Coconut A La Creme Black Tea from Plum Deluxe

I'm working my way through the tea samples Plum Deluxe was kind enough to send me recently, and this week, that meant a rich black tea, their Coconut A La Creme Black Tea. I love coconut. I know some people do not, but I like coconut in candy, I like it in coconut cream pie, I like it in ambrosia, and yes, I like its flavor in my tea.

When I saw the great big coconut pieces in this Coconut A La Creme blend, I had high hopes for a great-tasting tea, and this one did not disappoint. The tea also has vanilla flavoring, and during this colder weather that's come our way, I'm so happy for a rich-tasting coconutty tea that's like having dessert in my Princess Anne "Noel" teacup in honor of Christmas!

Where to find 82 free recipe booklets

My correspondent (and friend) Joy has shared a link to an amazing *free* resource, the Nicole Di Bona Peterson Advertising Cookbook Collection at Duke University's Rubinstein Library. Some 82 vintage recipe booklets are included, and of course this one caught my eye with the pretty tea wares on the cover. And just what IS The Vital Question, you may ask? It is, according to the inside of the booklet, "a discussion of the food problem and its relation to health and happiness  –… including a comprehensive treatise on the principles of cookery … with practical and economical recipes for making simple, palatable and nutritious shredded wheat dishes." Recipes include such delicacies as Strawberries in Shredded Wheat Baskets and Oyster Shredded Wheat Patties.

Like World War II–era recipes? Then you may wish to check out War-Time Cook and Health Book, with recipes for foods such as Corn Custard, Soft Honey Cake, and Apple Brown Betty.

Perhaps one of the most tempting titles is Choice Recipes, which features chocolate and cocoa recipes by a "Miss Parloa," including Chocolate Walnut Wafers, Wellesley Loaf Cake, Baker's Chocolate "Divinity" (yes, Walter Baker and Co. is apparently that Baker's Chocolate), Marshmallow Fudge, Chocolate Cream Pie, and more.

I love old recipe booklets, and when I see a new source for treats that might work at the tea table, I am always inclined to share … as was Joy!

Taking tea with Santa Claus

I'm slowly bringing out all of my Christmas collections this year, and that means dusting off (and using) my Santa Claus mugs. I like to make a cup of plain green tea and drop in a single peppermint candy. It's a quick, easy way to enjoy more peppermint tea!

I began by unpacking the mugs from two large crates and lining them up in rows on the kitchen floor. I got to 115 and thought I was done, but apparently I have not been super organized about mug storage, because I have since found about 10 or 15 more stored in various other boxes of decorations. I finally realized that nobody out there is demanding a count of my mugs, so I quit worrying about the number and just started sorting them. This week, I plan to remove some china pieces from cabinets and replace them with Santa mugs to enjoy during the holidays.

This is what I consider the classic Santa mug, and this is the style I have the most of. Many of them are marked "TAIWAN" on the back.

I also have several of this guy, whose hat is decorated with holly and berries. No backstamp, but these definitely look newer to me than the classic Santa mugs.

This guy looks even newer and a little surprised about something.

This Santa mug, hand painted and etched with the name "The Country Cottage," was a gift from my friend Joy. His eyes remind me of the Christian fish symbol!

 

I have just four or five Santa mugs that are predominantly green or blue, including this guy. As you can see, he's got some paint loss, and these mugs aren't really delicate or precious.

I do enjoy seeing the different expressions on Santa's face. The one at left here looks sleepy, and the one at right looks like he's been using lash booster.

And when I examined the Santa mug with the nice lashes, I noticed that it was made in Japan. I obviously added this one in 2008, and the 29 mark is probably the price my late mother paid for it, as she used to pick these up for me when she saw them at thrift stores.

So I collect Santa Claus mugs, and I'd love to know what you collect. Anything specific, or do you just like everything Christmas?

Candy Cane Herbal Tea from Plum Deluxe

Plum Deluxe recently offered to send me some tea samples to try, and I was delighted to find this Candy Cane Herbal Tea among the offerings! This caffeine-free herbal would be a great holiday blend for those of you who are avoiding caffeine.

It's available only through January, and it's a blend of green rooibos and peppermint with "some of those creamy and sweet mint notes of candy canes but without all the sugar." I found it naturally quite sweet, and the taste (and scent!) are lovely. It's the perfect treat after an evening of Christmas decorating. (For those of us who still aren't quite finished.)

I loved the bright, minty taste of this new tea blend, and I think many of you would enjoy it as well!

The Wish Books of yesteryear

Do you all know about the Wishbook Web Project? It was launched in 2005 to share those wonderful old Christmas gift catalogs from the past, and I recently took some time to start looking through them in search of a doll from my childhood. All I remembered was that the doll had a light-blue velvet dress trimmed in white fur, and I remembered getting her as a gift long about first grade, because I entered her in a doll show at school and won some sort of prize. The doll—as well as her name and any maker—had been lost to time, but thinking about the old Sears catalogs made me go "Hmm…" Well, I guessed she came from the Sears catalog, and I further guessed it was around 1970, when I was six years old, that I received her. So I clicked on that catalog, turned to the dolls, and voila! There she is, and I’ll bet you anything my mother chose her because her name was Angela! 

Much as I love vintage Christmas things, I have been having a great time looking through these catalogs of yesteryear, and not surprisingly, there are lots of tea sets to be found. Here’s a page from the 1937 Sears Christmas catalog, and don’t you wish we could buy all those things at these prices today! I, for one, would be delighted to get a 45-piece Blue Willow set for 89 cents.

Even more tea party goodies are shown here, in the 1958 Wish Book.
Are you ready to visit WishBookWeb and start looking for your own toys and tea sets of yesteryear? Click here, and enjoy!

A new cookie pan with great teatime possibilities

A couple of months ago, I found a new cookie pan at T.J. Maxx that looked like it would be fun to use during the holidays. I tossed it in the trunk that day and didn't think about it again until I had my Dad change a rear brake light for me a few weeks later and discovered a forgotten T.J. Maxx bag. "Oh, look, my new cookie pan." (I may try tossing more things in the trunk so I'll forget about them and enjoy my purchases longer.) Over the weekend, I watched back-to-back-to-back episodes of the Christmas Cookie Challenge on the Food Network, and I decided it was time to experiment with my new $4.99 pan and see how it worked.

Every batch came out great, and the cookies were just so buttery and delicious. In fact, I liked them as-is, and they were perfect with a cup of the last of my wonderful Thé des Gourmets tea from Palais des Thés. (I think they must create new holiday blends each year, because that one is no longer listed on their site.)

I made the cookies according to the simple recipe on the package, and the cookies shown on the package were iced and decorated, so I mixed up some simple confectioner's sugar icing to decorate just a few of them. Easy enough! But the rest of the plain cookies went into the freezer and will be saved for gift-giving time and decorated later.

I do wish that I'd thought to buy two of these pans, though, because they bake only eight cookies at a time, so if you see these pans at your T.J. Maxx, I suggest you get at least two, or else you'll wish you had. And for the next batch of cookies, I want to experiment by opening a tea bag full of Earl Grey tea into the batter and making Earl Grey cookie sticks. I'm also thinking they'd be pretty iced in pink with heart-shaped sprinkles for Valentine's Day. Again, I see lots of possibilities with this fun new cookie pan!

Thanksgiving 2019 wrap-up

It's been a while since I shared family photos, and since many of you have seen my nieces and nephew grow up on this blog, I thought I'd share an update from our Thanksgiving celebration at my sister's house yesterday, where Daddy, Aunt Jane, Alex, and I joined in the feasting.

Here's our menu: Turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, macaroni and cheese, sweet potato casserole, seven-layer salad, deviled eggs, broccoli casserole, green been casserole, olives, cranberry sauce, coconut cake, chocolate chip pie, and lots of sweet and unsweet iced tea. I'll bet your menu had quite a few items in common with ours!

We have a tradition at Thanksgiving of presenting new Christmas ornaments to our nieces, nephew, and our grandchildren (the grands are all celebrating out of town this year). Oldest niece Madison bought her first home this year (she has a great job in sales and did this at just twenty-three!), so this "New Home 2019" ornament seemed perfect for her.

Middle niece Cari is a huge fan of all things Marvel, so she got the Captain Marvel ornament.

If any of you happen to be watching the Dolly Parton "Heartstrings" series on Netflix, that's Cari at far right, in the episode "Down from Dover."

Youngest niece Amelia remains a huge dog lover, so she got a Yule Dog ornament that will probably feature a photo of her favorite dog, Missy. (She has five or six; it's easy for me to lose count.) Amelia and Madison ran a 5K together on Thanksgiving morning, beginning a new tradition for them.

And nephew Matthew remains devoted to all things Spider-Man, so he got the Spidey Claus ornament this year.

I hope your own Thanksgiving celebration was a wonderful one!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas shopping for little girls

I don't currently have any very little girls in my family that I'm Christmas shopping for, so I especially enjoy looking for toys for the charitable giving in my community at this time of year. And years ago, the very wise woman who headed up our town's gift collection for foster children told me there was a real need for dolls and gifts that didn't just picture white little girls, and that always impressed me. So now, I try to be intentional about looking for gifts that a black or brown little girl would enjoy. Disney toys are always a hit, so this set from Ollie's caught my eye.

Hopefully, some little girl will enjoy playing with a Royal Palace Tea & Chocolate Set. I would!

I love that the box looks like a cabinet.

The bright colors are so different from the usual pink and pastel tea sets I always see.

I like the cups too!

And because my friend told me there is always a need for black dolls, I scooped up this Barbie when I saw her. Since your town is probably collecting toys for a giveaway as well, I wanted to share a few ideas that just might delight the future tea (and doll) lovers in our midst!

Colonel Brandon's teatime

I do not watch a lot of videos online. I’d rather read something than view something, so I tend to scroll on past when someone on Facebook says, “This cute video will only take five minutes to watch…” I’m imagining all the things I could be doing in those five minutes, so I skip the viewing and move along.

That said, I just discovered the “Epic Tea Time” video starring (the late, sadly) Alan Rickman. Some of you probably know him from Harry Potter, but to me, he will always be Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility. And yes, I officially enjoyed watching a seven-minute video of him having a cup of tea.

According to the article I found on openculture.com, this video is part of the Portraits in Dramatic Time series by David Michalek, each “glacially paced” portrait offering “a physical metaphor for an emotional condition,” and the videos were originally projected onto a building at Lincoln Center. I don’t know why I find this tea video so fascinating, but I do.

(Learn more here.)

Eleanor Roosevelt and a White House tea for a cause

Oh, I do love the tea photos I find on the Library of Congress website! This one from 1939 was taken after a tea, but still. Here's what it says: "White House tea given for women leaders in the 'fight infantile paralysis' campaign, Washington, D. C. January 11. Following a tea at the White House today, Mrs. Roosevelt and prominent women leaders in the 'fight infantile paralysis' campaign broadcast over a coast-to-coast network the urgent need for more institutions for the rehabilitation of infantile paralysis patients in this country. L to r: Margaret McBride, known as Martha Dean of the radio; Mrs. Gifford Pinchot, Mrs. Harry Woodring; Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers; and Cathreen Carrico, of Clinton, Md, who contracted infantile paralysis when a small child and who staged a remarkable recovery. She now sings over the radio."

And were you surprised to a see a female member of the House of Representatives in the group? I was. She was the first woman to be elected to Congress from Massachusetts, and I learned more about her impressive life here.

An unexpected tea gift

I have been to quite a few Holiday Open House events in stores over the past two weekends, and when I shopped at my friend Nancy's Carriage House antiques shop in Senoia last weekend, she rang me up and then reached up on a shelf and handed me an early Christmas gift!

When I got home, I was delighted to discover the gift bag contained two new bags of tea—one a cherry rose green tea, the other a gunpowder green—and an adorable kitten tea infuser.

You know, I don't believe I've had cherry rose green tea much outside of a tea room, but it is a blend I believe must be a perennial favorite since it's so often on the menu, and it's the one I decided to try first, saving the gunpowder tea to open on another day. This one, from Metropolitan Tea Company, is as delicious (and pretty) as I remember, and I feel so pampered in having a nice big bag of it to sip all on my own!

And the funny thing about this infuser is that a display of these actually caught my eye while I was shopping that day, but I told myself no, I didn't technically *need* a new tea infuser. Yet I was drawn to it because it made me think of the cat character in my novel that came out this year. (And for the record, I am allergic to cats and don't have any. I've learned that many readers saw me in my characters, but my heroine's love for her cat is purely fictional. I'd be sneezing my head off!) But perhaps because of my fictional kitty, I find this little gal particularly adorable. What a delightful early-in-the-season gift!

The teacup cards go to …

Joan! And I've just sent her an email on how to claim her prize. Congrats, Joan!

Tea books … new and coming titles

Have any of you heard of the book Infused by Henrietta Lovell? Since I am an avid reader of tea books, I am always surprised when I accidentally discover a new tea book, and this one was mentioned at the bottom of one of the umpteen book emails I get each day. This book is a fairly new release, and it reminded me that I hadn't searched Amazon in a while to see what other tea books are in the pipeline, so here's what I learned about this book and a few other titles:

Henrietta Lovell is best known as "The Rare Tea Lady". She is on a mission to revolutionize the way we drink tea by replacing industrially produced teabags with the highest quality tea leaves. Her quest has seen her travel to the Shire Highlands of Malawi, across the foothills of the Himalayas, and to hidden gardens in the Wuyi-Shan to source the world's most extraordinary teas. Infused invites us to discover these remarkable places, introducing us to the individual growers and household name chefs Lovell has met along the way - and reveals the true pleasures of tea.

Coming July 2020:

In The Healthy Matcha Cookbook, food blogger and dietitian Miryam Quinn-Doblas explores the various ways matcha powder—a main component of green tea—can be incorporated into everyday recipes to give your immune system the boost it needs to keep you healthy.

Coming June 2020:

The Day the Crayons Quit meets Winnie the Pooh in this hilarious and tea-riffic illustrated picture book about stuffed animals who start bickering at their tea party.

Coming July 2020:

A Dark History of Tea looks at our long relationship with this most revered of hot beverages. Renowned food historian Seren Charrington-Hollins digs into the history of one of the world’s oldest beverages, tracing tea's significance on the tables of the high and mighty as well as providing relief for workers who had to contend with the ardours of manual labour.

Coming May 2020:

What is the place of quality in contemporary capitalism? How is a product as ordinary as a bag of tea valued for its quality? In her innovative study, Sarah Besky addresses these questions by going inside an Indian auction house where experts taste and value mass-market black tea, one of the world’s most recognized commodities. Pairing rich historical data with ethnographic research among agronomists, professional tea tasters and traders, and tea plantation workers, Besky shows how the meaning of quality has been subjected to nearly constant experimentation and debate over the history of the tea industry. Working across political economy, science and technology studies, and sensory ethnography, Tasting Qualities argues for an approach to quality that sees it not as a final destination for economic, imperial, or post-imperial projects but as an opening for those projects.

Is this new fabric collection your cup of tea?

I got a new Keepsake Quilting catalog in the mail this week, and I was merrily thumbing my way through all the pretty new fabrics when I came across a new collection I'd not heard of, called …

The "My Cup of Tea" collection from Windham Fabrics. Now, I have forbidden myself from buying any more tea fabrics until I start using up some of the ones currently in my stash, but that doesn't mean I can't share new fabrics! And if you click on the Windham Fabrics website, you can see more detailed images of the fabric as well as two *free* quilt patterns.

And when I was looking for a link to this collection on the Keepsake Quilting site, I actually found a few more tea-ish items some of you might be interested in, so check them out here.