Spode Christmas Tree goodies at Michaels

Running in Michaels for one particular item the other day, which they'd sold out of, I told myself I did not have time to look around and I didn't. But my Michaels has rearranged things and it took me a minute to figure out how to get around the row of bin goods and out the door. It was a good thing I had to walk by, because even in a hurry I can spot the word "Spode" at 50 yards, and I'm pleased to report the famous Spode Christmas tree design so beloved by china collectors around the world is now on stationery items there.

The $1.50 items at my local store included these cupcake papers and notepads.

There are also notecards and napkins.

My final goodie was these cute gift tags. There are also cupcake picks, mini-notepads and recipe cards, as I recall, but I was in a bit of a hurry and may have missed a thing or two. I believe all items come in ivory, green and red, which should make collectors quite happy. And I have a feeling these items may not hang around long, so I wanted you to know about them!

September/October 2013 Tea Time magazine

Tea Time magazine is one of my all-time favorite publications, and I so love when a new copy lands in the mailbox. If you're not a subscriber, I must tell you that the new issue is a fine one to add to your tea library!

One thing I love about all the fall lifestyle magazines is that they feature some of my favorite flavors: caramel apple, cinnamon spice, pumpkin anything. Tea Time's latest recipes do not disappoint in this regard, offering up Pumpkin-Cranberry Scones, Apple Crumb Bars and those yummy looking Caramel Cupcakes from the cover.

I also enjoyed this issue's focus on puerh teas, but the piece I found most intriguing was titled "Tuscan Tea." Just reading the list of ingredients for Panzanella Scones makes my mouth water: Parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, Castelvetrano olives, fresh basil — oh my! And that's before you even get to the Artichoke Frittata or the Pignoli-Chocolate Sandwich Cookie. Bruce Richardson writes on taking tea in Boston, and new contributing editor Jane Pettigrew (love her!) writes about the Cutty Sark, making this one of Tea Time's best issues yet.

"A Fine Romance" by Susan Branch

Lady B had a copy. Marilyn had a copy. Linda had a copy. Why, pray tell, was I the last person to learn about the magnificent new book from Susan Branch, "A Fine Romance"? No matter. A short wait from Amazon and a copy was waiting on my doorstep one afternoon last week. Branch is a beloved artist to those of us who've admired her tea-themed stationery, tea towels and book art over the years. Sandy Lynam Clough, Mary Engelbreit, Susan Rios, and of course Susan Branch — it's rather a small Hall of Fame when it comes to tea-themed artwork, and these are our superstars.

Branch and her husband celebrated their 25th anniversary with a trip to England aboard the Queen Mary II and spend two months (two months - yowza!) exploring the English countryside. The inside pages capture the magic of their many adventures, and the pages are designed scrapbook-style, a technique which always, always lures me right in. Even this opening had me admiring the Cunard pen (I am an absolute pen fanatic), the Queen Elizabeth stamp, the dried flower and the various bits of ephemera. Ahhh!

And this is a small detail from two of the (many) pages featuring teatime, so you can see that Branch's signature lettering style is on every single page. I cannot begin to imagine how much work this book was to create, but wow, is it ever a treat for the reader! It seems so intimate, so personal, to read her writings about the trip in her very own handwriting, and it really makes this book feel like a close friend has invited you over for tea and a recap of her trip. Come to think of it, that may be just what has happened! Of course since I'm the last person to get a copy of the book, you all already knew that, right?

Postcards from an Eaton's department store restaurant

Recently I shared a new book I'd read, "Lunch With Lady Eaton," which told of the many tea rooms and restaurants of the old Eaton's department store chain in Canada. I loved the book, so I was delighted when I was browsing online and came across some old postcards from the store's wonderful ninth floor restaurant in Montreal. Check out that decor!

Even the foyer to the restaurant was quite elegant. Oh, how I wish we could still go there today!

Now I've collected a lot of vintage postcards over the years, but this is one of the few times I found one unused but with a stamp. And what a lovely stamp it is, don't you think?

A new teatime necklace

Finally! Several years ago I started collecting tea-themed jewelry, but for the past year or so I have failed to find any new designs that appealed to me. One day on eBay I came across a piece that looked interesting, but it was in Hong Kong. I dilly-dallied around about ordering and when the price came down to just $13.15 (including shipping), I decided to take a risk.

I must say I am absolutely delighted with my new necklace! It's much smaller than the close-up shows, and the small size makes it look even nicer, I think.

Yes, it's rose gold, and I mostly wear silver, but the box link chain on this piece is so fine, and the CZ stones in the tea kettle charm are so nicely set, this could almost pass for fine jewelry. I realize the nature of eBay is that something listed today could easily be gone tomorrow, but if you like this necklace too, do a search for "rose gold teapot necklace" because there were still several listed yesterday. Good luck!

Tea Room Recipe #36 - L.S. Ayres Tea Room (Indianapolis, Ind.)

This week's recipe is a famous one, a creamy chicken soup which, I am pleased to report, lived up to all the fanfare!

For a while now I've had this L.S. Ayres Tea Room cookbook, which features recipes from the tea room at the legendary Indianapolis department store. I'd heard about the famous Chicken Velvet Soup long before I got the cookbook, because this recipe has been widely shared through the years, but I wanted this cookbook because of the variety of recipes and historic photos from the tea room. While L.S. Ayres is no more, the tea room itself may still be enjoyed through the Indiana State Museum, which has reproduced the old tea room right there in Indianapolis. Last I checked, the tea room was being renovated and was due to re-open in December. Go here to learn more--and meanwhile, enjoy a cup of this rich, creamy and delicious Chicken Velvet Soup!

Chicken Velvet Soup

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup warm milk
1 pint hot chicken stock
1 cup warm cream
1 quart chicken stock
1-1/2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1/4 tablespoon salt
Dash pepper

Over medium heat, combine butter and flour, whisking constantly. Add warm milk, pint of hot stock and warm cream. Cook over low heat, stirring with whisk. When smooth and well combined, add remaining ingredients. Yields 2 quarts.

Harvest Farms Organic Teas

Originally I thought I'd call this post "the last bottled teas of summer," but really, I'm not 100 percent sure they will be. I didn't expect to come across these new teas on the shelf at Ingle's, the grocery store I sometimes shop at when visiting my parents, but there they were. And if I see some more bottled teas before fall arrives, well, you know I'll be trying them too!

Harvest Farms Organic is the brand of these two teas, and the bottle notes these beverages are "brewed with tea from Kenya and China." Now pomegranate teas can sometimes be overly tart, but this Pomegranate White Tea was a perfect blend of tart and sweet, with an almost berry-like taste. It's made with organic cane sugar and has 60 calories per 8-ounce serving (2 servings per bottle).

The Caribbean Ginger Green Tea was pleasantly sweet as well, but what I most enjoyed about this tea was the excellent fresh ginger taste. I love ginger, and it was nice to find this flavor so prominent in the tea. Anyone else tried these teas? I'm a fan!

A Boston Tea Party plate

In researching old department store tea rooms, I often troll eBay looking for books and artifacts related to these old stores. When I found this delightful Boston Tea Party plate from the Jordan Marsh Company in Boston, I hoped I was the only bidder, and I was!

Scenes of the Boston Tea Party are not hard to find, but I didn't own one on a plate, and now I do.

The plate was made by Wedgwood, a favorite maker, so this plate had a lot going for it as far as I was concerned: tea history, it came from an old department store, and it came from a well-known maker — so I was quite happy when my package arrived with this plate intact. Do you own any Boston Tea Party "souvenirs"? My collection includes a postcard, a floaty pen, a hankie, a magnet and now this plate. That's it!

Samples from Yezi Tea

It's always fun to hear from a new tea company offering to let me sample some of their loose leaf teas, and Yezi Tea is a new name in tea to me.

This week I'm sampling two teas from the box of samples they sent, the Tie Guan Yin Master Grade oolong and the Yi Fu Chun red tea. I have long enjoyed Tie Guan Yin, also known as Iron Goddess of Mercy, and this Master Grade oolong was certainly no exception! When I opened the packet, I got a delightfully fresh vegetal scent, sort of like steamed spinach. But then, as always happens with this tea, I steeped the leaves and was greeted with that fine, magical scent so reminiscent of summer's gardenias. Ahhh! The taste was lightly floral yet somewhat buttery. Loved, loved this tea!

The "red tea" is actually what we call "black tea" here in the U.S., and oh my, what an intoxicating scent both when I opened the packet of dry tea and then when I steeped the leaves! I was surprised to find such a rich, robust flavor in this tea. I sometimes really, really like a plain black tea, but I must say I loved this one. Perhaps it's because it tasted like fall to me, and I am quite ready for fall. Great mouth feel, brisk but not too much so, just a marvelous black (or as they say, "red") tea! To learn more about Yezi Tea, go here. I was pleased to see they currently offer a free sample promotion, where you can get three samples for free, paying only the $2.95 shipping, which I think is quite reasonable. If you try something I haven't, I'd love to hear what you think!

My first cider pitcher!

Recently I wrote of discovering cider pitchers in an article in Country Gardens magazine. I said I wanted one. Well, now I have one, thanks to a gift from a generous friend who reads this blog!

Isn't this rose design simply beautiful?

My new cider pitcher, which is about as tall and as wide as a teapot, was made by R.S. Prussia according to the backstamp.

Even the back of the pitcher is just lovely. And the first time I come across some fresh apple cider this fall, you can bet I'll be trying it out in my new cider pitcher!

Happy Labor Day!

Goodbye to Summer, Hello to Fall, and a Happy Labor Day -- to all!

Tea Room Recipe #35 - Secret Garden Tea Company (Vancouver, B.C.)

This week's recipe is a new (to me at least) type of muffin that is absolutely delicious as a breakfast treat, Rebecca's Butter Tart Muffins!

This recipe comes from a 1996 book, "Tea Time in the Northwest" by Sharon and Ken Foster-Lewis. I know it is often said that such guidebooks are dated the minute they are released, but I like to collect them anyway because they help preserve the history of tea rooms, and also because the recipes inside are timeless. The Secret Garden Tea Company, by the way, is still in business!

I'd never heard of a Butter Tart Muffin before, so I was prepared for this to be something other than your usual fluffy breakfast muffin. Indeed, the low-rising, spongy muffins are very, very buttery, and with the maple syrup on top they almost remind me of pancakes in muffin form.

Rebecca's Butter Tart Muffins

1-1/2 cups raisins*
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, cut into chunks
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I used walnuts)
1/4 cup corn or maple syrup
* I like raisins only in moderation, so I used a mixture of raisins, dried apricots and dried cranberries.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a saucepan, combine raisins, sugar, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla over medium heat and cook for about 4 or 5 minutes, just until mixture begins to thicken. Cool in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

In a separate large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add warm raisin mixture and stir just until combined. Add nuts and combine. Spoon batter into muffin tins prepared with cooking spray or baking cups. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until golden on top and edges are beginning to brown. Immediately pour about a teaspoon of syrup over each muffin. Delicious served warm, and said to freeze well too. Yields 12 muffins.

"Lunch With Lady Eaton"

While researching the department store tea rooms of yesteryear, I learned about some intriguing non-U.S. tea rooms, those associated with the Eaton's department store chain in Canada. Several Canadian tea friends have mentioned their memories of Eaton's over the years, so for that reason alone I was happy to pick up a copy of the wonderful book "Lunch With Lady Eaton: Inside the Dining Rooms of a Nation" by Carol Anderson and Katharine Mallinson (2004, ECW Press).

Here is a photo of the Grill Room of Toronto's Queen Street store in 1910. I've rarely seen a vintage photo of a tea room with people in it, and I love the ladies' hats in this one!

There's plenty to entertain a tea lover in this book, including "the world's largest china teapot," which was once used in an Eaton's promotion celebrating Commonwealth Week. The real star of this book, however, is Lady Flora Eaton herself. She was the daughter-in-law of the founder, Timothy Eaton, and married to his son John. When Sir John died of pneumonia at only age 46, Lady Eaton stepped forward to lead the company, of which she had been named a director in 1921. Lady Eaton took particular interest in the store's restaurants, and I greatly enjoyed reading of her focus on quality food in the various well-appointed tea rooms and other eateries. I was also amused to read that at one time, the Eaton's Hostess Shop "offered to cook gourmet meals for any number of guests, using a housewife's own kitchenware. This service included the recipe, in case guests complimented the hostess by asking for them." You have to wonder how many hostesses passed off Eaton's food as their own! Lovers of glassware and china will enjoy reading tidbits like this: "The dishes for the Round Room were Royal Worcester china, white with four black rings around the edge. Original Round Room stemware was Fostoria glass. The goblets had a square black bottom, continuing the glass motif of the fountain." There are photos of some of the china included in the book, so of course now I'm hoping to collect a piece of it myself one day. And naturally the book includes recipes, such as the once-secret recipe for Round Room Red Velvet Cake. If you're at all interested in tea room (or Eaton's) history, I definitely recommend you get a copy of this delightful book!

This week I'm sipping my new "Peach With Flowers" black tea from Upton Tea, and oh my, is it wonderful! Such a great peachy taste, it has!

This may be the prettiest steeped tea I've seen in a while!

The company describes it as "a peach flavored, whole-leaf black tea, decorated with flowers," and the flowers are marigolds.

If you haven't ordered from Upton before, you will get a real kick out of seeing your name printed on the package. It's a small thing, but I love knowing this company packaged this tea just for me!

A new Bavarian teacup

My favorite teacups aren't always the fancy bone china ones from Royal Albert and other English makers. Sometimes, I prefer the softly faded, Shabby Chic look of old Bavarian teacups, and I got a good deal on one the other day on eBay: just $9.98 including shipping!

I love-love-love the softly colored roses on this set marked Orleans Z.S. & Co. Bavaria. I even like the gilding on the edges, and I'm not a huge fan of gilding.

I've seen rose paintings that weren't half as lovely as the roses on this teacup. And I know I'm not alone in believing that tea just tastes better when sipped from a pretty teacup. So tell me, what are you sipping your tea from today?

Martha Stewart Biscuit Cutters

As a rule, I do not care for malls. I do not care for the over-aggressive salespeople, I do not care to get accosted by the guy offering the free massages or cell phone plans or newspaper subscriptions, and basically, I've just become a middle-aged crank who does better ordering off eBay or visiting antique malls. So there's that. But my aunt wanted to go to the mall to shop for her birthday gifts last week, and so we went. When we got upstairs in Macy's, the pretty aqua colored wares at the Martha Stewart display caught my eye, and I knew immediately I had to have a set of these $10.99 biscuit cutters, which can cut with both the scalloped and the straight edges.

"Scone cutters" is how I actually think of them. When I lifted them out of the plastic container, I was amused to realize they nest in such a way that they don't fall out of the container when you open it. Nice!

Seven different sizes, from small scone to big fat scone or sugar cookie. If you don't like malls either, I feel your pain, but if you must go, a visit to Macy's housewares might be in order!

Tea goodies from Alabama

On Saturday, my husband humored me by coming along for a little antiquing at an old favorite antique mall, Angel's Antiques in Opelika, Ala. As you can see, I had quite a fruitful day, with my favorite find being the $10 teacup stand!

Those of you fortunate enough to own teacup stands probably know by now to hang on to them. I have been looking for one for at least two or three years now. I do see them in antique malls occasionally, but they always, always have a tag that proclaims in unfriendly lettering, "NOT FOR SALE — FOR DISPLAY ONLY." I personally think that is not very nice of the sellers, to tempt us shoppers that way, but what's a girl to do? I always look for those pretty white teacup stands, but when I saw this black one I decided a) it's a teacup stand, hoorah! b) I can paint it if I decide to and c) doesn't this look like Mary Engelbreit's designs? And if it's by Mary, it would be a sin to paint it.

Other fun finds included this wooden wall hanging. Frankly, it's a little country cutesy/rustic for my taste, but it was a very reasonable $1.50, and I thought it might serve as an accent in the tea garden one day.

Vintage cookbooks are always fun, and here I have one full of maple syrup recipes as well as the Kitchen Scrapbook on top, which has a terrific bunch of handwritten recipes. This little book was a real treasure to me, and it'll get its own blog post somewhere on down the line, I'm sure.

Finally, I was delighted to find a boxed set of what I call rosette or timbale makers. The Swan House in Atlanta serves its chicken salad in the flaky little pastry shells you make with these things, and I've long wanted a set.

I liked the assortment of shapes that came in the box, and I was also pleased the original recipe pamphlet is there as well. Hopefully one of my tea room cookbooks will turn up a recipe I can use these with. Did you find any tea or cooking goodies this weekend?