Cherry Cardamon Scones

Since I am a bit behind on the Gracious Hospital-i-tea Blog-a-thon AND I had a request for my scones, I thought I would share this recipe with you. (this fulfills the "What to serve at a tea" question ) :)

Cherry Cardamon Scones

2 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. ground cardamon
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
6 T. unsalted, softened butter
1 egg
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla extract
2/3 c. dried cherries, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degreesF. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (do not oil or spray) and set aside. Combine flour, sugar,baking powder, cardamon, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until it is well mixed and the flour resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

In seperate medium bowl, lightly beat the egg. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla. Add this to the flour mixture. Stir to combine. Gently fold in cherries.

Drop the scones into 8 rounded balls on the parchment lined cookie sheet a couple of inches apart. The scones will rise and enlarge considerably. Bake until golden brown, about 17-20 minutes. cool on wire rack for 5 minutes before serving.

Tea

This week's assignment from Gracious Hospital-i-tea Blog-a-thon:

April 27 - May 3 The White, Green, Black, and Herb of Tea Tell about your favorite tea. How do you prepare it and serve it? Milk and sugar? Plain? What are some of your best memories of serving or sipping on this tea? Share a picture if you can. Tell the health benefits of the tea(s) you prefer. Where do you purchase your tea? Is there someplace you enjoying purchasing tea from? Who from and where?

I just love to drink tea, more importantly I like the ceremony behind tea. When I drink it in the morning or afternoon, there is something special about it. I can't really say that about any other beverage that I drink on a daily basis.

I love hosting tea parties for my girlfriends so that we can try different teas. In the fall, our favorite was Autumn Orange Spice and when I host my Jane Austen theme tea parties, I serve a black tea from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England.

In the spring, Strawberry Kiwi and Rose Tree Cottage Pasadena Rose (made from the roses off of the Pasadena Rose Parade floats) go quite well with scones. Of course, my ol' morning standard is Earl Grey.

I have lately been brewing some Lipton Green tea with Mandarin Orange flavor to have iced with my lunch. Quite yummy!

Thanks for peeking at my blog! Go to Gracious Hospital-i-tea Blog-a-thon to see more ideas with tea.

Becoming Jane Tea

Invitation to Tea

Fabulous Friends!
I love Cath Kidston style
Yummy desserts
I had "the girls" over for tea and a movie, Becoming Jane. Even though I had "major DVD malfunctions" we had a lovely time watching (most of) the movie. My DVD player died toward the end of the movie so I had to describe the end of the movie to my friends :( During the movie we enjoyed Cherry Cardamon scones with Devon cream and Rose Tree Cottage tea.

It was a gorgeous day in sunny So Cal, so lunch on the back patio was fabulous! I served Black & Blue sandwiches (roast beef with bleu cheese spread), Smoked Turkey & Brie on baguette, green salad with mandarin oranges, Gorgonzola and candied walnuts and Raspberry lemonade. For dessert, I served brownies, lemon squares, Madelaine's and fruit tarts.

My friend, Lissa, recently returned from a trip in Amish country and brought us all back a souvenir of a quilted key chain.

While we were discussing me hosting a backyard Sound of Music Sing-a-long this summer, I told my friends the very first song my children heard was "Eidelweiss". I sang it to each one of my 3 children right after they were born. Without hesitation, 4 of us broke out into song, doing our best to harmonize. I just love my friends!

Next month, my friends, Suzanne and Belinda, are hosting a lawn croquet tea party. I can't wait!

Welcome Spring Tea Party

My daughter Sheridan and I decided to invite the fairies to our Spring Tea Party. Year round, we enjoy building fairy houses for the fairies. After building the fairy structure, we enjoyed scones and lemonade on 100 year old china. Sheridan loves to pop bubbles with her butterfly wand! As you can see, we have faux mushrooms, but when we build our fairy houses, a few days later we have golden mushrooms sprouting near the tiny home. Then we know the fairies have paid us a visit and enjoy their home we built for them!
Hope you like our Spring Celebration Tea Party! Thank you to Risa, the ParTea Planner, for inviting everyone to tea on the first day of Spring!

Lucky Tea

Natalie and Donna
Pride & Prejudice Board Game
Table for 8

When I planned this little get-together, I didn't realize how lucky we would be. My dear friend, Natalie, formed our tea group "Table for 8", 2 years ago. She moved to Austin, Tx last Spring and she and her family came for a visit for Spring Break. She was able to attend my tea and then she headed back to Texas.

I served Elderflower cordial with strawberries, English scones and clotted cream from the Rose Tree Cottage, Smoked sausage and potato quiche and Jane Austen tea from Bath, England.

We played a quick game before it was time to pick up our kids from school (it was a minimum day for the little ones). We are all ready for a rematch!

Gardening Tea at Suzie's

My friend, Suzie, invited the "Table for 8" tea group over to her beautiful home to make flower color bowls and a lovely tea luncheon. It was her first attempt at making scones (they were very yummy!) and she bought all of the bowls, flowers and soil so we could enjoy the fabulous California weather and get a jump on some spring planting! For lunch, she made a salad, 3 kinds of sandwiches and fresh fruit. She served a delicious lemon bundt cake for dessert. She told me that she was raiding all of the recipes from the Food Network. What a wonderful way to start the season!

Jane Austen Tea Parties

Last October, I was at tea with my girlfriends and I said "Wouldn't it be fun to go to tea and wear Regency style dresses? You know, like Jane Austen!" My dear friend turned to me and said "Who 's Jane Austen?" I nearly fell on the floor! So I started hosting teas at my house once a month, showing a Jane Austen movie and serving a High Tea after the movie. I have done this the last 4 months and this month, I am hosting Game Tea. I found a Pride & Prejudice board game and we will have tea and scones during the game play.


My friends have enjoyed this so much that they have taken the initiative and have hosted Jane Austen inspired teas. For Valentine's Day, Lissa hosted a tea and we also watched Emma. This Friday, my friend Suzie is hosting a gardening tea and we will be making colorful spring flower bowls.

In April, I will be hosting another tea and showing the movie Becoming Jane. My friends have gotten so into this that we are planning a trip to England in September to attend the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England. We will be attending a ball, in Regency dress, where Jane Austen used to dance. And to think, this all started with a dress!

I gave my friends a copy of P&P wrapped in brown paper.

At the Bridget Jones's Diary Tea, I served chocolate fondue.