Se7en Tea Time Treats…

If  you are going to have a tea party, virtual or otherwise, then there are certain things you have to have… certain bites of deliciousness!!! All tea parties serve sandwiches and all tea parties serve lots of cream, that’s just the way of it!!! And I for one am not going to complain!!!

Now the most important player is the tea… Did you know that there is a right way to make tea!!! There is, really I learnt it from my granny and she would know because she quite literally thought she was Royalty. Clearly I live with a couple of Royal Hoods and they would mostly be happy to be called Royalty, but only if you contribute to our Virtual Tea Party.

There is of course the late at night or staggering up comfort tea… and that is toss a teabag of your favorite tea into a mug, cover the bag with boiling water, swizzle it around with a spoon, toss the bag into the garden garbage, add a dash of milk and snuggle in. But we are talking elegant tea for an elegant tea party here, as taught to me by my granny:

1. Pop fresh water into your kettle, just enough for your pot. Lingering kettle water won’t do it has to be fresh.
2. When your water is at a rolling boil turn it off and put some water into the teapot and swish it around to warm the pot up. The use of a tea pot goes without saying…
3. Then empty the pot and you are ready to being. Pop a teaspoon of tea-leaves into the pot for each cup you plan to make, and an extra one for the pot. If you are using tea bags – then same thing… one for each cup and an extra one for the pot.
4. Fill the pot with the just boiled water give it a gentle swoosh with a tea spoon and pop the lid on.
5. Let your tea brew for a little while, their should be a recommended time on the box.
6. Pour a dash of milk into each tea cup. (This step is hotly debated… milk before the tea or milk after… check with your guests because everybody has a preference.)
7. Top with your tea.
8. Enjoy it…

And here are se7en bits and bites to go with your tea… but before we begin there is something to be said for mini-bites. There is something sweet and appealing about morsels… remember if you have a heap of guests coming over they would rather try a little bit of everything instead of one great hulk of cream pie. Trust me on this, little bites is the way to go!!!

1. Cucumber Sandwiches: Everyone wants a turn to cook around here and these are really easy enough for a two year old to make…Just slice the cucumber and leave them to it!!! She used a cookie round to make circle sandwiches. So make the circles, stack the layers and you are done!!!
   

   

2. Egg Mayonnaise Sandwiches: A couple of hard boiled eggs – peeled, chopped fresh parsley and salt and pepper. Mush them all together and spread them onto your sandwiches.




3. Strawberries and Cream: Well you just can’t miss out on Strawberries and Cream!!!



4. Meringues: I have blogged so many meringue recipes that they should have their own category!!! Here we go the basic simple recipe: You need 50 g of castor sugar for every egg white. Whip your egg white until it is stiff, then add the sugar really really slowly. Then beat it for a long time until the mixture is smooth!!! Really smooth, when you taste it there should be no crunch left from the sugar. Pop these into a very low oven, about 100 degrees Celsius (200 Fahrenheit) for about an hour then turn the oven off and leave them in the warm oven for longer if you like them crisp and take them out if you like them a little bit gooey in the middle.



5. Chocolate Eclairs: These are so quick and easy and VERY impressive!!! I have never met anyone that didn’t want a little eclair!!! Also you can make the pastry shells quite well in advance and pop the cream and chocolate at the last minute!!!



6. Chocolate Coated Strawberries: If you don’t have enough cream because you have used it all up on the eclairs, then there should be chocolate… and chocolate coated strawberries will do the trick!!!



7. Scones: Well it goes without saying – if you serve nothing else then serve scones. Somehow tea and scones are best friends!!!

That’s it!!! Everything you need for a tasty tea-party!!! Join us and try and help us to fill up our tea pot by Sunday and support the CANSA fund.

I popped this post onto the Works For Me Wednesday Site – go and have a look there for all sorts of tips on absolutely anything.