Angela Webster McRae's Blog, page 164

In praise of fall teas

Fall is my favorite time of year to try new teas. Even though it doesn't exactly feel like fall here in Georgia just yet, I've whipped out a fall-ish tea and teacup in expectation of the new season that arrives next week.

And when I think of fall teas, there are really none I like better than Harney's Cranberry Autumn. I love cranberries, and around here you can't get fresh cranberries till autumn, so it's probably fitting that Cranberry Autumn will always be my favorite fall tea.

Still, I'm open to trying new teas this fall. What do you recommend?

Melville Candy's Pumpkin Spice Spoons

I'd managed to resist the tempting-looking honey-flavored spoons for sale at the Barnes and Noble café until I saw these Pumpkin Spice Spoons this week, spoons which immediately became a must-have item. I've had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season, and these spoons ($8.95 for six) are even better!
Each one is individually wrapped, so they're perfect for sharing. (Assuming you wish to share.)
They're actually wrapped twice, with the plastic you see up top and then a tightly wrapped second skin covering the candy and stick. Persistence pays off, though, and you can soon be enjoying a great cup of black tea flavored with your Pumpkin Spice Spoon.

Oh, was this spoon good! As soon as it was halfway dissolved, and this occurred rather quickly, I started sipping, and it gave my plain black tea a wonderful pumpkin taste. As I got closer to finishing my tea, the spice notes really emerged, and it almost tasted like hot cinnamon candies. All in all, a winning combination for those of us who love all things pumpkin. Last year I bought pumpkin-flavored cereal for the first time, and I'm curious to see what else is out there this year. Have you seen any fun new pumpkin-flavored treats?

Some vintage prints for tea lovers

I continue to browse the photo archives of the New York Public Library's digital collections on a regular basis, and recently I was struck by the beauty of two prints featuring floral arrangements in teapots. First was this one, "Wild Azaleas."


And the second one is titled "Japan Quince #2." According to the website, these prints were publisher's proofs from a book published by L. Prang & Co. The artist was Annie C. Nowell, and I would have to suspect that she was a tea lover like us. Go here if you'd like to download these public domain images for yourself!

Twinings Blackcurrant Breeze Premium Black Tea

The Ingles grocery store in Bremen has really become a favorite grocery store of mine. We don't have an Ingles in my town anymore, but whenever I visit my dad's and am returning home, I often stop by the one in Bremen because it has a great deli, lots of fresh produce, and often, something new on the tea aisle. This week, I picked up a new-to-me blend from Twinings. (The bone china tea mug, by the way, is a fun souvenir I actually bought at the Twinings tea shop in London, and I'm quite sure it made my tea taste even better!)

This Blackcurrant Breeze Premium Black Tea caught my eye because it's a blend I haven't tried before. It's described as a flavored tea with blackcurrant pieces, but when I smelled the steeped tea, I detected an almost grapelike scent! And when I sipped it, I detected the same subtle fruit flavor, along with a rich black tea base. I thoroughly enjoyed this blend of tea and will be picking up more next time I'm at Ingles.

I also liked the fact that unlike a Twinings tea I ordered from Great Britain over the summer, this one comes with the tea bags individually packaged, which makes them perfect for sharing, and I do like to share something new when I send a card or thank-you note to a fellow tea lover. Have any of you tried this blend? Are you a fan as well?

A surprise visit with two old friends!

I loved seeing all the pretty new fall magazines on the newsstand over the weekend. There are lots of pumpkins, of course—even one entire magazine devoted to cooking with pumpkins—and the Christmas magazines are starting to appear as well, so consider yourselves warned. But the thing that immediately jumped out to me on the cover of the new Victoria was …

This headline: "Nancy Lindemeyer's visit with Toshi Otsuki." Now that is cause for celebration among those of us who consider ourselves true Victoria fans, those who've been with the magazine since its beginnings in 1987. Nancy Lindemeyer was the founding editor of the magazine, and Toshi Otsuki was that extraordinarily gifted photographer who shot so many of those dreamy, light-filled photos that captured our hearts.

It turns out that in 2014, Nancy went to Japan to visit Toshi and his wife, accompanied by the magazine's early art director, who, I had not realized, is married to Victoria's former managing editor. (It's funny how often people in the media end up marrying one another. Ahem.) I savored every word of this lovely article, delighted to hear from Nancy herself as well as to find out what was going on with Toshi. I don't want to spoil it for those of you who haven't read the article yet, but a couple of things Nancy wrote especially warmed my heart:

"Toshi and Michiko have a typical Japanese house, with a three-tier garden. They grow tea, oranges, camellias, and many other beautiful flowers." (Toshi grows tea? I love him even more!)

"We went to a tea room near Toshi's home to find that the Japanese owners were devotees of Victoria. There were framed photos from the magazine on the walls." (Nancy and Toshi went to tea? What a fun time that must have been!)

I'll save the rest so you'll have some surprises, but for those of us who have for so long loved Toshi and tea, this is must reading!

My Country, 'Tis of Tea — Oklahoma

Wikipedia always gives me good background info on the states I'm looking at each week, but the thing that surprised me most about Oklahoma is the meaning of its name: "The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning 'red people.'" Okay, but are they tea people?


• Miss Addie's Tea Room in Muskogee, Oklahoma, originally began life as a drug store and soda fountain. It became a tea room in 1992, and today it's a pub! When I spent a year researching tea room recipes back in 2013, I came across this recipe for the Tuna Noodle Casserole from Miss Addie's, tweaked a few things, and quickly added it to my list of tasty casserole recipes. Go here if you'd like to add it to yours!


• Waurika, Oklahoma, is said to have had a haunted tea room. According to the book “Dinner & Spirits: A Guide to America’s Most Haunted Restaurants, Taverns, and Inns" by Robert James Wlodarski and Anne Powell Wlodarski, a source speaking of the Moneka Mall and Tea Room claimed the house was "haunted by the presence of a robber killed in the dining room. Today, the robber’s specter and other spirits are frequently sighted in the building. Footsteps can be heard in the unoccupied upstairs area, and an unattended typewriter has suddenly begun typing on its own.” I'm a skeptic when it comes to such tales, but they're certainly interesting to consider! 


• A University of Oklahoma study found that patients who drank 4 cups of green tea a day "significantly decreased body weight and BMI." Do any of you drink tea for weight loss? I like to think I drink tea mainly for the pleasure it brings me, but when I read this study of how some obese people lost weight by drinking 4 cups of green tea a day, it definitely made me interested in plundering through my tea stash and focusing on the greens for a while. Here's a link to a brief summary of the report's findings if you're interested!SaveSave

A new teapot ornament!

I have already started anticipating the holidays, for some reason, and then this adorable surprise from Joy arrived in my mailbox this week! Isn't this little red teapot ornie from Hallmark adorable?


Joy said she found it after her local Hallmark store basically cleaned out its stockroom recently. There was no box, and no name or date on the tag or the ornament itself, and she wonders (as do I!) whether perhaps this was some sort of perk for ornament collectors or something like that. Does anyone know? I do tend to scour the globe in search of teapot and teacup ornaments, and I'm surprised that I've never seen this one before—and more than a little delighted to have received it as a gift!

"Cath Kidston Teatime: 50 cakes and bakes for every occasion"

When my anniversary gifts from Alex last week included an Amazon gift card, I consulted my ever-growing Amazon wish list and realized that "Cath Kidston Teatime" was being released this week. I knew that's what I wanted, and when it arrived, I saw it was an excellent choice!
I have long loved the cheerful floral prints that are synonymous with British designer Cath Kidston, so that was already a plus, and the recipes in the book preview on Amazon were for lots of good old-fashioned English treats. One thing I noticed about some of the afternoon teas I've experienced in England is that the foods aren't quite as "dainty" as we've been led to favor here in the US. I think that's probably a good thing, as it makes teatime seem less "precious" and more like something to be enjoyed without a lot of fuss.
The book includes recipes for both sweets and savories suitable for teatime, and I especially loved the idea of using puff pastry to make these Asparagus and Ham Rolls.
I've made bara brith before, a tea bread that is actually made with tea, and this Lady Grey version greatly appeals to me.
What also appeals to me? The pretty endpapers in the book. They are sooooo Cath Kidston!
And they remind me of another wonderful anniversary gift from my husband, a Cath Kidston Floral Coloring Book and a case of new coloring pencils. I'm still rather shocked that he has picked up on the British designers I like, but he said he noticed how much I enjoyed that teatime coloring book, so he thought I would like this one as well. 
 And I do! It's been a real Cath Kidston–themed week around here, and I like that just fine!

"The Crêpes of Wrath" by Sarah Fox

I just finished reading another charming new cozy mystery, this one from Random House's new digital-only imprint, Alibi, and you will note that this book meets my criteria (for this blog's purposes) of having something tea-related on the cover. 

When Marley McKinney’s older cousin, Jimmy, ends up in the hospital, she takes some time off from her job in Seattle to go to the coastal town of Wildwood Cove and help run his business, a pancake house called The Flip Side. Jimmy is released from the hospital, but before he can even make it back to work, his body is discovered on some rocks at Wildwood Beach, and authorities soon determine he was murdered and left there.

While grieving the loss of her cousin, Marley continues to run The Flip Side but soon learns she has some new decisions to make, since her cousin left his home and business to her in his will. In addition to working at the restaurant, Marley also manages to engage in plenty of snooping since she is determined to find out who killed Jimmy. This cozy has a great cast of supporting characters, including the curmudgeonly cook, Ivan; the beloved waitress, Leigh; and a handsome gentleman caller from Marley's past, Brett.

Fox includes some fast-paced scenes that really ratchet up the tension yet aren't too intense for those of us who prefer these kinder, gentler mysteries. Tea lovers will appreciate the fact that Marley is clearly a tea fan: "I made myself a cup of tea and settled into a chair on the back porch, determined to relax for a few minutes at least. As I sipped my tea, Flapjack jumped into my lap and curled up, purring as I stroked his sleek orange fur."

The author also does a fine job of creating a strong sense of place, and we soon begin to fall in love with Wildwood Cove just as much as Marley does—at least, until she becomes the killer's target herself. A heart-thumping conclusion gives this well-written book a most satisfying end, and I look forward to reading more in this fun new series!

Note: This is a book I discovered through NetGalley, a free service which allows authors and publishers to share their books with reviewers, bloggers, journalists, librarians, and others. Go here if you'd like to check out NetGalley for yourself, something I definitely recommend if you're a big reader who likes to write reviews!



SaveSave

A beautiful Labor Day weekend in the mountains

When Alex asked whether I'd rather spend our anniversary weekend in one of the busy tourist towns of Tennessee or quiet little Dillard, Ga., I immediately chose Dillard. We both love to enjoy some R&R in quiet, relaxing spots, so the Dillard House in the North Georgia mountains was again the choice.

 This was, I believe, our third visit there in recent years, and it was just about as perfect a weekend as we could have hoped for. Nice weather, quiet guests, good food, and beautiful scenery. I took this photo of the mountains after my daily Bible reading one morning had me in Psalm 144:5: "Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke." This was definitely a great illustration of that verse!

The Dillard House has a lovely flower garden out front that we visited one evening at twilight, and once again, I was captivated by the dahlias. I don't believe I had ever seen one "live" until I first saw them in Dillard.

On Saturday, we ate lunch at the Clayton Café, a wonderful little meat-and-three recommended by a friend who grew up in the area. Her suggestion of the fried chicken was spot-on! Then we went back to the inn so Alex could watch the season opener of the Georgia Bulldogs (yay, Bulldogs won!) while I went off exploring the local antique malls. (Recipe for a happy marriage: Sometimes he does his thing and I do my thing!) I didn't find a teacup that just bowled me over this time, however, so I decided oh well, no tea souvenir for this trip.

But at the very last store I went in on Saturday (which happens to be owned by family of the above-mentioned friend), I found this adorable little tea strainer on clearance for a great price. A perfect memento of a picture-perfect weekend!