Flowers for a Tea Room Vase

My husband gave me a Tea Room Depression glass vase for Christmas, and until now it's just been perched atop the mantel doing nothing. This weekend, with so much in bloom, it got a job!

Daffodils are *finally* opening, and of course the periwinkle has been popping up for weeks now. (Yes, I know, some consider it a weed, but I think the color is gorgeous, so it stays!)

Azaleas have never really been a favorite of mine, and yet ... when mine bloom, I think they're just lovely. (The tulips, too, but this one is hiding!)

The bearded iris? Count me a fan! I'm so, so happy these are blooming! You see, I had heaps of them in the shade at back of my house, but they had never bloomed, so last year I dug them up and moved them to a sunnier location. This year, voila, blossoms! One of these two was a transplant from my parents' house, but I can't remember which. I'll have to pay attention next time I visit.

I'll bet this Tea Room vase never knew how colorful life could be! Now, can you guess which of these flowers is featured on a new teapot I got last week? I'll show it tomorrow!

Tea Room Recipe #15 - 1928-style Orange Biscuits

If you're interested in a fun new breakfast or snack treat to go with your tea, may I recommend to you these Orange Biscuits?

I found this recipe in the 1928 booklet "Famous Tea Rooms and Their Famous Recipes," which was published by The Best Foods, Inc. Some of the tea rooms featured are the Mary Helen in Hollywood, Calif., the Brick Oven Tavern in Boston, Mass., the Lafayette Grill in Jacksonville, Fla. and the Patio Royal in New Orleans, La.

These biscuits are tasty, yes, especially with that surprise bit of sugar in the middle, but making them is just fun! You briefly soak a sugar cube in orange juice and then press it down into your biscuit dough.

You need to do this pretty quickly, because as you can see here with the biscuits at right, the sugar dissolves into the biscuit almost immediately.

Now I would say that you can try this flavor trick with your own favorite biscuit recipe, but here's the one from the book.

Orange Biscuits

4 cups bread flour (I used Swans Down)
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1-3/4 cups milk
Sugar cubes
Orange juice
Orange rind, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then cut in shortening with a pastry blender. Add enough milk to make a soft dough. Roll out and cut into 1/2-inch-thick round biscuits. Place on greased baking sheet close together. Dip sugar cubes one at a time into orange juice and press into biscuit. Sprinkle orange rind over biscuits and bake for about 15 minutes. Yields 24 biscuits.

Celebrate's Spring 2013 issue

Celebrate magazine offered to send me a sample issue, and of course I never turn down a free issue of any magazine so I said yes. When it arrived, I was enticed by this scrumptious looking Carrot Layer Cake on the cover, and inside ...

... I was happy to see that Editor-in-Chief Phyllis Hoffman DePiano has included a great feature on teatime using that blue-and-white color palette she's so fond of. Doesn't this make you want to go pull out some Blue Willow?

It's a fun feature about hosting a tea, but the thing I wanted to be sure to mention was that the article tells you where to go online so you can download their cute little tea tags. I'd never thought of "upgrading" the tags on teabags, but why not!

More samples from Two Leaves and a Bud

Finally I got around to sampling the last of my tea samples from Two Leaves and a Bud, and I so enjoyed them I wanted to share the results, especially one that was a real surprise to me!

First, the one I rather expected to like least, the Gen Mai Cha, a tea made with toasted rice, was just delightful! While I've tasted and tolerated this type of tea before, I really enjoyed this one, and will seek it out again. I got the "roasted popcorn" type of flavor I remember from previous samplings from another vendor, but this one's taste was just so much more enjoyable. It was a different tea experience, and I do like to shake things up a bit!

The Tropical Goji blend was, as I expected, a nice, fruity smelling and tasting tea. It was a great "snack" tea.

And finally, this Tamayokucha tea had a fresh, woodsy scent in the bag and a fresh, slightly vegetal taste which I very much enjoyed. Again, lower steeping times with green teas have totally revolutionized how I feel about them. You too, perhaps?

Mollie Makes magazine

Mollie Makes magazine has been on the local newsstand for a while, but I had held off buying a copy. It's a British crafts magazine so it's a little pricey, $11.99 an issue, but this one I gave myself as a treat for several reasons.

First, any magazine that appreciates tea towels is my kind of magazine. Aren't these cute!

For knitters (and I do knit, a bit) there is this great set of coasters and napkin rings in the "Ladies Who Lunch" feature.

But what really made me buy the magazine was the free kit for this little oilcloth coin purse. I had been looking for just such a purse to hold some computer gadgets I like to keep in my handbag, and this one was perfect. Hopefully I'll have some "down time" soon and can enjoy some crafting. Don't you wish American magazines would include gifts the way the British ones do?

Tea gifts from tea friends

It's always fun when tea gifts from tea friends arrive in the mail, and last week I was blessed with not one but two surprise gifts, a fun new tea towel and some great new loose leaf tea!

The tea towel, courtesy of my friend Phyllis (Relevant Tea Leaf), features whimsical teapots in cheerful spring colors. Love it!

Also lovely? This delicious Earl Grey Green blend of tea from Linda (Friendship Tea), which came from Yesterday's Cafe & Tea Room in Florence, Kentucky. This tea was rich and delicious, like a really fine dessert tea, but more than that I just think it's so pretty with those blue cornflower petals sprinkled about! What's the last tea gift YOU received as a surprise from a friend?

The story of my Welbeck

Nothing says "spring" to me quite like my Royal Winton Welbeck dishes, and over the years many of you have commented that you, too, fell in love with this pattern when you first saw it in Victoria magazine. Over the weekend I looked back at my old Victorias and came across a photo of the Welbeck teapot in the July 1998 issue, and it was then I realized it's been almost 15 years since my Welbeck passion began!

I cannot think of Welbeck without thinking of a dear friend whom I'll call "Emma" (not her real name), who was my partner in crime in attaining these cherished teawares. Now the teapot was $150 when it was first reproduced and appeared in Victoria. Oh, how I longed for it, but I didn't have $150 to blow on a teapot back then. (Still don't, now that I think about it!) Emma found one for herself at a slight discount on a shopping channel on television, as I recall, but then one magical spring she began to find a few pieces of Welbeck at our local T.J. Maxx store. Thanks to her excellent scouting efforts, I soon owned the teapot and the enormous serving tray, both for something like $19.99, I believe, at any rate a fraction of the retail price. Emma had found some teacups for her own collection, but I had not. My mom and I hit every T.J. Maxx in the metro Atlanta area in search of more Welbeck, and though I found other Royal Winton chintz teapots (which I dearly wish I had purchased!), I didn't find the teacups. Emma was great about "hiding" chintz in other spots in the local store until I could get there after work and check things out, calling up with precise details about exactly where in the store I should go to look. I have said before that if we didn't love collecting teawares so much, we would have made great drug dealers.

"Patience, Grasshopper," someone should have told me. While I burned gallons of gas in my eagerness to get my greedy little hands on more chintz, Emma quietly, steadily kept an eye on the local T.J. Maxx for me. One day she called to report she had spotted four Welbeck teacups and saucers sitting on the "Hold" shelf at the store. She asked the salesclerk if those were scheduled for pick-up. Yes, the person said, but they were overdue for pick-up and if they weren't claimed by 9 p.m. that night, they would be restocked. Well, it *happened* to be my birthday, and I *happened* to be there waiting at 9 p.m. that night and got those teacups! Oh, the fun of that spring of chintz collecting!

I was writing a column about teatime in the newspaper back then, but I told Emma I would never use the word chintz, and I did not. I would write about my "English teawares" or my "cheerful yellow teacups" or my "sunny spring dishes," and though SHE knew exactly what I was talking about, I didn't want one other woman out there looking for chintz. Victoria had already created a collecting frenzy, and I was not about to add to that! I eventually added luncheon plates and a sugar and creamer to my set, and when my mother and I found matching fabric at JoAnn one day, she offered to make these cloth napkins to go with my teawares. Love them!

And so now, dear friends, when you see my little tea trolley set with Welbeck chintz, you know that this is way more than just a tea set to me. It's a 15-year-old memory of a fun collecting passion shared with a dear friend!

Tea Room Recipe #14 - The Wild Olive Tearoom (Kingsville, Texas)

Any seafood lovers reading today? This week's Tea Room Recipe is Shrimp Newburg, and it is so easy and sooooo good!

I came across this recipe in a cookbook for The Wild Olive Tearoom which was once located in the Sellers Market in Kingsville, Texas. Now the Sellers Market (now closed) was an interesting concept and something I'd never heard of before. According to the book, in 1985 a town leader was looking for a way to help revitalize the town, and the non-profit Kingsville Action Network was formed. The group rented 5,000 square feet in the historic Flato Hardware Building, and volunteers turned the space into a place where arts and crafts were sold. (The name "Sellers Market" honored a local man, Bill Sellers, by the way.) In what I think was a brilliant arrangement, the enterprise was manned largely by the "working members" of the market, who had to work 12 shifts at the store each year to maintain working member status. Most of the proceeds went to the individuals, but a small percentage was donated to local charities in the community. In 1988, the Wild Olive Tearoom was added and became a popular spot for lunch, dessert, and social events such as teatime. I'd love to see a place like that in my area!

This recipe from the Wild Olive was shared by a Betty Shamel, who noted, "This recipe is often served at Mrs. Jefferies Tea House in Mission, Texas." I hope it was served at the Wild Olive as well, because it is terrific!

Shrimp Newburg

2 tablespoons butter
1-3/4 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons ketchup
3/4 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound cooked and peeled shrimp*
2 tablespoons cooking sherry
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper (I used white pepper)
Cooked rice, as desired

In medium saucepan, melt butter and add flour, whisking well. Add cream and heat on medium to high heat until thickened, whisking constantly. Add ketchup and Worcestershire sauce and combine. Add shrimp, sherry, salt and pepper. Heat thoroughly and serve over rice.

*I used uncooked shrimp and simply cooked the sauce a few extra minutes until the shrimp turned pink.

Life:Beautiful's new issue

Do any of you read Life:Beautiful magazine? It's an inspirational magazine that's been around since 2007, and though I don't often see it on newsstands, I do like to pick up a copy when I come across a new one. The peonies on the cover of the Spring 2013 issue caught my eye!

But even more so, I was hooked when I turned to this feature devoted entirely to cream puffs! There are eight gorgeous pages of cream puffs, and that's not even including the recipe pages! The offerings include Lemon Lavender Cream Puffs (I can just see these on a tea table!), a Raspberry Puff Cake made of cream puffs, Salted Caramel cream puffs, Smoked Salmon cream puffs and more. I've never even attempted plain old cream puffs, but my friend Phyllis once encouraged me by saying that if I can make macarons, she thinks I could make cream puffs. Helpfully, the magazine's recipe section includes step-by-step photos, so I really, really will have to try these!

And in addition to all that, this issue just has some of the loveliest spring floral photography I've seen anywhere. If you could use some inspiration (literally and figuratively), you may want to look for a copy of this new issue of Life:Beautiful.

Spoons from Halle Brothers Department Store

After writing my book "Dainty Dining" in 2011 and researching some 20 old department store tea rooms, I was rather addicted to the research and kept exploring. Halle Brothers Department Store in Cleveland, Ohio got on my radar, and I soon added a teapot, a postcard and a recipe booklet to my Halle's collectibles. I'm now working on a second book of department store tea room recipes, so when some tiny little teaspoons from Halle's turned up online recently, I *had* to have them!

I can't believe the detail that was captured in the bowl of these 4-3/8-inch spoons! The most interesting thing I've learned about Halle's so far, however, is that actress Halle Berry was named for the store.

Their signature "H" adorns the handle of these spoons, and I can't help thinking these just might have been used in the department store's tea room. If any Halle's fan happens to know for sure that this is so, please shoot me an e-mail!

Lipton Peach Apricot Iced Tea Mix

There are, I am well aware, those tea lovers who are purists. You, dear friends, would prefer to sip only brews made from the finest tea leaves picked on the best hills of Darjeeling at the peak time of day. Me? I'm a cheapskate who'll shop for tea at Big Lots, as I did the other day when I came across this box of Lipton's Peach Apricot Iced Black Tea Mix.

Now, granted, I would get the vapors if I ever walked into a tea room and found them using this type of mix. It's the "fast food" of tea, but hey, sometimes convenience is desired, right? These new 6-inch-long packets are much larger than the regular size ones and make 4 cups of tea each.

And I'm happy to say I did indeed like the Peach Apricot flavor, my first new iced tea of the year. Just for fun, I thought you might like seeing the small glass pitcher I used to make it. I found it at a local antique store last summer and originally thought it would be perfect for my (future) beach house. Now, it has occurred to me I can also call this my "Tea Clipper" tea pitcher!

A new tea towel to love!

Frances in California e-mailed that she would like to send me a gift, and I thanked her and promptly forgot about it until a surprise envelope appeared in my mailbox one day. When I opened it, I found inside what is absolutely one of the most delightful tea towels I've ever been privileged to own!

The drawings on the towel look hip and contemporary, and they're quite different from the tea towels I usually see. I was especially impressed that whoever designed this included a tea infuser. This artist must be a tea drinker!

The detail on this piece is simply amazing. Look at the fringe and turquoise thread stitchery here. Cool, eh?

And finally, even the little hang tang with a teacup was just a charming touch. This piece is proudly displayed in my kitchen right now--though I do think I'll whisk it away the next time I make spaghetti or something else messy. This is too pretty to sully!

A fun fern find

One of the fun things about collecting teawares is the search for Just The Right Piece that represents a special hobby or collecting passion. I suppose that might be a problem if you collected, say, spark plugs, but any tea lover passionate about a particular plant or flower is likely going to be in luck. For me, that means I was on a quest last year to find a vintage teacup with a fern on it. Spring and summer turned up zilch, but while out Christmas shopping at a local antique mall one day, I came across this fun fern find.

This cup and saucer set appears to be pretty old, and the backstamp features the word Germany in the letter "S" with a crown on top. I'll have to research that one day when I have more time!

For now, I was just happy to get to use my new teacup, because I made a deal with myself at Christmas that I would not use or write about this fern teacup until spring arrived. It just seemed the right thing to do, and so of course when I test drove (test sipped?) my new teacup, I had to go outside and see if any ferns were popping up. And I was so happy to see this Japanese Painted Fern doing well!

The design and structure of ferns is just so pretty to me. I love to see the dips and curls and whirls.

I've heard fiddleheads can be eaten on salads, but I need to study the safety of that first before I tuck into a plateful. I also think the plants at this stage look like little space aliens.

And finally, this variety whose name I have completely forgotten is a rather fat fern that grows wild along the banks of the creek behind my house. I tried to transplant some last year but a) they didn't survive and b) I almost didn't either after the bugs and poison ivy got to me. Know how I think I'll enjoy my ferns this year? On a pretty teacup full of tea!