Vera Bradley Tea Garden accessories

If you'll humor me with just a few more birthday gift postings, I promise I'll cut out the self-centeredness! But when I get such cool gifts from so many friends and family members, I want to share just in case some of you want to add these items to your wist list too.

And a "Wish List" is exactly how I got this Vera Bradley Tea Garden case for my iPad! The DH asked for a recommendation of what I wanted for my birthday, so I sent him an Amazon link to this case. It's such a cheerful new floral pattern, and of course I *love* that the pattern's name is Tea Garden!

And with no hint from me whatsoever, and not even aware of what this pattern was called, my sister got me this Tea Garden key chain and the matching lanyard. I love these!

Another reason I wanted to mention the iPad is that recently I was asked about recommendations for tea-related apps, since I had blogged about using some of them in the past. I looked on my iPod touch, where I had originally downloaded some tea apps, but I see I eventually got rid of them all! It seems I'm not using a whole lot of new apps of any kind anymore—on the iPod touch or the iPad—except the occasional game of Angry Birds, of course. And I've had my iPad for more than a year, but only last week did I begin reading my first eBook. What I *do* use my iPad for, all the time, is looking up recipes! I find it so much easier to look up a recipe and save it to my iPad. I often do a "screen grab" of the recipe so it's right there in my photos and I don't even have to go back and look it up. (If you're not a tech person, that basically means I'm taking an on-screen photo of the web page.) The background photo for my iPad, I just realized, also has a tea connection in that it's my beloved David Austin 'Tea Clipper' rose. Any of you want to suggest some apps? Are there any tea-ish ways you use technology? Please share!

An update from the garden

I thought it was time for a bit of a garden update, and I also wanted an excuse to show you one of my birthday presents this year, this adorable beaded plant stake with a popular tea quote: "A woman is like a tea bag ..."

"You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water." A birthday gift from Kentucky friends Linda and Lynn while on my trip to Asheville a few weeks ago, this was the perfect accessory to go in my oversized teacup planter!

Everything is filling out quite nicely. You can see here that the foliage from all the herbs was much smaller at the beginning of the season. And I really do use my herbs, the variegated peppermint and the pineapple mint to make minted "simple syrups" for iced tea, and the lemon thyme went into the Asparagus Tart I made over the weekend. I love being able to just walk outside and pinch off a few fresh herbs for cooking.

You experienced gardeners no doubt knew this already, but I did a doubletake the other day when I realized thyme actually has tiny little purple flowers on it! Sweet!

In my slowly-filling-out shade garden, I was thrilled to pieces that my Hydrangea serrata 'Amacha' has blooms this year. The first year I planted it, it bloomed all pretty and pink. The second year, nothing happened and I was afraid I'd killed it.

This year the color is different, a bright lavender, but I am just happy to know I didn't kill it. This hydrangea is an old Japanese variety that is used to make tea. I think I'll just let my hydrangea continue to bloom for a few years before I see about making tea with it!

This week I tidied up a bit in my puttering area, and using a new (from the junk store) wire basket I was happy to add my stunning new English garden tools and gloves, a birthday gift from Michigan tea friends Phyllis and Sandy. (I know I need to actually *use* the tools at some point, but they're so pretty and shiny right now I just enjoy looking at them!)

These two friends also gave me this great garden apron, a tulip design with nice roomy pockets that I can't wait to wear when I'm next out there juggling seeds and tools!

And finally I thought I'd share the progress in our straw bale garden.

The tomatoes are coming up quite nicely, some of them requiring cages already.

Soon, you can look for some tea time tomato recipes on here. Thanks for joining me in the garden today, friends!

A Capital (Teas) experience!

While trying to go online and pay for my Tea Time magazine subscription last week, I came across an online ad for Capital Teas. They were offering free shipping for any size of order.

Now I'm all into the summer flavors of tea right now, so I was happy to see a blend called Watermelon Burst and decided to order. I immediately got a confirmation e-mail. Just two hours later, I got a notification my order had been shipped and was on its way to me!

Two days later, the priority mailed package landed on my doorstep. Inside was the Watermelon Burst and the other blend I'd ordered, Caramel Toffee Puerh, and a surprise third packet, a sample of their Harbor Breeze tea. But what floored me was seeing my name, all nicely calligraphied, on an envelope. Seriously? Someone actually took the time to read my name and, wait, what is this? A thank-you note! W-O-W. Please keep in mind I spent the extraordinary sum of $12.50 with these folks, and I can see they probably lost money on the deal. By the time they paid someone to roller skate through the plant, package the order, write the thank-you note, send me a free sample, get in the company courier van, speed this package to the post office and expedite it to me, well, you see what I'm getting at.

And the tea? I've tried only the Watermelon Burst so far, wanting to save the others and treat myself in the days ahead. Now I was skeptical that a tea could actually capture the taste of watermelon, but by golly this one did! The tisane contains bits of apple, melon pieces and almonds, and I got the lovely fruity taste I had hoped for.

It's even melon colored tea, for heaven's sake! I'll definitely be returning to Capital Teas after such a capital experience. If you want to check them out for yourself, visit CapitalTeas.com. (When I went to teatimemagazine.com yesterday, the free shipping coupon code was still on the Capital Teas ad, in case you decide to order!)

Asparagus Tart from LandScape magazine

One of my favorite foods to enjoy at teatime is a tart, whether savory or sweet, and I tried a new one over the weekend. It's this Asparagus and Chorizo Tart, found amongst the lovely pages of a charming new British magazine called LandScape.

I'd been looking among the gardening magazines when I spotted a new title, and when it said "Launch Issue" on the cover I decided to take it home with me.

Inside I found features on rosemary, and ...

...to my surprise, a feature on scones!

The recipes include Classic Scones, Sage and Apple Scones, Cherry Scones, Cheese and Herb Scones, and Ginger Scones. The writing, photography and design throughout the entire magazine are simply wonderful—and you don't even have to be a gardener to love it!

But the Asparagus and Chorizo Tart is what I most wanted to try. First I had to learn to pronounce chorizo, a type of sausage (it's "ch" as in "church," cho'-ree-zo), and then I had to find a grocery store that had it. (The nice ladies in the Kroger deli had never heard of it, but I was calling it "kuh-ree-zo," so that may have been part of the problem. A helpful gentleman in the Publix meat department walked me to the three different varieties the store carries. I got the Spanish variety with paprika, since I'd read the paprika is an important ingredient in chorizo.) The chorizo itself was an interesting sausage, and a very spicy one. I might try using it again in another dish, but I'd probably "tone down" the sausage and use a milder one if I make this tart for teatime, since everyone might not appreciate the strong flavor. (But I did!)

Click here to see the recipe as printed in the May/June 2012 issue of LandScape. Following is the version I made, which has been adjusted since I had a 9-inch tart pan, not an 8-inch. I also converted the ingredients to American measurements. Enjoyed with a glass of iced Earl Grey tea, this made a tasty lunchtime meal!

Asparagus and Chorizo Tart (as I made it)

1 cup plain flour
1 stick (4 ounces) cold butter, cut into cubes
2/3 cup cheddar cheese, grated
5 large eggs
Pinch of salt
4 ounces chorizo, chopped into cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces of fresh asparagus
6 ounces heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon paprika
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using an electric mixer, blend the flour, butter, half the cheese, 1 egg and the pinch of salt until it begins to form large, walnut-size chunks. Knead mixture and flatten into a round of dough. Prepare a 9-inch tart tin with a removable bottom with cooking spray and dust with flour. Add the dough and pat it down and up the sides of the tart pan. (The magazine recommends rolling it out, but I found lining it up directly in the pan was easier.) Prick with a fork and let stand 30 minutes. Fry the chorizo in the olive oil for 4 minutes. Remove woody ends of asparagus, blanche it in boiling salted water for 3 minutes, then remove and add cold water to halt the cooking. Bake the pastry on the bottom shelf of the oven for 15 minutes. Combine cream and remaining 4 eggs. Add remaining cheese. Add paprika and leaves stripped from five sprigs of thyme. Season as desired with salt and pepper. Pat the asparagus dry with a paper towel, chop into 2-3 inch pieces and pour them on top of the baked pastry. Add the chorizo, and then pour in the cream mixture. Bake on bottom shelf of oven for 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes before garnishing with remaining thyme. Yields 8 servings.

Teatime Giveaway #20 - Teacup notecards from Chelsea's

The winner of the tea-themed fabric from last week is Steph, so congrats! I think you'll have fun with this fabric! And this week's giveaway is one that should appeal to just about everyone, some new teapot and teacup design notecards. I found these at Chelsea's tea room in Asheville and got a box for myself as well as a box for one of you!

I just love this design, one I hadn't seen before. When I opened the box, I was surprised to find the cards are edged in two different colors, some in a bright lime green and some in a soft aqua. I love them both, and I hope you do as well! If you'd like to be entered to win, just leave a comment to this post between now and noon EST on Friday, May 25. Good luck!

A vintage tea room menu from Lord & Taylor

Vintage menus from department store tea rooms are always fun to read, and perhaps the most unique one yet is this small menu (4-1/2 x 7-7/8 inches) from the Bird Cage tea room at Lord & Taylor, a store founded in New York in 1826 and still in business today! Can you see what's inside, that unusual little artifact up top? For a clue, see some images of the Bird Cage restaurant/tea rooms here and here.

It was, after all, called the BIRD Cage.

Inside is a winsome graphic of this bird winging its way to diners with tea and treats!

So yes, the fun find inside is a feather! (Slightly discolored from glue, I imagine.)

I so enjoy reading the offerings at the old department store tea rooms, things like Tuna Fish and Celery Salad Sandwich, Chive Cottage Cheese and the delightfully-named Piff-O-Puffs. (Any idea what those were, anyone?) But what really turned my head was …

OVEN BAKED BEANS WITH FRANKFURTER CHUNKS? DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THEY SERVED BEANEE WEENEES AT THE LORD AND TAYLOR TEA ROOM? (Sorry. Didn't mean to yell there, but I nearly got the vapors reading that!) Still, this was a unique addition to my little collection celebrating part of America's tea room history, and I'm also happy Lord & Taylor is still with us today!

Silver overlay Tea Room glass

My husband likes to give me eBay gift cards as gifts, and goodness knows I like for him to! It's always more fun spending OPM (other people's money), yet I wanted to find just the right thing. I held on to this year's Valentine's eBay gift card for nearly three months and am mighty glad I waited, for I found some wonderful Depression glass in the Tea Room pattern which featured silver overlay designs! I've collected a few pieces of silver overlay over the years, but I've never seen any on Tea Room glass before. Fun!

The silver was almost black when the pieces arrived, but I knew from experience they could be polished.

The silver is now sooooo polished, it almost looks white!

As a collector of this glass, I must say I'm thrilled with this year's Valentine's gift from my husband, and it was fun to find some unusual Tea Room pieces I never even knew existed before!

Tea, totes & T.J. Maxx

Are there any other tote bag fanatics reading today? Yes, I thought so! I can't seem to resist a nice tote bag, but I like the cheap ones as well. When stores started coming out with reusable 99-cent bags a few years ago, I was understandably pleased. I use these in my crafts room closet for storing yarns and thread, and they're good for transporting lightweight things like teatime linens as well.

Then, a friend pointed out to me one day how very thrifty it is to use these bags instead of traditional paper gift bags. They're certainly a nice alternative to the $3-$4 bags I've typically purchased, and with some creative use of tissue, you can easily fill up the space around just about any gift, large or small. As soon as I began using these as gift bags, I vowed that if I ever saw one with teacups or teapots on it, I would buy all I could find. When I saw this design at the T.J. Maxx in Rome, Ga. on Saturday, that's just what I did. (Alas, there were only 2.) But then I went to another store in Carrollton and bought the 12 they had, and I will s-l-o-w-l-y be giving them out *only* to tea friends in the coming months and years.

Teacups!

A tea kettle!

A teapot!

And there's even what appears to be some newsprint in the teacup designs! (I work for a newspaper, for heaven's sake!)

Although I decided I'd probably purchased enough of the bags, I couldn't help merely *looking* for more when I was at my local store this week, but I didn't see any. Still, if this design appeals to you as much as it does to me, you might want to be on the lookout next time you visit your local T.J. Maxx.

Love & Toast Mandarin Tea Handcreme

It's always fun to discover a new cosmetic containing tea, and last week I came across one I love for a whole variety of reasons, this Love & Toast Mandarin Tea Handcreme by Margot Elena! First: It smells yummy, and it did a great job of moisturizing some dry skin on my hands following a recent post-gardening battle with poison ivy.

I found this cream at a newly-opened gift shop, Gillyweed, located just a few doors down from my office. A formerly drab building has been turned into a cheerful, light-filled gift shop offering such goodies as jewelry, accessories, home decor, candles and, happily, even some cosmetic products I haven't seen before. It's always a good sign when I discover something tea-ish upon first visiting a new store, and the words "Mandarin Tea" on this Love & Toast Handcreme jumped out at me.

I'm a sucker for cute and clever packaging, and after I got home with this hand cream, I discovered that the box itself features the "love" ...

... and "toast" images. Kind of like "tea and toast" for us tea fans, eh?

The ingredients list shows this product does indeed contain our beloved camellia sinensis leaf extract, and it also includes another tea-related ingredient, oil of bergamot, the citrus fruit used to make Earl Grey tea. As if all that weren't enough, the company gives a portion of every sale to regional affiliates of Girls Inc. and says "we believe there is more than just being a pretty face. Along with Girls Inc., we encourage girls everywhere to be 'Strong, smart and bold.'" An impressive product and an impressive philosophy! To learn more about Love & Toast, go here.