Please come in and enjoy yourself!

     One lump, or two?  If you’re a fan of Looney Tunes, you know that’s a loaded question!  There are many options for sweeteners (to be explored at a later date) and some prefer their tea straight, nothing added. The subject reminds me of an ill-fated trip to Chinatown, many years ago.

     But first, do have a seat and make yourself at home.  El Nino hit with a vengeance a few days ago and sharing a cup with a friend is the perfect opportunity to escape for an hour.  Shall we? Since Mr. Watterson advises exploiting the weather for a good book, tell me, what have you been reading in 2016?

     I’ve prepared tea for two, including asparagus soup to ward off the chill, salmon cream sandwiches, and a sumptuous array of sweets to dally over.  Let me pour you a cup of strong, apple spice tea while Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, one of my favorites and appropriate for the weather, plays in the background.

We’d made the trek to Chinatown for an adventure.  On a budget, our shopping was of the window variety, and we happily roamed the streets feasting our eyes on the unusual goods inside brightly lit stores.  I can’t recall my age, but it was the early 1970’s, so I must have been in single digits, and probably clad in hot pink bell bottoms.  Normally quite the street urchin, sporting a deep tan with scraggly blonde hair and in need of a hot soak, I’d been tidied up for the outing.

The climax of our excursion would be tea in an authentic Chinese shop.  We spied just the place around the corner from the main drag.  The store’s narrow façade sported intricate gold carvings on red columns and a pagoda-like porch roofed with green tiles.  My mother grasped my hand and tugged me into the tight, dim parlor.  This was no superstore with aisles of lanterns, ceramic foo dogs, and clay pots.  A sense of apprehension hit me as my gaze was drawn to an illuminated area in the back where two petite, but foreboding, figures stood behind a counter.  I shifted my eyes to the shelves that lined the walls, containing various examples of Chinese porcelain.  Several tables filled the floor space while two old women in traditional dress kept watch from the rear of the store.   We were the only customers.

Mother headed for the shelves and picked up a diminutive blue and white vase.  The object was almost immediately snatched from her hands by one of the women.  We’d stumbled into a shop that sold authentic antiques.  Protective of her merchandise, the store owner knew the value of her treasures.  Ming, perhaps?  Somehow, she’d made it from behind the counter to our location in a split second, without a sound.  The wizened lady frowned, shook her head, and pointed to a table.  The volume of wrinkles on that small face made it nearly impossible to see her eyes.  Mum smiled, graciously I might add, and followed directions.  Once seated, my mother nodded pleasantly, and asked for tea.

A prolonged, hushed conversation between the two shopkeepers followed, before both disappeared into a back room, robes rustling.  Soon, a porcelain pot and two miniscule cups, no handles, were delivered to our table.  I couldn’t wait to sample the mysterious tea provided by these exotic ladies!  Mother allowed the brew to steep a few minutes while the women watched us from behind their counter.  Even at my young age, I got the idea they were ready for us to leave.

When the tea was finally poured, what a disappointment.  It was green!  Forgive me if you’re a green tea devotee.  I’ve never been a fan of the stuff, although I occasionally drink it now, when I feel puny or run-down.  Mum’s face fell.  She also was no green tea enthusiast.  She made eye contact and waved at the two ladies.  One approached, and my mother asked for sugar.  The matron stared as if she knew no English.  Again, Mother said, “Sugar,” and pointed at our cups.  This time, Mum meant business.  The shopkeeper glided back to her partner and another long conversation ensued, in Chinese, of course.  Then, they both retired to the back room.  We didn’t hear from them again for a good ten minutes.  The tea in our cups grew cold.

Eventually, our attendant reappeared, toting a stoneware box.  She grunted and placed the item in front of my mother, then spun with a flourish and joined her friend.  Under their watch, Mother pried the lid from the container, lowered her eyes to its contents, then threw her head back and laughed out loud!

She tilted the box so I could see what was so funny.  There, inside the confines of the sugar bowl, was a hard as rock crust of granules that even a jack hammer would have trouble loosening.  Obviously, it hadn’t been used in years.  We took a few swallows of the tepid, unsweetened green drink, paid (Mum still smiling and pleasant), and left.  My mother considered it all a humorous, amusing adventure, which is a good way to look at minor disappointments, don’t you agree?

 

 

This tea will save me time tonight as I intend to serve the family the remaining soup and full-sized sandwiches for dinner!

For the soup, sauté butter & a thin-sliced shallot in the bottom of your soup pan.  Add two bunches of asparagus (bottoms removed — the smaller the diameter the stalks, the better) cut into one inch pieces, and continue to sauté, adding salt and pepper.  Stir in a large can of chicken broth (3-4 cups) & a handful of fresh basil.  Simmer for fifteen minutes or so.  Allow to cool.  Blend with hand mixer (or transfer to blender, then back to soup pan).  Slowly whisk in cream (start with 1/2 cup and increase to your own preference) & season to taste.  Reheat on low before serving.

For a yummy surprise, I added a small scoop of herbed chèvre (found at my local big box store) to the bottom of each bowl, as well as an heirloom cherry tomato half and chives.  The tiny squaw roll sandwiches were made with a salmon spread from my market’s deli aisle and fresh spinach leaves.  I simply cut the squaw rolls in half, lengthwise, to make each tea sandwich.

Tips

To make the carrot tie for the sandwich, peel a large carrot.  Use the peeler to remove a long, paper thin slice from the vegetable.  Cut this, lengthwise, into string-thin strips.  Tie one strip around each sandwich and clip ends with kitchen scissors.   Now your sandwiches look like tiny presents for your guests!

Include a squirt of lemon juice in the store bought salmon spread to enhance the flavor and give it a fresh taste.

  

I added marzipan fruits to leftover Christmas cookies for the dessert course.  Marzipan is made from almond paste and is one of my favorite treats.  A three tiered serving plate, laden with sweets, encourages lingering with several cups of tea and conversation.

I utilized a set of cute teapot napkin rings, purchased years ago, as a special accent.  Keep an eye peeled when out and about for inexpensive details to add to your table.

  

Plaid napkins and placemats add the cozy feel on a frigid day.  To raise the glam, consider wrapping your napkins with a lace doily attached by a ribbon.  If you like, these could be gifts for your friends to take home as a remembrance of your special time together!

     Do you have to go?  Already?  Oh my, it is getting late.  The time flew, didn’t it?  Thank you for coming.  We really must do this again, soon!

 

COPYRIGHT 2016. VICTORIA BENCHLEY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Please come in and enjoy yourself!

     I cannot remember a time when I didn’t take tea.  Before I began attending school, I would join my mother, mid-morning, with a cup.  Either her best friend from across the street or my aunt would pop in and enjoy a time of fellowship and rejuvenation.  If I kept quiet, I could learn all sorts of interesting things.  If I spoke up to render an opinion on adult matters, I was shooed from the kitchen.

     Later, after I began elementary school, we’d share afternoon tea.  You see, we didn’t follow any particular rules regarding teatime, which Webster’s defines as the customary time for tea, late afternoon or early evening.  Hot or iced, accompanied by a treat or not, the soothing beverage encouraged conversation and relaxation and also provided a pick-me-up.  Friends, I hope you will drop in for a comforting cup, camaraderie, teatime tips, and refreshment for the body, mind, and soul, right here at Teatime Tuesday!

A Hearty New Year’s Tea

     I like to think that the holidays extend from Thanksgiving until Super Bowl Sunday.  If I could persuade my husband to leave the tree up until then, I would!  Actually, I recall one year when circumstances did prevent us from taking our decorations down until early February and it didn’t bother me one bit.  Most years, we have our festive items put away by mid-January. 

     There is something beautiful about the idea of a fresh new year, don’t you think?  I just couldn’t help inviting friends for one last holiday hurrah:  A hearty New Year’s tea perfect for a chilly January day. 

Won’t you join me?

   

     I’ve put an Andrea Bocelli CD on low (I confess, it’s a holiday album) and brewed the last of a spicy, rich tasting Christmas blend.  A tiny cup of creamy tomato soup is joined by ham rolls tied with chives.  I prefer that the food I serve at teatime offers a surprise, so the ham is filled with homemade pineapple cream cheese while the soup holds a hidden bite of goat cheese.  Fruit kabobs and baked brie wrapped in a delicious crust and topped with cranberries and apricots finish off the savory course.  

     Have a seat and enjoy your first cup.  Would you like lemon in your tea?  Tell me all about your Christmas…

     For the sweet course, please enjoy the Danish butter cookies and do try my oatmeal bars with date filling.  You won’t go away hungry that’s for sure!  Let me pour you another cup of tea while we discuss your plans for 2016.

       

Tips:
This is a deceptively easy tea with which to bless your friends or family.  I used leftover ham from Christmas dinner and canned tomato soup (add some cream and a small amount of fresh orange juice to give the soup a bright, unique taste).  I made the kabobs and ham rolls in advance, refrigerating these until just before the guests arrive (be sure to drain your pineapple before mixing with cream cheese).  The baked brie was store bought, as were the butter cookies.  I’d already made the date bars as Christmas treats!

 

    

     It’s nice to splurge on an item or two for your tea service.  A set of antique spoons makes everything look that much more special.  Or, try wired ribbon to tie a lovely bow around your napkins.

Thank you for visiting Teatime Tuesday and please drop by anytime.

Merry Christmas!  It’s that time of year, actually it has been for a couple of weeks now.  Christmas has a way of sneaking up on me.  Every year I plan to spend time sitting by the tree enjoying seasonal music, sipping a hot tea and reading!  The reality is that I may get time for that on December 26th or 27th, but that’s all right.  I enjoy most of the hustle and bustle that accompanies giving the house a good cleaning, entertaining friends, baking my mother’s cookie recipes, attending special worship services, and cooking a holiday dinner.  I’m blessed to be able to do these things.

The days leading up to Christmas are filled with nostalgia for me, as I remember many past holidays.  The first year I lived in the Midwest and had to eat oyster soup at my grandmother’s home stands out.  The soup was one of my elderly grandmother’s Christmas Eve traditions.  How they got oysters in rural Southern Indiana back in the early 20th century (she was born in 1896), I’ll never know.  But it was her custom, and we continued it until she could no longer live independently.  I still don’t care for oysters, but I’m glad I shared that unique experience with her.

Another holiday ritual that I recall involved the unusual contents of our Christmas stockings.  My parents were raised during the Great Depression, and sometimes my father only received a small bag of candy, an orange or a bag of nuts for Christmas.  So, guess what my siblings and I found in our stockings Christmas morning?  Oranges and nuts!  I didn’t know anyone else who received such from Santa.  I’m so grateful I grew up with that taste of my dad’s childhood.

We used to cut down Christmas trees on our property.  That meant we had a cedar tree to decorate.  Cedars don’t have strong limbs to support ornaments, and finding a perfectly formed cedar is difficult.  They tend to look bushy.  Every year, we marched through the woods in search of a well shaped tree.  Once, we got the bright idea to cut the top out of a large cedar and use that for our tree.  Those cedar tops looked pretty good from the ground.  This, of course, involved chopping down a very big tree.  The problem was, once the top of the tree was at eye level, we discovered it wasn’t so perfect after all.  I think we felled about three cedars before my dad lost patience with us!  Fortunately, we had no shortage of cedar trees.

What Christmas customs or memories are near and dear to your heart?  Please share them in the comment section below.  I’d love to hear about your holiday experiences.  As we continue old traditions and incorporate new, I pray that each of you has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!