Recently - National Hot Tea Month

January is National Hot Tea month in Canada.  I am just making it under the wire.

I chose Chai Green Tea in a small 3 cup teapot paired with a pottery warm toned square mug.  Placed on a bamboo placemat.

I warmed up some baking I bought for Christmas and it is time it is consumed.  They are savory tarts.

It was served with Peach Ginger Chutney.  It is so good.

Stay warm with a cup of tea if you are affected by the Polar Vortex hitting the eastern seabord of North America.

I read this most of Saturday.  I enjoyed it very much as it was quite similar to the Kate Morton books I have read.

The story spans the 1920s and the mid 1950s.   It takes place in New York, London and Paris - how bad can that be.

Newlywed Grace Monroe doesn’t fit anyone’s expectations of a successful 1950s London socialite, least of all her own. When she receives an unexpected inheritance from a complete stranger, Madame Eva d’Orsey, Grace is drawn to uncover the identity of her mysterious benefactor.

Weaving through the decades, from 1920s New York to Monte Carlo, Paris, and London, the story Grace uncovers is that of an extraordinary women who inspired one of Paris’s greatest perfumers. Immortalized in three evocative perfumes, Eva d’Orsey’s history will transform Grace’s life forever, forcing her to choose between the woman she is expected to be and the person she really is.

The Perfume Collector explores the complex and obsessive love between muse and artist, and the tremendous power of memory and scent.

I found this book at the thrift store yesterday.  I normally would not peruse the children book section but I have been watching this show on TV since the fall.  Good programming is very difficult to find on TV these days.  

I like to have physical reminders of the good things in my life and the 20 minutes I spend each day provides me with positive and inspirational programming.  Sam has the cutest laugh.  The watercolor art in the show is very good for my soul.  

So I thought there may be one of the books in the section and there was!  Not one of the stories I have seen on TV yet but I will read the book and await the segment on TV.

I did read the book through because I am not a quitter.  

I did have to pause and question whether a murder investigation story was what I wanted to put into my head before I fell asleep at night.

I did not suffer bad dreams as a result but I will be more discerning about the content of the books in the future.

The story has a good ending but not before betrayal, guns, and murder.  It was a quick read.

It was in the bag from our Welcome to my Kitchen Fellowship group so back into the bag for someone else to read.   If they ask I will give them my thoughts on the book.






 

Recent Happenings

I have been out of the joining on line parties for nearly a month. November is always craft sale month for me so it is a very busy time.  I made the time today even though there is still a to do list waiting.

We had a great Welcome to my Kitchen fellowship time last week.  A couple of ladies shared the responsibility where one hosted and the other provided snacks.  We had home made cinnamon buns, pistachio cool salad, a variety of cheeses and great crackers.

The tea was hot and plentiful.  We made at least 3 pots for 13 ladies in attendance.  We had a few coffee drinkers as well.

We had a wonderful time as we always to getting caught up and sharing about getting through tough times.

I met my sister half way between our homes recently to pass stuff to her and bring home stuff from her.  It cuts down on time and gas money and we were able to visit a few thrift stores while we are there.  I was glad that I had just had my all weather tires put on for the trip out of town.

One of the things that came to my house is my updated plate rack.  I had a near disaster with this wire rack about 2 months ago.  I really enjoyed having the plates vertical instead of horizontal so asked my handy brother in law if you could stabilize it with wood supports on either end. He applied tung oil to the surface before he assembled it was it was all done when I got it back. It looks fabulous and as you can tell it does the job wonderfully.  Thanks Brian!  I owe him lunch next time I see him.

I placed it on the freezer between the 2 cupboards so it breaks up the white surface without limiting the air circulation.

The kitchen is really coming together and with a new dishwasher it is staying tidy!!

It was not tidy for most of the day today.  Flour, butter, and savory and sweet elements went into 3 batches of baking for the fund raiser Bake Sale tomorrow.

I made variations on the tea biscuit recipe in the Puritan Cookbook.  The first was Buttermilk Biscuits, then Savory Cheese Biscuits (my favorite) and then a try at Cinnamon Pinwheels. I baked them in silicone cups in the muffin tin.  The dough was not what I thought it should be but with no experience they look like they turned out okay.

The biscuits were cut with a nice recent addition to the kitchen of a 2 inch scallop cookie cutter.  In my opinion it makes them the perfect size and pretty too.

I love that it has a handle and it was exactly what I had in mind when looking for a cookie cutter for my kitchen.  Maybe sugar cookies will be next.

Well I could not bake most of the day and give it all away.  As it was there were 18 pinwheels and I made sets of 4 for the bake sale so that leaves two!  Imagine that.

So I took time to have tea.  I made Oprah Chai Tea in my Maxwell & Williams Fusion Yellow tea pot with the built in infuser.  It is a nice deep pink color to go with pomegranate seeds on my plate.  A mandarin orange for vitamin C and a bit of old white cheddar cheese for a bit of protein.

I have recently added these beautiful blue and white oriental napkin holders to my blue and white dinnerware collection.

It was nice to sit down for a bit before I start on the next project tonight.

 
I bought this pomegranate to share with my niece during her visit last Saturday.  It was a quick visit and it did not make it to the table.

I am reminded though how we found a quick way to get the seeds out the shell.  You can check this post out for all the details.











I have read a couple of great books in the last month. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane was excellent.  I had to wait to get it from the library but it was worth it.  I heard of the book through this book club hosted by Angela.  I hope I remember enough to offer a few comments on the book.

I got this book through our book exchange at Welcome to my Kitchen.  We bring books we have read and put them on a side table then others can browse the selection and bring a new book to them home to read.

I was not sure I would like this book but it was still on the table when the ladies left on November 16th so I thought why not!

It was a good ready with good history of Paris and when so and so lived, etc.  It is set just after the end of the Second World War. A young lady takes her life in her own hands and decides to pursue an art career in Paris. How bad can that be and of course as you can see from the cover this was a handsome man thrown into the mix for good measure.

I am sharing with the following:

Share Your Cup #273 hosted by Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson

Bernideen's Friends Sharing Tea

Anything Goes Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly

Tuesday Cuppa Tea hosted by Ruth

Tea and Lunch

I started by trying a recipe I saw on Jill's blog last week as part of Mosaic Monday.  These are Herb Scones.  I chose savory with basil, rosemary, oregano, and garlic.  As you can see that I baked them on my pizza stone which works really well and since it is very seasoned no danger of them sticking to the surface.  The recipe yielded 12 scones cut with scallop cutters.

Here's my collection of metal scallop/fluted cutters with really nice handles.  I have a set of graduated round ones in 3 different sizes varying from 2 inch at the smallest and 3 inches at the largest.

The rectangular ones are 1.25 inches by 3.25 inches.  They may be a bit small for certain things but it would be a great for shortbread.  A bit of research would suggest these may be from the 1940's.  I had to be patient and wait quite a while to get what I was looking for but these are excellent.  I had hoped to get square ones in the same set as the round ones.  I will keep looking.

I recently replaced a very heavy rolling pin with a vintage rolling pin which serve me well for many more years.

I made some Masala Chai tea which is the best I have tasted.  It is made by a couple of ladies in central Alberta - The Chai Wallahs.  A bit of honey and some cream.
I drank it from a large shallow cup in blue glaze make by IKEA.  I was thinking it would not be great for drinking but it turned out quite nice.  Update: It is a soup mug and not designed for tea.  Makes sense.

I had an egg cooked in my well seasoned cast iron fry pan.  You can see my restoration of it in this post.  it was certainly worth the effort.   The egg is cooked sunny side up which worked well with the place setting I put on my table.

I had the wonderful herb scones to soak up the wonderful yellow yolk.

Dessert was plain yogurt topped with a raspberry rhubarb compote.  Mom sent some rhubarb home with me on the weekend.  I added some frozen raspberries and a bit of honey and boiled over low heat until the rhubarb broke down a bit.  Nice change from bananas.



Here is the total table setting.  I place a navy table runner over a lace table cloth over a white solid table cloth. 

Still love my little square yellow dessert dishes and the yellow is repeated in the egg and napkin.

Sharing with the following link parties.

Bernideen's Tea in the Garden

Tuesday Cuppa of Tea hosted by Ruth

Share Your Cup #253 hosted by Jan at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson

Tea and Other Stuff

I scored a wonderful yellow tea cup at the second hand store yesterday.  Those of you who know me will understand how excited I was to see it.  The price was excellent so it came home with me.
I bought these 2 glasses to replace ones I had collected from a Christmas promotion years ago which were in the donation to the store.
Is it not amazing when you create space for what you want it does show up.
I've not seen this mark before so I will have to do some research later.







I did some coloring this week to unwind after a trip to visit my sister for our birthdays.

I had some caffeinated tea to ensure I stayed awake on my drive home in the late evening so I was still wide awake when I got home.

This is from the tea coloring boloring book I received from the blog hosted my Margie at Tea in the Valley.   I chose yellow for the base of the tea pot and cup combo with some pink flowers and green leaves.  Love the candy stripe on the handle.

I finished this book by Karen Kingsbury this week.  I was up till quite late finishing one night.  It was good.

I picked some lilacs early in the week.  I placed them in the hand painted vase which repeats the lilac color.  I think they have been giving me the sneezes though.









A gift from my sister.  My favorite tea from the Chai Wallahs. These ladies do such a great job of this tea.  They are local ladies to Alberta.

I purchased some lace curtains for the dining room window which has only had blinds for years.  I finishes the room.  It is my crafting space so does not serve as a dining room at all.  I have placed my dining room table in the living room next to the patio doors so I can see outside while I sit at the table.  Love the lace.



Sharing with the following:

Bernideen's Tea Time

Share Your Cup #252 hosted by Jan at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson.

Share Your Cup #242 - This week

This was tea this afternoon. 
I sliced a Granny Smith green apple and included a couple oatmeal cookies.

I made some of my original favorite Chai tea which was Rooibos Chai Tea from Tea Desire.  A bit of honey and some cream. Delicious. 

I served it in a new cup.  I love big mugs but the
jumbo yellow ones I have had for years were getting too much so I was looking to come down in size a bit.  This is the second smaller one to join the row above the tea cabinet. Designed by Laurie Gates from California.  I researched the mug and found the collection had 6 bright colors but I got the color I wanted, yellow!

I found some of the blue and white tea related items Margie mentioned a while back.

I found the tea towel was too much of a turquoise color so I left it but I brought the Primose Hill napkins.  At 13 inches they would like be considered dinner napkins. 

They worked really well with my Chelsea Garden tea cup and dessert plate set. I love the scallop edge and the small flower pattern.  They will go well with several of my blue and white dishes.

I met my aunt at a sewing store yesterday as she was picking up a piece for her machine.  I had not been there before and expected they would have fabric. Not really, it is a machine store with sewing, embroidery and serger machines.  I was a bit early so I browsed around. There was thread, needles, notions, feet, stabilizer, a bit of fabric and a clearance section. 

This is where I found these gorgeous espresso colored large sewing machine bobbins.  The are 1 inch in diameter and 3/8" tall.  The lady asked if I knew they would fit my machine.  I said no I don't have a machine I have a camera.  These will be great for photography props!! The are for an industrial single needle sewing machine.

This is a sweet little book that came my way this week. 

It has many ways to do something for others. Those who are hurting, struggling, in need of practical help or spiritual help, those we live with or near - our family.

Some of the chapters are Friendship, Affirmation, Forgiveness, Comfort, Celebration, and Tradition.  It includes several nice recipes, gift ideas, and traditions. 

One she mentions is setting aside time after school for her children, to talk, be together and have a snack.  This led to many wonderful conversations and the college girls still like to have time with Mom at 3:00 pm when they visit.

I made this card for a large blog hop being hosted by Coffee Loving Cardmakers.  They have a few per year and this one is the Spring one.  All the cards have to be coffee, tea or cocoa related.  It is a lot of fun and the links are nearing 1000. 

You can find the details about my card here.

The blog hop here.

I am sharing this post with
Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson who hosts Share Your Cup #242

Bernideen at Friends Sharing Tea

Ruth at Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Have a great day!

Cuppa Tea Tuesday - Brunch Sandwich

This is the start of brunch this morning.  I set the table with my navy blue table cloth, a white Battenburg place mat, and the large Blue Carnation plate made in Japan.


I made a tomato and cheese open face sandwich on whole wheat toast.  I used fresh garden tomatoes and sharp cheddar cheese. I topped it with a bit of steak spice, salt and pepper.  It was placed on the salad plate from the Johnson Brothers White Regency which was centered onto the Blue Carnation dinner plate.  The sandwich was terrific.

I made a pot of Masala Chai tea and served it in the Johnson Brothers White Regency teacup and saucer.  I added some honey and cream to make it the way I like it.



The teapot is my Cobalt Blue Ikea 365+. I love this tea pot because it pours well and the lid stays in place.

Here's the full photo.  Brunch was very good.  I repeated the use of the Regency White to tie this tablescape together.

Sharing with Cuppa Tea Tuesday hosted by Ruth at Antiques and Tea Cups.

Share Your Cup #218 - This Week

This was breakfast this morning.  I laid out my new navy tablecloth with a Battenburg lace table mat.  I set the navy and white Blue Carnation large plate with the white IKEA ARV salad plate on top. I chose apples, rye bread toast, couple slices of old cheddar cheese and chai tea.
I drank my Himalayan Chai from a IKEA 365+ Cobalt Blue mug.  I drink my chai tea with a bit of honey and cream.





The apples are from Mom's tree as she brought some back with her this week.



I put together likely the last bouquet of the year with a few small yellow crysanthemums and some Celosia ‘Dragon's Breath’ in the background in a lovely small white vase.

I've decided to change the containers I use to store my eggs in the fridge.  I buy eggs in card board containers but they are getting so flimsy and soft that there is a danger of cracking eggs.  I acquired a couple of these clear containers which will keep the eggs more secure. Also, I can see at a quick glance how many I have when checking for a recipe.  A win win for me.

I had this book on my night table for 3 weeks and could not finish it.  I'm sure the author is representing the atmosphere of the talent shows accurately but it was a most frustrating reading experience.  About half way through I read the last few pages to see how it turned out but I was done with the insanity for Zack of competing, being far away from Reese and the unwanted attention from Zoey.

Sharing at Share Your Cup #218 hosted by Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs Olson.

Apple Rhubarb Crisp with Tea

I picked some apples from the ones I picked from my Mom`s tree last weekend.  I removed the ends and stems, cut them into quarters, cored them and sliced them.  I filled my casserole with sliced apples and some rhubarb.  I added the crumb topping and put it into the oven.

Here`s the apple rhubarb crisp out of the oven.  I let it cool a little bit. I love my Kitchen Aid casserole.  Its a great color and it cleans up real easy.

I made a cup of tea to enjoy with my crisp.  Chai Tea is one of my favorites.  I recently purchased this Cochin Masala Chai tea.  This small white teapot works well for tea for one.

I plated a serving of crisp on a Myott The Hunter in blue cobalt plate.  I added a small cup of tea for this evening dessert with a bit of honey and half and half.

Yes, I did add a bit of half and half cream to add the bit of decadence to the serving.   There was some sugar in the crumb topping but no additional sugar in with the fruit.  It was not too sweet at all.

I really enjoyed this dessert.







Sharing with Cuppa Tea Tuesday hosted by Ruth at Antiques and Tea Cups.