clotted cream and lemon curd or your favorite jam.  Or you can let them cool on a rack and freeze in heavy-duty freezer bags for up to a month.

Yield: Makes about 8 scones

Coming up next, the Queen of Tarts, in parts. 

Enjoy!

"Relaxed Fit" Tea Sandwiches

Now, in case anybody's confused about the title of this post, I'm not going to talk about baggy foods. 

As I said in my previous post, my SIL made seven different kinds of tea sandwiches for our tea party, and they were all wonderful!  But they might not all fit into the Book of Tea Sandwich Standards.  Hence, I'm calling them "relaxed fit".  This is about ... relaxing standards and finding creative ways to make scrummy basic foods interesting and fun.

First on the list, a couple of fairly basic sandwiches made special by small squares and crusts removed. 

• P-But-Jel.  Use creamy or crunchy peanut butter, it doesn't matter, and of course, the jelly of your choice.  Ahh, p-but-jel, the source of many of my favorite childhood memories.
• Piggie a' fromage - Yes, yer basic ham and cheese.  Use very thinly sliced swiss, and a thin schmear of mayo on the bread. 
• Braunschweiger - This is a soft, spiced liver sausage, usually smoked.  I guess it could be sliced thin and laid on the bread, or mashed up to make a sort of pate. 

A couple of the sandwiches were served "open face" which made for a nice change. 

• Bacon & Cream Cheese - After frying up the bacon, you'll probably need to press it between paper towels or napkins and some kind of weight so it will lie somewhat flat.  Spread a mixture of cream cheese and finely chopped chives on the bread, then top with a piece of bacon.  If you want to be a bit more healthy, use turkey bacon.
• Cucumber & Cream Cheese - You can flavor the cream cheese any way you like.  Mix in some of the left-over bacon bits, crumbled up, or add some diced sunflower seeds for something unusual.
• Avocado & Brie - Thinly sliced brie cheese on a light schmear of mayo, topped with little slices of avocado.  Very tasty!

Last but not least, there's tuna!  We all love tuna around here, so a tea sandwich tray without a couple of tuna fish sandwiches on it would be incomplete.  If you want to jazz up your tuna, try adding some finely chopped pistachio nuts and chopped hard boiled egg.  I guess then it would sort of be egg AND tuna salad. 

These are just a few ideas for tea party sandwiches.  They don't have to be exotic recipes or difficult to make.  These are easy, but they're still fun to eat because of the size and the preparation... and the presentation.  Funny how just slicing up a sandwich into small bites and taking the crusts off can make you FEEL special.  Try it!

Related: Afternoon Tea Party Sandwiches

Tea Party for Mom

We celebrated my mom's birthday this last weekend.  The original Tea Party Lady would have been 68, and it seemed fitting that we honor her memory with a tea party. 

We're a family that likes to gather and celebrate each and every birthday, and I'm happy to say that it matters not one jot that the person has passed. 

We honored her in style, with full tea party regalia.  I'm sure I felt her at my shoulder as I brought out all the pretty things and laid the table with tablecloth, teapots, cups in saucers and silver teaspoons. 

I brought out mom's special china tea set, which I think is actually meant to be a coffee set because the cups are so small.  More like demitasse, maybe.  No matter, it was perfect for little samplings of tea, since I wasn't sure the family would actually drink the tea!  I figured everybody could try something and if they didn't like it, pour it out and try something else. 

So it was a sort of tea tasting party as well.

We had 3 kinds of tea - Adagio jasmine, IPoT's Darjeeling First Flush, and my special blend, a combination of orange spice and golden yunnan.  My neices seemed to like the Adagio jasmine best.  The blend was the biggest hit.  Good thing I made that in the big pot. 

Even the hubs tried some tea, and he seemed surprised to find himself enjoying it.  He and my brother joked about being "big clod mens at a wymyns tea party".  I was tempted to make them wear lace doilies on their heads in punishment, but I held back.  I did show them how to drink with their pinkies out, however.  Hilarious.   Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of that.

Of course there was tea party food. 

We had 7 kinds of tea sandwiches, little tartlets, and plenty of chocolate of course.  Mom was a true chocolate addict.  Oh, and we also had trays of veggies with dip and a fruit platter, more to ease guilt than anything else. 

My SIL has truly mastered the tea sandwich. 

And the little tartlet things she brought were wonderful.  I wish my pictures had turned out better.  Most of them were too dark and blurry to post here. 

I will be posting some of B's recipes soon, and if I can get the energy, I'll try making the tartlets and take some better pictures.  For now, this one will have to suffice.  (Click on any of these pics to get bigger versions.)

As we sipped and munched, we reminisced a bit about my mom.  It's still hard for me here without her.  She was my best friend, healing partner, mother, and sometimes child.  It's hard to believe she's been gone 3 years already.  I miss her a lot. 

She would have enjoyed this little tea party. 

MORE Blogs to Visit

Before I forget (mind like a sieve, doncha know), here are a couple of blogs to add to your must-visit list:

NOTE: To folx who like to play linky, I really HATE it when you just post your links in the comments. It's so impersonal and one-sided and I feel so used.  I'll probably delete those kinds of comments from now on.  If you want me to look at your blog and play linky with you, email me!

• Tea Party Diva - "From Cupcakes & Chocolate to Tea Party Paraphenalia & Lifestyle".  I'm pretty sure the term Tea Party Diva corresponds to what I call my Tea Party Lady. 
• Kwaffee - the name comes from Nat's Aussie way of saying "coffee".  Hey Nat, record that, and put an mp3 of it on your blog!  (I love an aussie accent)
• Tea Room Appreciators - Gemmie and Tom serve up reviews and other assorted tea stuff
• Insani-tea - Fun new blog about tea.  For some reason this isn't coming up right in IE.  Use Firefox to view.
• Coffee & Tea gifts - it doesn't get better than a gift basket full of coffee or tea.  Or both.  Add a little chocolate, and I'm in heaven!
• Fresh Coffee Jones
• BaristaBlog - I can't remember if I blogged this before...

Tell 'em Christine sent you!

Display Teas

I've been doing a lot of planning for next month's tea party.  I think I've got the menu set, so now I'm thinking of decor.  I've decided to put a small bowl on each table with one of these "display tea" flowers in it.  These teas from Adagio are actually a cluster of leaves tied together so that as they unfurl, they reveal a lovely flower in the center.   

They're so beautiful, I wish my photographs did them justice.  I'm especially loving the Jasmine, which opens into an off-white bloom, as you see here.  And the scent is heavenly!  I only hope I don't overwhelm my guests with the scent of jasmine in every room.

I also got a black tea called Red Bloom which unfortunately didn't photograph well in the glass pot, but I took a closeup of the pink (not red) flower, and it's gorgeous. 

I think I prefer the Red Bloom tea for flavor, but I MUCH prefer the jasmine scent, and how delicate it looks in a white bowl.