A new vintage recipe: Apricot Nectar Cake

I'd been wanting to try a recipe that I found in one of the old metal recipe boxes I started collecting a few years ago, so I volunteered to make a cake for Bible study kickoff last week so that I would be able to share it. Typically, about half of a 13 x 9-inch cake will get eaten at such an event because of the wide array of treats, and I was happy that it was well received and that one friend liked it so much that she took home some of the leftovers. I also saved a few slices for teatime with my young neighbors, and I even had a few slices left for me. (When you slice a 13 x 9-inch cake into 1 x 2-inch bars, you end up with a lot of cake!)

The secret ingredients for this very moist apricot cake are a can of apricot nectar and a box of lemon-flavored Jell-O. And of course I have never met a lemon glaze that I didn't like.

This cake confirms my long-held belief that the more stained and weathered the cookbook page or printed recipe, the easier and better it is. If you want to make a delicious teatime treat that feeds a crowd, I definitely recommend this one, which paired well with some Earl Grey Lavender tea. Enjoy!

Now in bloom …

Guess …

what …

is blooming right now at my house?

And more are on the way!

After almost a week of focusing on home repairs, I took time to enjoy tea with my little friends in the tea garden yesterday. If I hadn't, I might have missed these blossoms on my Camellia sinensis plant, and it looks like there are plenty more to come!

An eventful Labor Day weekend …

Did you have a nice Labor Day weekend? Mine was … eventful, shall we say. I was supposed to be in Statesboro crafting with some girlfriends, but on my way downstairs to leave on Thursday morning, I touched the staircase rail and felt water. Water? I looked up, and water was coming through the ceiling! A copper pipe had ruptured, and while the plumber got here promptly and repaired it, the damage was enough to mean I will be getting a new ceiling, flooring, and carpet soon. So … fun times ahead. But what did not get postponed was my Labor Day hiking adventure with my friend Tammy. Here we are at High Falls State Park in Jackson, Ga., and from there, we went to Indian Springs State Park in Flovilla, Ga., and hiked there.

In the visitor center at Indian Springs, I was surprised to find an exhibit featuring this gorgeous vintage wedding gown.

And I also hit the brakes when I saw silver and glass pieces in a display case. Wouldn’t have dreamed I would see such wares while off hiking at a state park.

Pretty glassware always makes me reach for my camera.

Afterward, we were famished and headed to the Whistle Stop Café in Juliette for lunch. It’s the restaurant featured in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. Part of the movie was filmed in Senoia, a town here in Coweta County, so that movie is very beloved in these parts.

When the waitress asked what we wanted to drink, I asked if they offered Arnold Palmers, and they certainly did. I love seeing the blend of tea (unsweet this time) and lemonade!

Both Tammy and I ordered those and the sampler platter, which featured fried green tomatoes, onion rings, chicken tenders, and sweet potato fries, all of which hit the spot. I took over half of mine home with me and have learned that such foods crisp up nicely in the toaster oven. So while the giant dehumidifiers continue to roar downstairs this week as my house dries out, at least I got to enjoy some fresh air and exercise on the Labor Day holiday itself!

Happy Labor Day, friends!

 

Fireberry Tiesta Tea

After holding out as long as I could on ordering any new fall teas, I found myself browsing the cranberry teas on Amazon the other day, and I learned that Tiesta Tea, a brand I absolutely love, had this Fireberry tea, which features cranberry and hibiscus flavors and rooibos tea. I had a feeling this would be a winning combination.

The loose tea has such a delicious scent, and the colors definitely say "fall" to me.

I always like seeing those fine little particles of the rooibos tea because I know they will give the tea a wonderful sweet flavor, and this one certainly had it. The tea wasn't overly tart from the cranberry flavor, either, so I greatly enjoyed this Fireberry tea. Plus, this 1.7-ounce package was only $4.15. If you like cranberry teas, too, give this one a try. 

 

Teatime treats for tiny tea lovers

Tea friend Margie recently sent me a link to some cute little notepads she'd spotted on Amazon, and I liked the look of them so much that I ordered them for my little neighborhood friends who like to stop by for tea and crafting!

They're small, about 2-1/2 x 4 inches, with just 20 pages each, and I thought a 50-cent treat for kids was hard to beat (it's $11.99 for 24 of them). The designs are all so cute, and I like the blue "pocket watch" version for little boys, who may not like all the flowers.

Here's my favorite. I've already given two of them to my little friends who are five and seven, and they had fun stamping in them. If you need some treats for the little tea lovers in your life, you can find these here.

 

A new teacup I will treasure

I've heard of a few women doing this before, but until yesterday, I'd never received a teacup at a friend's funeral! A longtime friend and fellow church member, Brenda, passed away a few weeks ago. She was old enough to be my mother, and indeed, Brenda was a mother figure to many of us in Newnan. She was absolutely devoted to God, family, and country, and the last time I saw a photo of her, I believe she was in DC planting flags and flowers, which was a very "Brenda" thing to do! After her beautiful service, which included the sharing of condolences from Georgia's First Lady and the Georgia Senate, I went down to our reception hall to pay my respects to her family. Once I did, another friend pointed out all of Brenda's teacups spread out on the tables. We were each supposed to choose one, and then I was directed to tables full of gift bags that had been stuffed with newspaper for getting our teacups safely home. Is that not a brilliant idea? So here's the teacup I got, along with a pretty "tree of life" key chain that was inside.

Brenda was even shorter than me, and I'm just five two, but she was considered a redheaded firecracker by those who knew her. She got things done and was a devoted member of many national societies like the DAR, where she was often a leader. As I looked around at her teacups, I caught sight of a pretty and *petite* one with roses on it, and I knew that the small cup would remind me of my petite but powerful friend.

When I got home, I was about to toss my gift bag when I felt something inside that wasn't newspaper. It was a stroopwafel cookie and a tea bag, so basically, Brenda's family gave us all a tea party as her parting gift. Can you think of a better way to say goodbye to your friends? I can't, and I look forward to telling her "thank you" when I see her again in Heaven!

The winner of the fall baking magazine is …

 Grammy Tea SLR! Congratulations!

"Teatime Even While in Penal Servitude"

 

I came across a new-to-me image on the Library of Congress website this week, and I had to just shake my head when I realized it featured political prisoners in Russia. Old habits die hard with those folks, don't they? The US political system certainly has its issues these days, but we still don't lock up those who disagree with us. I can't imagine living where that was the norm!

The photos's description said, "This photograph is from an album of 47 views of convicts and structures at the Akatuy Prison, one of the main centers where political prisoners were held in the Russian Empire during the late-tsarist period. The album belonged to Isaiah Aronovich Shinkman, a physician and member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, who was incarcerated at Akatuy from 1906 to 1911. The prison was located at the Akatuy silver mine in Nerchinsk okrug (district) in the Transbaikal Territory of Siberia."

I'm rather surprised that these prisoners got to drink tea, but nobody looks particularly happy in this photo, do they? I much prefer happy teatimes among friends who want to be there, but I must say I found this photo intriguing. I hope you do too!

Tea sampling: iteaworld's Jasmine Zhen Wang

 

I always enjoy opening a new packet of loose tea and seeing what it looks like. This is a sample I received from iteaworld earlier this year, and I loved checking out the leaves of this green tea.

This is one of their jasmine teas, and this Jasmine Zhen Wang is scented seven (!) times.

I was so pleased with the smooth, buttery mouth feel of this tea, and while it might have been scented seven times, the jasmine taste was light and subtle, not as perfume-like as some jasmine teas I've tried. Interestingly, you steep the tea just 10-20 seconds to start with, and that was perfect! I steeped the same leaves a few seconds longer for subsequent cups, and again, I was very pleased with the results. Although I'm ready for fall to arrive, I'm not quite ready to hit up the stores for spicy fall teas just yet, so a new jasmine tea was just the thing.

Giveaway: Country Living's Fall Baking Magazine

Are you as ready for fall as I am? At my crafting retreat over the weekend, one of the ladies brought some pumpkin spice pretzel chips to share, and just like that, I found myself longing for fall. Then, I found a great new magazine at the grocery store this weekend and decided this might be a fun giveaway item for one of you. This Apple-Cider Doughnut Bundt Cake on the cover sure looks yummy.

Or how about this towering Apple-Cinnamon Layer Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting?

Or maybe a Pumpkin-Pecan Bread Pudding is more your speed? If you’d like to be entered to win this magazine, just leave an “Enter me” comment to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST on Friday, August 23, making sure I have a way to contact you if you're the winner, and you’ll be entered to win … and get a head start on some new fall dishes. Good luck!

Time to finish a crazy quilt

I've made a new rule for myself: I can't start a new craft until I complete an unfinished one. For that reason, I pulled out my old crazy quilt squares, which have been sitting in a hat box for several years. It was like revisiting an old friend when I realized, "Oh yeah, I stitched a teapot on this one!

And a rose applique on this one.

An under-the-sea scene on this one.

I really need only one more fabric base to have the nine blocks I need for the quilt, and what's the theme of the new one? Another teapot-themed block. I thought I'd show you the "Before" shot as I'm getting started, and hopefully, that'll encourage me to finish it and show the "After" shot soon!

An estate sale find … not found by me!

Last week, I enjoyed another hike with my old high school and college friend Tammy, and when I got in her car to head to the state park we were hiking, a burgundy box was waiting in the seat for me. She recently went to a “free estate sale” at the home of a friend, and she thoughtfully thought of me with a few gifts including this lovely boxed set of elegant porcelain-topped teaspoons! She apologized that only five remain, but as I told her, my favorite tea parties are for four guests, so this is perfect.

The spoons, stamped "Korea" on the back, were in great shape, and I had a feeling the little bit of tarnish could be whisked away with some White’s Silver Cream.

And indeed, it was. So happy to add these beautiful spoons to my collection of tea accoutrements!

Cherry-Date-Pecan Tea Bread

This weekend, I decided to use up some dates and dried cherries I had sitting around, and the result was this Cherry-Date-Pecan Tea Bread, which I really enjoyed! I took some to Sunday school for our class breakfast yesterday, and I popped the leftovers in the freezer to slice up for future teatimes.

One problem I've always had with dried fruit in a tea bread is that it sinks to the bottom. I've tried coating it with flour, but that didn't work either. Somehow, the liquid always ended up rinsing the flour off, and those bits of fruit sank like a lead balloon. This time, I added the dried fruit to my flour mixture, combined it all by hand until it was heavily coated, and only then did I pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones. I was very happy with the way the fruit was distributed this time, and I much prefer the cherries and dates to plain old raisin bread! So here's the recipe.

Cherry-Date-Pecan Tea Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried fruit (I used a mix of dates and dried cherries)

1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water

1 egg, well beaten


In large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, fruit, and pecans, combining well. In separate bowl, combine vanilla, butter, boiling water, and egg and mix well, making sure butter melts completely in the boiling water. Add liquid ingredients to the dry ones and stir just until combined. Pour into a 9 x 5 x 3-inch pan prepared with cooking spray (or use a parchment liner). Allow batter to stand for 20 minutes before baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Some tea gifts to enjoy and to share!

The other night, I got home from dinner with a girlfriend and had a package from Hawaii waiting on my doorstep. The surprise comes courtesy of my tea-lover friend Lani F., and I am so excited about all of these carefully curated treats she assembled for me! There are several folders of fun info I'm still reading, and Lani saw one of my past posts about tea-themed puzzles and sent some printouts of puzzle suggestions as well as this bag with a small puzzle inside. It will be perfect to put together the next time my young neighbors come for tea.

And as soon as I saw these blueberry-flavored Royal Creem (yes, "creem") Crackers, I knew immediately that I would share them, too, with my little friends.  (Indeed, I'm aiming to be the coolest gray-haired lady in the neighborhood.)

But something I won't be sharing is these delightful little cookbooks of favorite recipes by Dear Abby! Did you know that she had ever published recipes? I don't guess I did, and I can't wait to cook something from them, and hopefully soon!

"Journey Through Scotland" in the new Victoria magazine

Many of you already subscribe to Tea Time, but if you don’t happen to subscribe to sister publication Victoria, I must tell you that the September/October 2024 issue, which arrived in my mailbox yesterday, is an absolute delight! “Journey Through Scotland” is the theme of this extra-thick double issue, and since I’ve started daydreaming about a trip to Scotland to see the old McRae family homeplace, Eilean Donan Castle, this magazine is one I will keep close at hand.

There’s a lovely piece on “Tea with Christopher Robin,” commemorating the 100th anniversary of the appearance of Winnie-the-Pooh.

And another is titled “Tea & Tranquility,” which will have you longing to take tea at the Signet Library in Edinburgh.

This year’s Victoria writer in residence, Jennifer L. Scott, writes about “The Ceremony of British Afternoon Tea."

And these yummy-looking treats are pictured in a feature on Gleneagles, a retreat where I'd certainly love to take tea. And I haven’t even touched on all of the issue's historic castles, the tartans, the confections … It’s truly a feast for those who enjoy Scottish history!

From the vintage recipe files: Cherry Coconut Cookies

When I’m in the mood to bake a sweet treat, I like to pull a card out of one of my vintage metal recipe boxes and give it a try. This weekend, I wanted to make some small treats to have in the freezer just in case any young friends pop over for afternoon tea, so I decided to make these Cherry Coconut Cookies, and oh my, were they delicious! And hot out of the oven? That cherry taste is such an unexpected delight. But they’re good once they’ve cooled off too!

Cherry Coconut Cookies

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 large egg, well-beaten

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup (one 10-ounce jar) maraschino cherries, well-drained and finely chopped

2 cups sweetened coconut flakes


Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare cookie sheet with baking spray. In a large bowl, combine sifted flour, baking powder, and salt and sift. In separate bowl, combine shortening and sugar, then add egg, evaporated milk, and vanilla and blend. Add to flour mixture and combine. Gently stir in the maraschino cherries. Using about a tablespoon of dough for each cookie, shape dough into balls and roll them in coconut. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until light brown. Remove from cookie sheet immediately. Yields about 4 dozen cookies.