On Saturday, my sweetie continued his tradition of taking me to tea for Valentine's Day. Can you think of a better gift for a tea lover? I can't!
This year's tea room was Tea Leaves and Thyme in Woodstock, about 60 miles north of our home. I had been to this tea room about a decade ago when it was located in a row of shops along Main Street, but I had not been to visit since they got their own building. It was an entirely different experience this time and seemed like a totally new place.
When we got to our table, we were greeted by a small hand-stamped Valentine's greeting. The tables were styled like some I've seen in other tea rooms, with photos of patrons tucked under the glass table topper. I always enjoy looking at who has been to tea before I came along!
With their Full Afternoon Tea, you get a choice of either Chicken Salad Croissant, Chicken Salad on a bed of lettuce or a Sun-Dried Tomato Tartlet. Alex got the Chicken Salad Croissant and said it was good. (The bite I tried sure was!) His tea for the day was a Darjeeling.
I chose the Sun-Dried Tomato Tartlet and enjoyed it very much. And I was in the mood for a frou-frou tea blend and ordered the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coconut, which was delicious.
Soon enough, our tea tray arrived.
They served three different types of scones, plain, Cranberry-Orange and Currant. The texture was nice and they tasted freshly baked.
They served their Lemon Curd and some very delicious Amaretto Cream in miniature teacups that looked like pieces from a doll's tea set. I liked that idea and may try it myself sometime!
The sandwiches were Cucumber Mint, Egg Salad with Bacon, Turkey and Avocado, and Pineapple and Cream Cheese. My favorite was the Egg Salad, which at first I didn't quite believe was Egg Salad because it was orange and not yellow! Wonder why? (Should've asked, I know.) And I must confess I had a bit of an accident with the cucumber one! I'd seen Alex sort of catch his as he moved it from the plate and comment that it was loose. I made the mistake of picking up mine by the cucumber, which was the first part I grasped, and promptly plopped the round piece of bread right into my teacup! I watched it swimming there for about a second and then removed it to my plate, finished my now-spotty cup of tea, and resumed eating. Lesson I learned: Make sure cucumber is firmly affixed to sandwiches or be sure to pick them up from below!
The sweets included Creme de Mint Brownies (very good, with very subtle mint flavoring), Carrot Cake with frosting, Lemon Squares and, finally, Chocolate Chip Bars with Cherry Jam. The chocolate chip bars were the favorite for both of us, just delicious and with a yummy texture. Our server said the jam filling changes almost hourly on that one. It was a beautiful day and I greatly enjoyed getting to experience another Valentine's Tea with my man!
Tea Leaves & Thyme also has a large, well-stocked gift shop, and I got this cute teapot ornament as a memento of the day to hang on my tea-themed Christmas tree this year!
I was, and then I wasn't. I originally was going to make heart-shaped cookies for a few friends for Valentine's Day this year, but I was bummed that I never found any scalloped heart-shaped cookie cutters, and I didn't think to look online soon enough.
But then, as luck would have it, on Saturday I was about to leave one of the cute antique shops in Woodstock (more on *that* in days to come) when I spied the cookie cutters I'd wanted! So back to the register I went.
I used my never-fail sugar cookie recipe from that fine book I can't recommend highly enough, "Cookie Craft" by Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer. I think my favorite way to enjoy them is unadorned with a cup of tea! But because it was Valentine's, I had to spruce them up a bit before giving some away.
Some of the cookies I simply drizzled with melted pink candy coating.
Some were lightly spread with the candy coating and then embellished with pink pearl nonpareils.
And some were just cutouts filled with readymade strawberry frosting.
To my delight, those were not the only sweets I saw on Valentine's Day! My friend Deberah helped one of her grandsons make these sweet old-fashioned treats. I love the embellished sucker, and of course I never met an M&M I didn't like!
And when I arrived at work I learned my friend Susan had dropped off a (beautiful!) plate of her famous baked goodies for me. Brownies and Red Velvet Cupcakes and Chocolate Covered Strawberries, oh my!
I had to ask about the cute embellishment on the brownie. Using melted chocolate bark she traces the design onto wax paper and then melts pink candy to add some color. Sweet treats: Fun to give, and mighty fun to receive!
