Hickory Bridge Farm, Orrtanna, PA

Our Traveling Herb Seminar Day finished with an evening tea party at Hickory Bridge Farm in Orrtanna, PA.  This huge barn provided a cozy Autumn Tea party for us.

Greeted with a Tea bag favor in our napkin and a copy of the menu for everyone. We began our tea party with Apple Brickle Dip served with fresh local apples and a Chilled Cranberry Almond Tea.


Sweet Potato Soup garnished with crumbled bacon and Earl Grey Tea were our next course, followed by a Mixed Green Salad with a Pomegranate Raspberry Vinaigrette.

Pumpkin Scones and Aunt Ruth's Brown Bread served with Cinnamon Honey Butter and Devonshire Cream followed. Orange Spice Tea was served with this flavorful course.

The sandwich course was Bistro Beef Canapé, Crab Quiche and Toasted Zucchini Baguette.
















Our evening tea concluded with Apple Cider Sorbet, Amaretto Cheesecake, Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie and Dark Chocolate Mousse Tart.







We wrapped up our evening with a charming and informative first person presentation by Mamie Eisenhower.   She took us through her life with Ike, as a military man, President of the US, and as a husband. It was a perfect ending to our Steeped in History Traveling Herb Seminar.

Schifferstadt Architectural Museum, Frederick, MD

The second stop on our Traveling Herb Seminar was at The Schifferstadt Architectural Museum, which is quite unique.  It was built in 1758 and is a terrific example of early Colonial German Architecture. 









The museum is not "gussy upped" to be a beautiful display, and that is intentional as it is meant to display how well built this home is.  The walls and beams are quite thick and solid.   This museum provides a glimpse into how folks live but also into how it was built.  So we traipsed through the basement and up to upper floors.   The docents here were passionate about their subject and made the tour quite interesting.

The herb garden featured a traditional four square German garden design.  Plants were well labeled with their uses for a family.  This is quite a large patch of Garlic Chives in full bloom.

Afternoon Tea at Tudor Place, Washington, DC

Like many historic places, Tudor Place offers a delightful afternoon tea.  We learned about it through an article in Tea Time Magazine.   The tea had a variety of sandwiches, Pesto and Watercress, Eggplant and cheese,  Traditional chicken salad and ham salad as well.

Everything was clearly prepared fresh for us and promptly served with two tea choices. 

During the tea party a pleasant docent gave us a brief presentation on Colonial tea customs,  presenting a tea brick for our inspection,  showing the conical shape sugar once came in, and other tidbits of tea history.






Service was great, food was tasty, we all learned more of our history.  All in all it was a lovely experience.

Tudor Place, Washington, DC

 We recently had another of our Rosemary House Traveling Herb Seminars were we went to Washington DC and visited Tudor Place.  Tudor Place, a National Historic Landmark, is interesting both for its architectural features and also because members of the same family lived in it for six generations.  It was Martha Custis, grand daughter of Martha Washington who resided here.  Not permitted to take photos inside, this house has many original features and a long history of hosting illustrious figures in American history.

Wandering the gardens and the estate we loved the many little nooks and crannies to sit and pause a moment.

Fresh Fig Upside Down Cake

We have a healthy and happy fig tree (follow that link for Susanna's post a few years back) in our backyard gardens and the fig harvest has been abundant this year.  We've served them as a part of the morning snack on a Traveling Herb Seminar bus trip.  We've served them alongside orange slices and fresh scones during Afternoon Tea in the tea room.  And last night, we prepared an upside down cake using fresh figs and pine nuts.  What a buttery dessert this was... a pure and sinful dessert... all in one! 
Fresh Fig Upside Down Cake
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/3 c. brown sugar
10 - 12 ripe figs, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/3 c. toasted pine nuts, divided
1-1/3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
2/3 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. freshly zested lemon peel
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour melted butter into bottom of an 8" square baking pan. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over bottom of pan. Arrange fig slices in single layer over bottom of pan. Tuck pine nuts (2 Tbsp.) into spaces around figs, pressing into brown sugar. Set aside.

Sift dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) into large mixing bowl. Add softened butter, milk, vanilla, lemon zest, and egg. Beat on medium speed about 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl. Stir in remaining pine nuts. Pour over figs in prepared baking pan.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool in pan about 5 minutes. Loosen cake around edges of pan. Place serving platter over cake and turn over. Shake gently, then remove pan. Serve warm.

Tomato Basil Sandwich

Here's a pretty Afternoon Tea Sandwich to enjoy:
Tomato Basil Sandwich
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup fresh basil, finely cut, plus additional basil for top of sandwich
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 c. Romano cheese, plus additional cheese for sprinkling on top
Pumpernickel bread
Fresh plum tomatoes, thinly sliced (spread out on paper towel to drain)

Combine butter, tomato paste, basil, salt, garlic, and Romano cheese until well blended.  Using a 2" round cookie cutter, cut Pumpernickel bread.  Spread filling on bread.  Top with tomato slice.  Sprinkle with cheese and basil.  Serve proudly!

 

Fairy Sprinkled Oreo Pops

Looking for a fun treat for a special event?  These Oreo pops might just be the perfect fit for a fairly quick and easy treat to make.  Depending upon the sprinkle decorations you use, they can be made to fit any season, any event.  We offered them at our Fairy Festival recently, so these have been fairy dusted! 






Using the double stuff Oreo cookies, gently poke a lollipop stick into the center of the cream filling. 

Melt white chocolate coating (either in the top of a double boiler, or with the microwave).  Three pounds of chocolate was enough to dip 2 - 15 oz. packages of cookies.  Dip the Oreo cookie into the melted chocolate being sure to thoroughly cover the back, front, and sides.  Allow excess chocolate coating to drip off, then place on a wax paper lined tray.  Sprinkle each cookie with edible decorations before the chocolate firms.  I usually dip about five pops, and then sprinkle those five before dipping the next five cookies. Place tray in fridge until chocolate is totally firm.

Package in a clear baggie, with colorful coordinating ribbons.  Perfect for a birthday party favor or an in-school birthday celebration.  Fun!

 

Marzipan

Marzipan is a very typical sweet in Spain, originating in  Toledo, while some claim marzipan originated in China and from there it was passed to the Middle East which introduced it to Spain.  The story in Toledo is attributed to the nuns of the convent of San Clement who following one of the famines that often affected the population, created a dough with the only products that they had in their food stores: almonds and sugar. 

Marzipan is understood to be the paste, cooked or raw, obtained from the mixture of raw peeled almonds and sugar.  But you could also find marzipan crème to use as liquor flavoring.

Most traditional are the "Saint's Bones" on the left but other Marzipan candies are made all year round, with more designs at Christmas time.

Tea Time - La Tienda del Te

Another tea related excursion this summer included a visit to Tea Time, La Tienda del Te in Madrid, Spain.  What a fun little discovery this tea shop was!  Tucked in a pedestrian walkway area, nestled between buildings, was Tea Time.  This small shop packs a lot into each little corner and according to their business card has the best selection of teas from the whole world, La mejor seleccion de tes de todo el mundo.


Susanna selected two different Chai teas from the wide assortment of black canisters filled with tea.  She purchased a Green Tea Chai, and also a Rooibos Chai.  We've sampled both of them, and enjoyed the spicy warmth of each one. 


We also sniffed the Black tea with Cannabis, but were afraid to try and bring that back into the US.  We were so surprised by the opportunity to openly purchase this tea, we didn't even take a picture of it!











This is the collection of tea goodies displayed in the front window directly behind Susanna in the previous picture. 








And these three adorable cherubs waited patiently for us while we admired La Tienda del Te.  There was a little feeling of being home while standing in this shop, with merchandise tucked here and there, floor to ceiling, tins full of tea and tisanes, it just felt a little reminiscent of The Rosemary House. 

A Tea Affair, Lititz, PA

A few weeks ago Susanna and Nancy had the pleasure of savoring Afternoon Tea at A Tea Affair in Lititz, PA.  Lititz, located in Lancaster County, is a fun community with a great variety of gift shops, art galleries, and Wilbur's Chocolate factory.  It all combines to make a great place to stroll, shop, and enjoy the day.  Top that with a visit to a tea room, and you have a memorable day.

The interior of the tea room is pristine white with bold splashes of color, bright red and green are accented on the walls, tables, and repeated with the tea pots.

The High Tea, their specialty, featured a salad, a variety of tea sandwiches, fresh scones with jam and curd, and a delicious variety of desserts featuring a French flair.












Warm scones followed by a delicious strawberry salad with sweetly crusted pecans served by an attentive young French lad with a beautiful accent eager to return to his final year of study at Dickenson College in Carlisle, PA.

The tiered tray included a nice variety of sweets and savories. And an additional tray of desserts was presented on the side with Crème Brulee.


Be sure to visit the gift shop afterwards where you will be enticed to purchase a package of tea or perhaps a special tea accoutrement.  They have a large selection of specialty tea items and tins of loose leaf tea line the back wall where you can decide which new flavor to add to your tea cupboard.

 



Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake

3 c. flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
3 cups sugar
3 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1-1/2 c. oil
3 c. zucchini, grated
1 c. miniature chocolate chips (or nuts if you prefer)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a Bundt pan, set aside. Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, soda, and salt) and set aside.  In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and add sugar, 1/4 cup at a time.  Add melted chocolate, then add the oil.  Add the reserved flour mixture and blend well.  Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.  Mix well and pour into prepared Bundt pan.  Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Cool 15 minutes before removing from cake.  Liberally dust with confectioner's sugar, or make a confectioner's sugar and milk glaze to pour over the cake as shown in the picture.  Enjoy!
 

Fairy Festival 2013

 A few quick snaps of the event... from early Sunday morning, before the afternoon crowds arrived.  We had a beautiful two day weekend event, lovely weather and a great turnout.  Guests traveled from NJ, MD, WV, NC, NY, DC, and PA. 

And we love the feedback we receive, notes in our Guestbook included: FZ penned We had a wonderful time.  Brownie Troop 10537 wrote Memories forever, amazing time.



We were pleased to received this message in our inbox the day after the event:

Thank you so much for the lovely day!  My granddaughter loved it.  The snack sacks were marvelous!  Thank you for all the hard work that you all do to make the festival a wonderful, magickal event for the children! 

Khaya said I couldn't belive my eyes! while Laylah printed I had a wonderful time with my friend.

This private Facebook message touched our hearts. 
This was a perfect day for my daughter and I, we created a lifetime memory and a new mother/daughter tradition. Can't wait for next year! We drove from DC and it was completely worth the trip. Your very special team clearly does this for the children. I can't even imagine how the festival could have possibly made a profit. The experience I shared with my daughter was worth much more than the few dollars we spent. The fairy festival is a wonderful event for little fairies, and grown ones too! This was the best afternoon I've ever spent with my three yr old daughter, a very special day put on by very special people. Thank you for all your hard work and heart that was evident in the every moment of our visit.