It's Violet Jelly Making Time!

These sweet little violets are popping up throughout our garden, a sure sign that spring has arrived. This little perennial blossom, one of the herbs the colonists found here, is native from Canada to Carolina and is adored for its sweet blossom. Now is the time to gather a jar full of these petite blooms in anticipation of making violet jelly. Gather a quart jar of blooms, with the understanding that the more flowers you gather and steep, the richer the purple color of the jelly.

This loosely packed jar of blossoms was quickly gathered one morning this week. It's best to harvest the blossoms on the morning you plan to use them. Herewith are the directions for making Violet Jelly from The Bride's Herbal, written by our mother, Bertha Reppert. "Fill a quart jar with violet blossoms; cover with boiling water. (Approx. 2-1/2 c.) Steep for 24 hours. (Note: I only let it steep for 2 hours.) Strain. To 2 cups of this liquid, add the juice of 1 lemon, and 1 box of Sure Jel. Bring to a boil and add 4 cups of sugar. Bring again to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Ladle into jars. Seal with paraffin or freeze." The end result is a beautiful jewel-like jelly with a delicate sweet grape-like flavor. If you do not seal or can the jelly, it will keep refrigerated about 2 weeks.

 The Herb of the Year for 2022 is the Viola which includes violets, pansies, and heartsease. As we celebrate the herb of the year, we will be serving this jelly after our free Herb Garden Tour hosted during National Herb Week this coming Thursday, May 5th at 6:00.  Susanna will guide a tour of the herb gardens, guests will create a violet pot pourri, and then we will sample some herbal treats prepared by Nancy. This event is held rain or shine, no need to pre-register.

We also plan on serving this sweet jelly at our (now sold-out) Mother's Day Tea on Saturday. 

In the language of flowers,

Blue Violets symbolize Faithfulness.

Dame Violets for Watchfulness.

Sweet Violets are for Modesty.

Yellow Violets stand for Rural Happiness.

A St. Patrick's Day Afternoon Tea

St. Patrick's Day is always a fun day to celebrate! The tables set, lots of shamrocks can be found on the tables, menus, and teacups. Festive and fun, shades of green, delicious afternoon tea treats, coupled with the expressive music from our favorite fiddler, it was a cheerful day!

May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.                                                                                                                                                                                              

The first course featured a Kiwi & Blueberry Lemon Salad with aged Irish Cheddar Cheese.

May your heart be light and happy, may your smile be big and wide, and may your pockets always have a coin or two inside!

The sandwich plate held a Miniature Reuben on Toasted Rye, Shamrock Topped Minty Pea & Pecorino Round, Warm Irish Potato & Cheddar Cheese Bites, Merchant Chicken Salad Tea Sandwich, Rolled Asparagus Sandwich with honey & lime mayo, and a Corned Beef and Swiss Reuben Spiral.

May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks, May your heart be as light as a song. May each day bring you bright, happy hours that stay with you all year long.

Guests enjoyed an Irish Soda Bread Scone seasoned with caraway seeds and loaded with pecans and golden raisins along side a Traditional Irish Tea Barmbrack. The raisins for the barmbrack were soaked overnight in a strong black tea. Fresh fruit and scone toppings completed the plate.

For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way; Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day. The dessert medley featured a moist Chocolate Guinness Cake, Rosemary Shortbread Shamrock, and a sweet Chocolate Almond Truffle.

In addition to our usual tea selections. we offered a trio of Irish themed teas including Irish Breakfast, Shamrocks and Shenanigans and Irish Whiskey Cream.

Special thanks to Keith Engle, also known as Sasanach, for the lively traditional Irish tunes played on the fiddle. Find him on Facebook, here. We captured his music with this short Facebook live post. Follow this link to Sweet Remembrances Facebook page for a snippet of the music.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, 2022!

May Peace Prevail

 

A Valentine's Day Tea - 2022

Valentine's Day has come and gone, but not without a celebration in the tea room. Forever Yours Spritzer awaited the guests arrival. A strong brew of naturally caffeine free Forever Yours tea (available at The Rosemary House), chilled and mixed with your favorite lemon lime soda creates this colorful and refreshing punch.

Once everyone has selected their personal pot of tea, the salad is served. The "I Love You!" Salad included fresh Spring salad greens topped with plump raspberries, sweet raisins, pecans and feta crumbles and then dressed with a Love is... Raspberry Champagne Vinaigrette.

The sandwich plate included All you need is love Turkey & Havarti Cheese with Orange Cranberry Marmalade, Be Mine Valentine! Herbed Party Sandwich on Rye Bread topped with a heart, Spicy & Sassy Radish and Chive Sandwich on Pumpernickel with a petite heart on top, A Bushel and a Peck Ham Salad Heart open faced on white bread, Sweet Nothings Fruited Chicken salad with a pair of hearts, and my Heart's Delight Raspberry and Pecan Brie Tartlet completed the sextet of sandwiches.

The scone course featured our Love Me Tender Traditional English Cream Scone and a Love Me Sweet Double Chocolate heart shaped Scone with mini chocolate chips. Also on the plate were Love Me Dear sweet cream and raspberry preserves for the scones, and two 'stuffed' strawberries, one with Love Me True Sweet Mascarpone Cream and the other with I Love You so! Chocolate Cream.

For dessert, Hugs and Kisses Coconut & Pecan Petite Cake, Cutie Pie Raspberry Mousse Filled Chocolate Cup, Sweetheart Chocolate Cheese Cupcake, and Loves Me, Loves Me Not Raspberry Linzer Cookie.

Vintage Valentine candy boxes complete the holiday theme.

Pamela's Victorian Bell Mansion Afternoon Tea

A girl's excursion took us (Susanna and Nancy) north to Bellwood, PA via State College to pick up two college seniors (Angelica and Sara) for an early Valentine's Day tea party at Pamela's Victorian Bell Mansion. We have wanted to visit this tea room ever since Angelica started college, Pamela announced this may be her last month serving tea so we quickly made reservations. We were all thrilled to see that we had a Sunday free on a day she was serving.

The table was adorned to the max, festively set with matching Royal Albert china and coordinating cloth placemats. A delicate pedestaled cup of Raspberry Sorbet was waiting for our arrival and provided a refreshing start to our culinary adventure. A pot of Pamela's Personali-Tea was already on the table. A flavorful black tea with bold spicy notes was warming on this chilly Sunday afternoon.

The first course included a Strawberry Salad topped with your choice of feta cheese or cheddar. Tomatoes, strawberries, almonds, and fresh feta mixed with an assortment of spring greens provided a lovely start to our afternoon tea service.

Pamela presented each course with a flourish and a description of what in included. Here she is sharing the tiered tray of Afternoon Tea Sandwiches. Our pot of Pamela's Personali-Tea was empty so we ordered a pot of Raspberry Chocolate Tea. The other flavor option was Strawberry Chocolate which we enjoyed after our desserts arrived.

 On the top tier, there were cucumber squares and chicken salad in mini croissants, along with a ham sandwich with Dijon mustard. The bottom tier held a cranberry cream spread on cinnamon bread, and a walnut and cream cheese on a cinnamon swirl sweet bread. They were all very tasty.

The final presentation was served atop a pedestaled cake plate and that held the scones and Valentine sweets. Two large footed dishes graced the table with Pamela's sweet cream and strawberry preserves. The scones included a choice of English cream or chocolate chip. The sweets featured a crisp Italian cookie with a delicate anise flavor, and a chocolate truffle. 

There was a lot to look at around the tea room. Pianos, teapots, Victorian frou frou, and lovely decorations set the scene. The 1822 historic house is decorated from top to bottom. Here are just a few of the nooks and corners. Pamela told us that the house was just sold, so I'm not sure what that means for the tea room. She has been serving tea here for 20 years. We are so glad that we got to experience this beautiful destination.

Forney House Bed & Breakfast/Tea Room

The Royal Tea Club of York PA hosted a private event at the Forney House Bed & Breakfast and Tea Room in early November of last year. Susanna and I are members of the Royal Tea Club, and we try to attend an event or two during the year. We were thrilled that our calendar was open for this adventure and we journeyed south to Hanover, PA to join fellow members of the club for friendship and fun over a pot of tea.

The tea room is divided into several rooms, and we were seated in a parlor that held a large table set for eight.

Once we were seated, the wait staff offered an assortment of flavored teas. They carry 'True Honey' tea which features honey infused black flavored teas. There was a Ginger Lemon Zest and also Honey Almond black tea. Large pots were placed at each end of the table

The first course was a hearty butternut squash soup, their vegetarian option. Warming and flavorful, it was a good way to start our Afternoon Tea. They also offered a Chicken and Dumpling Soup which looked tasty, too.

A salad bowl with fresh mixed greens, craisins, pecans and a lovely light poppy seed dressing was offered next.

The tiered tray came laden with an assortment of delicious tea time treats. Sandwiches, scones, and desserts to be shared between four of us. It was a bountiful display of seasonal treats, all meant to be savored and enjoyed with hot tea.

The sandwiches included an Egg Salad (or chicken salad) Croissant, Veggie Spiral, Cucumber Tea Sandwich, and Pepper Jam with a Wheat Cracker.

The scone was a glazed Orange Scone with clotted cream and orange curd.

And dessert included Pumpkin Nut Roll, Italian wedding cookie and Spice Cupcake with ginger buttercream frosting.

This was their menu for November 2021. It looks like they change the menu monthly. 

We had a lovely visit here, and savored all the tea time treats with friends.

The tea room is lovingly appointed with treasures throughout the rooms. Here's a look at some of the tea time décor

National Hot Tea Month - January

We enjoy tea all year long, but we are quite happy to acknowledge and celebrate National Hot Tea Month in January. The bone chilling month of January is quite appropriate to be featured as hot tea month. 

Have you heard the old Chinese adage that muses that three cups of tea a day keeps the druggist away. Have you had your three cups today?

Tisane, or "herb tea," is not a true tea from the Camellia sinensis plant, but rather a blend of various herbs, flowers, or spices. Herbal teas have long been enjoyed for their healing and rejuvenating qualities. Ginger is said to be calming for digestive discomfort.

The spirit of the tea beverage is one of peace, comfort, and refinement." -Arthur Gray

"Come along inside. . . we'll see if tea and buns can make the world a better place." - The Wind in the Willows

"Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world." - Tien Yuheng

"Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea! How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea." -Reverend Sydney Smith

"If you are cold, tea will warm you; If you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are depressed, it will cheer you; If you are excited, it will calm you."  -William Gladstone

Happy National Hot Tea Month!