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The loose tea has such a delicious scent, and the colors definitely say "fall" to me.
The loose tea has such a delicious scent, and the colors definitely say "fall" to me.
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!
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.
Remember when I recently shared about the delicious tea made by my friend Deberah? Well, she has shared her technique, and here it is!
From a Camellia sinensis plant, recipe to make Black tea:
Pluck the bud and the light green new leaves at the tips of branches. The best time to do this is early in the morning before the sun can heat and dry the leaves in the spring when the plant puts out new shoots.
Spread the leaves on a tray and allow them to dry for at least 20 hours. Leaves will wither until they are limp.
Roll the leaves between palms of your hands. I used a pair of surgical gloves. The book says to use a sushi mat, but since I don’t have one, it was an easy decision to use the gloves. I must admit I kind of liked the rolling, and it darkens the leaves and smells nice.
Spread the leaves on a baking tray and bake at 75 degrees for up to three hours. The leaves will turn brown and will be oxidized.
Store cooled tea in a glass container.