Tea Around the World ~ Cambodia

Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus) has light gray-green wispy leaves that grow to 24 - 36" and yield a lemony scent.  Its flavor is excellent for teas, salads, fish, poultry and Asian cuisine.  It is typically found in Thai recipes.

This fun package of Lemon Grass herb tea was another souvenir gift from the recent trip our cousin took to Southeast Asia. Made in Cambodia, this skillfully crafted reed basket contains powdered lemon grass. Lemon Grass is the distinctive lemony fragrance found in Southeast Asian cuisine.  The recipe included with the basket provides instructions to prepare Lemon Grass Tea (frappe).  To prepare this specialty drink, after making a simple sugar syrup, you add fresh lime juice and lemon grass and then infuse black tea for 5 minutes.  Strain, and serve over ice. While on vacation this past summer, I prepared the Lemon Grass Tea as instructed, and it was described as an 'exotic flavor' by my cousin's husband. 

Tea Around the World - Viet Nam

Our cousin recently returned from a unique trip to Viet Nam where she purchased this box of herb tea as a souvenir. Artichoke tea, 100% artichoke in tea bags. The package, in both Vietnamese and English, explains the healthful benefits of drinking artichoke tea.

Tea Around the World ~ Germany

A sister recently travelled to Germany and brought home some tea packets as a souvenir. These colorful packets are designed to be addressed and mailed to a friend as a thoughtful gift. Thanks to Google Translate, the green tea package reads "Anything really worthwhile takes time, just like a good cup of tea." and the yellow package reads, "For You. A bath refreshes the body; a cup of tea, the spirit."
Reading the label on the reverse reveals that these packets contain flavored Rooibos, one is vanilla flavored, and the other contains elderberries, orange peel and safflower. Rooibos is harvested from the Red Bush plant native to South Africa. This herb tea is naturally enriched with nutrients such as iron, potassium, calcium, and fluoride. Once brewed, it produces a fruity cup with sweet notes that is reddish orange in color. Naturally caffeine free, it's a unique alternative to decreasing caffeine intake.

Medieval Dinner

Last week we hosted a Medieval Dinner and Program in Sweet Remembrances. The tables were set with trenchers, hollowed out slices of bread that served as plates for several courses of the feast.In earlier days, it was acceptable to use the tablecloth to wipe your fingers. However, as cultures progressed, napkins were used, typically draped over the left shoulder.  As fashions developed, the napkin would be wrapped around your neck and the expression 'to make ends meet' developed.  Silverware was limited.  We provided a knife, although attendees at a Medieval feast would have provided their own dagger to spear the meat that was served.  Forks were not considered appropriate to use and spoons would have been made of wood and later tin or silver.  There would be a communal plate to serve the various courses. Our feast began with Dilled Veal Balls and a bowl of Cabbage Chowder. Saffron was a popular seasoning because of the flavor and gorgeous color it would impart on the food.

The second course featured Golden Leeks and Onions and a plate of Puree of Peas. Mushy Peas can still be found in pubs throughout England. The trenchers would be gathered at the end of the banquet and given to the hoards of hungry that were gathered outside the castle gates. The next course included Chicken with rice and almonds and sauteed mushrooms and leeks. Dessert featured Pumpkin Bread with Lemon Curd, circletes (a type of cookie with currants) and mulled Cider.In addition, we were happy to be able to harvest fresh figs from our backyard tree.    

For additional information about figs, visit this earlier post written by Susanna.  If medieval etiquette interests you, this previous post includes a bit of etiquette that we typically share with our guests when attending our Medieval feast.

Abigail's Victorian Tea Room

The last leg of a recent Rosemary House traveling herb seminar found us in Reading, PA where we had the opportunity to visit Abigail's Victorian Tea Room established in a beautiful 1883 Victorian Manor house.   

Rich fabrics, delicate laces, assorted china patterns, crystal chandeliers, stained glass windows all added to the wonderful atmosphere of Abigail's tea room.  The Victorian Royal High Tea was featured this evening which included an assortment of steaming hot pots of tea (Peach Apricot, Orange Spice, or Berry). Berry scones and slices of orange bread were placed on the table as we arrived. 

 Our next course featured a choice of chicken noodle soup or broccoli cheese soup accompanied with a mixed green salad and assorted dressings.  A beautiful individual tiered tray was presented to each guest and held the tea sandwiches (chicken salad, tuna salad, cucumber, and apricot cream cheese on raisin) on the bottom tier and delicious desserts (brownie, raspberry tartlet, and berry cake) on the top tier.

Our evening tea at Abigail's Victorian Tea Room provided a delicious and fitting end to a memorable day of touring gardens in New York City.

Calling all Pixies, Elves, Wizards & Fairies!

One week ago we celebrated our annual Fairy Festival in the gardens of The Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances. What fun we had! The rains during the entire week preceding the festival could not dampen the spirits of the sprites and pixies and fairies that danced around the gardens this weekend. Blue skies and happy faces prevailed.

The Fairy Festival for 2012 will be held on Sat. Sept. 8th and Sun. Sept 9th. 

You will find information about our festival here.

Calling all Pixies!

This precious little Pixie A-B-C book is the newest addition to our library.  This Read-With-Me Big Time Wonder Book was printed in the UK for the publisher Peter Haddock Ltd., Bridlington.
Don't you just love the colorful pixies, fairies, and plant life that adorn the inside cover?

A few of our favorites, A is for Antics of Pixies at play...E is for Elves who chase butterflies... F is for Fairy who got a surprise!
and, Z is for zest when they tackle their tea!  Too cute!

Tea cup Thursday

And today we introduce Miss September for Tea cup Thursday. In addition to August, September is the only other teacup I have in the Flower of the Month Series  Produced by Royal Albert, it is fine bone china, made in England.  September features the Michaelmas Daisy.  We are happy to join Miss Spenser and others for Tea Cup Thursday.  Happily, Miss Spenser's Special Teas tea room, located in Iowa, was recently featured in the newest edition of TeaTime Magazine.  Did you happen to see the article?  Some day we hope to meet Donna and her delightful family.  A visit to her tea room is on our bucket list!

Farewell Birthday Month!

One final peek at the birthday celebration held earlier this month. Appropriately, a hand crafted fondant tea cup atop a sweetly decorated birthday cake.  A special thanks to friend~neighbor~artist~fairy~Patti of Patticakes Confections for the fun cake!  It added to the special tea themed celebration.

So long August.... we will await your return next year; but must we continue counting?

Regency Tea for Friends ~ Part Two

Although Afternoon Tea as we know it wasn't introduced during Jane Austen's time period, there are many references to taking tea in her novels. Coffee was the fashion for many decades, but by 1700 the British upper class were changing their preference to tea. In the era of Jane Austen, tea was always served after dinner. The custom of taking Afternoon Tea as we think of it didn't appear until later, in 1840 with Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford when she complained of 'a sinking feeling' in the late afternoon and began to take tea and a butter sandwich in her boudoir in the afternoon. As she invited select friends to join her, it became the fashion to continue this tradition. Our menu for the Regency Tea featured a bit of both worlds.
Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwich
A Finger Sandwich of Mixed Vegetables
White cheddar & Olive Rounds
Cucumber with Mint butter
Artichoke & Spinach Toasts
Traditional English Cream Scones
Olde English Seed Cake
Mock Clotted Cream, Cinnamon Honey Butter
Fresh Cantaloupe and Summer Berries
Sticky Toffee Pudding
A fine Cake
Assorted Hot Teas We were pleased to once again welcome Eliza Blackwell Dupree, a lovely lady of the 19th century who regaled us with stories of tea during the Regency period as well as the customs and traditions of the time. It was an enjoyable afternoon as we stepped back in time.


The next opening of the door brought something more welcome; it was for the tea-things, which she had begun almost to despair of seeing that evening. ~Mansfield Park

Regency Tea for Friends of Jane Austen

Recently, we hosted a Jane Austen themed tea event in Sweet Remembrances.  In addition to the Internet resource, two wonderful books on the topic provided inspiration and recipe suggestions.  The Jane Austen Cookbook (Maggie Black & Deirdre Le Faye) includes a selection of recipes dating back to the late Georgian/Regency period, approx. 1750 - 1820.  The recipes featured would have been dishes that Jane Austen and her family, and the characters represented in her novels, would have enjoyed.  Each recipe appears as it would have been written during this era followed by an updated version for our modern kitchen.  There is also considerable back ground information pertaining to the social and domestic life in Jane Austen's time.  The recipes are divided into different categories, including family favourites, picnics, suppers, and entertaining friends.

The second cookbook, Tea with Jane Austen (Kim Wilson) also provided a wonderful selection of tea related recipes, quotes, history, and general information regarding the occurrence of tea time events in Jane Austen's novels.  A delightful sampling of the quotes that appear in the book were shared with our guests in the printed menu that day.

"No coffee, I thank you, for me ~never take coffee.~A little tea if you please, sir, by and bye, ~no hurry!  Oh! here it comes.  Every thing is so good!" ~Miss Bates in Emma.

Tea Cup Thursday

 

We're joining Miss Spenser and others for Teacup

Thursday today, featuring the birthday cup for the month of August. This Royal Albert bone china tea

cup from England, in both full size and petite cups, feature the Flower of the Month Series.  For August, it's the Poppy. The cups are both dated and copyright 1970.

The sweet little tea pot featuring precious blue blossoms, forget me knots perhaps, is marked on the bottom Lane End Pottery, Fine Bone China, England.