Scottish Oat Scones

So at the end of last month, my book club met and discussed the book The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie. Typically we just have light snacks, but as I didn’t have to work due to the quarantine, I decided I would do a little tea party.

And eat scones!

We had egg salad sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches, french fries (pommes pont neuf), Scottish Oat scones, lemon curd, lemon crinkle cookies, and meyer lemon poppyseed cake. Instead of putting all the recipes in one post and making it too long, I decided to break it up and share each recipe separately so that if interested, you can make your own and eat it with a cup of tea and some Jane Austen.

Today’s scone recipe I found on pinterest, but originally comes from Lisa’s Kitchen. 

Ingredients:

• 1.5 Cups of Flour
• 2 Cups of Rolled or Steel Cut Oats
• 1/4 Cup of Sugar
• 4 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon of salt
• 1 Large Egg
• 1/2 Cup of Unsalted Butter (1 stick), melted
• 1/3 Cup of Milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and grease or line a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
4. In small bowl, beat the egg until frothy.
5. Now add butter and milk to egg, and whisk to combine.
6. Pour into dry ingredients and mix together until you have a soft dough.
7. Shape and pat the dough into two 6-7 inch circles.
8. Cut into 6-8 pie shaped wedges and bake 10-15 mins, or until golden brown.
9. Let cool for a few minutes.
10. Serve with butter and/or jam.

This were very good, but the dough was a little dry which made it hard to stick together, ad after they baked they crumbled. I think if I was to make them again I would add a little more milk.

Otherwise these were delicious! I could see making them again and again and enjoy them.

Or scones!

For more scone recipes, go to Irish Blueberry Scones

For more recipes, go to Ginger Cardamom Meyer Lemon Crinkle Cookies

For more tea parties, go to Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Cake

For more pinterest recipes, go to Iced Blackberry Infused Earl Grey Tea

Ginger Cardamom Meyer Lemon Crinkle Cookies

So the last week my book club met and discussed the book The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie. Typically we just have light snacks, but as I didn’t have to work due to the quarantine, I decided I would do a little tea party.

In the book, The Secret Adversary, the two main characters go to tea a few times at Lyons Tea Cafe. I originally wanted to try to make something like the tea shop would have, but then my coworker gave me a whole box of Meyer’s Lemons.

What am I going to do with all these?

So instead we had egg salad sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches, french fries (pommes pont neuf), Scottish Oat scones, lemon curd, lemon crinkle cookies, and meyer lemon poppyseed cake. Instead of putting all the recipes in one post and making it too long, I decided to break it up and share each recipe separately so that if interested, you can make your own and eat it with a cup of tea and some Jane Austen.

And eat cookies!

This recipe comes from Pineapple & Coconut. 

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 2 Cups + 2 Tbsps of Flour
• 1.5 Tsp of Ground Ginger
• 1.5 Tsp of Cardamom
• 2 Tsp of Baking Powder
• 3/4 Tsp of Salt
• 1 Cup of Sugar
• 4 Tbsp of Meyer Lemon’s Zest
• 10 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
• 2 Large Eggs, Room Temperature
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tbsp of Meyer Lemon’s Juice

Topping:

• 1 Cup of Sugar
• 1 Cup of Powdered Sugar (Confectioners Sugar)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cardamom, ginger, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a separate bowl combine sugar and lemon zest. Rub the zest between your fingers until it is fully mixed in with the sugar.
3. Cream butter and sugar-zest mixture together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 mins.
4. Add eggs in one at a tim, mixing well.
5. Add in vanilla extract and lemon juice, and mix again.
6. Add flour and mix slowly until combined, do not over mix.
7. Chill dough 3-4 hours.
8. Preheat the oven 350 degrees F.
9. Place the sugar in one bowl and powdered sugar in the other.
10. Take the chilled dough and roll into 1.5 Tbsp sized balls.
11. Roll in sugar first, then roll in powdered sugar-making sure it is completely covered.
12. Place dough on prepared sheets about two inches apart.
13. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges are golden.

These cookies were delicious!

I could not stop eating them!

No, stop! Alright.

If you like lemon and cookies, you should defintely make these!

And proper quarantine masks.

For more cookie recipes, go to Crispy, Chewy, Matcha Green Tea Cookies

For more recipes, go to Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Cake

For more tea parties, go to Literary Tea Parties

Literary Tea Parties

So I few years ago I did a post on a tea party that we had at my church. Of course, you know how I love books…I just had to tie them in together!

To read the whole post, click here. So every year at my church we do a Christmas Tea Party, and the past three years my friend and I had a table that I’ve been in charge of decorating. And if you think I just had to feature a book each year, than you are right! I love books!

In 2016, the theme was “Our Journey”, and shoes were the center as it was about “the paths we take”. Of course shoes made me think of one thing:

As Dorothy and all her friends go on a journey, along with having a magical pair of shoes,  it was PERFECT! We did a:

• Yellow Brick Road Runner: Canvas that we painted with three different shades of yellow
• Poppy Magnets as our favors: I used this one from Hometalk and did button centers and glued magnets on the back.
• Mason jar water glasses with gingham ribbons and red mugs for coffee or tea.
• Wicked Witch of the East candy straws: I got the straws from Wal-Mart and made the shoes from Swedish Fish.
• We painted our own Emerald City on glasses.
• And I sewed a sock monkey king of the flying monkeys, out of black and white socks (just like the ones the Wicked Witch of the East wears). Yes, I sewed it-help from Madsen Creations and my mom.
• We made our own Dorothy’s magic red shoes, but they weren’t ready when I took the picture, so I put my own red shoes in there.
• And of course, a copy of the book.

The next year the theme was “Friendship”

So my friend and I choose to do:

• We used this lovely pink overlay that had glitter and sparkles in it.
• Our favors were mugs with the either the quote, “I am a princess. All girls are” or “All women are princesses, it is our right”.
• The other favors we had were pink princess crowns (we had four kids sitting at our table). I got a great deal from Amazon 12 for $7.82
• I used two teacups for sugar and cream.
• Gold striped napkins tied around the cutlery with a pink sparkly ribbon.
• I used a square vase to lift up A Little Princess by Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver, that I had purchased for my niece for Christmas. Inside the vase was yellow sunflowers, like the ones in the movie when Sarah and Becky wake up on Christmas.

Last Christmas the theme was Holy Ghost…hmmm ghosts. Which book? 🙂

• We used a holly and cranberry patterned runner on the table.
• Sheets of music as place mats, with red chargers over them.
• The centerpiece was a Christmas Tree, as those became popular in the Victorian era with Prince Albert, that I strung with popcorn.
• I also placed a basket with the Christmas gifts/favors as that was how Victorian tables were set up. Each package was a different copy of A Christmas Carol. I got them all by swapping on PaperBackSwap.com I wrapped them up in brown paper and red yarn.
• We had chestnuts on the table and each place setting got on orange, as they were very popular gifts, but I didn’t put cloves in it as you can’t eat them when you do that.
• We had Earl Grey Tea, Hot Chocolate, and candy canes.
• Each person received a homemade Christmas Card (made by me), and each had a little token in it, my version of the Christmas pudding.

This year the theme is gifts and I have to admit, I’m a bit at a loss. Any ideas of a book that gifts plays a role?

Please help me!

For more on The Wizard of Oz, go to Bookish Thank You

For more on A Christmas Carol, go to Book Club Picks: A Christmas Carol

For more tea posts, go to I Ran Out of Milk So I Put Buttermilk in My Tea

For more book-filled posts, go to Stranded at the Bookstore

I Ran Out of Milk So I Put Buttermilk in My Tea

So buttermilk…I have never really drank it or used it except when making Irish Soda Bread for Saint Patrick’s Day.

Next year I promise to do a post on it, for now if you want to make it yourself, head over to my sister blog MysteriousEats.wordpress.com. Anyways, every year I am leftover with buttermilk and have no clue what to do with it.

I know most of you are thinking: pancakes.

I’m not really a big pancake fan, so I’m not into that.

Meh.

The other day I ran out of milk, and I LOVE milk in my tea. I don’t like to drink my tea without it.

Now normally I would just go to the store and buy more but its been raining.

Actually, that’s not an accurate description. It has been storming-windy, sheets of water, etc. The type of weather that makes you want to just stay home in pajamas with a good book or movie…

 

And tea!

But I had no milk!!!!!

So then the idea came to me…what about buttermilk?

I had never even drank buttermilk before, I mean I know you can make a substitute using vinegar so I’m pretty sure it isn’t sweet. And I know in the one Ramona book they call it “sour”

“How else am I supposed to reach things?” Ramona successfully broke the egg and tossed the shell onto the counter. “Now I need buttermilk.” Beezus broke the news. There was no buttermilk in the refrigerator. “What’ll I do?” whispered Ramona in a panic. “Here. Use this.” Beezus thrust the carton of banana yoghurt at her sister. “Yoghurt is sort of sour, so it might work.” The kitchen door opened a crack.“What’s going on in there?” inquired Mr. Quimby.” Ramona Quimby, Age 8

But then in Westerns they always have the men drinking it when they come back from working the fields and such.

So I tried it and…

It is so sour! It’s like drinking plain greek yogurt.

I can’t imagine drinking a whole glass of it. But I thought maybe a few drops…?

It came out…okay. I only did a tiny bit and put in quite  lot of sugar. I don’t recommend it for everyday use, but only in a tight squeeze and only a little bit.

Well in the end it worked out, and I got my tea.

For more tea posts, go to I Tried Tea & Me’s Tea Infused Facial Cubes

For a recipe that uses buttermilk (which I had completely forgot about), go to Harlem Tea Room Cheddar-Thyme Scones

For more rainy days, go to A Water-Logged White Christmas

For more C.S. Lewis’ quotes, go to Book Club Picks: A Wrinkle in Time

Earl Grey Infused Blueberry Smoothie

I LOVE tea!

So when I see tea smoothie’s I’m down for that! A while back I made an Earl Grey Blueberry Smoothie, and it was alright. I liked the concept better than the taste and began searching the internet to see if I could find a better version.

This is based on Mid-Life Crossiant‘s recipe, but I did change a bit.

Ingredients:

• 2 Teabags or 2 Tsp of Loose leaf Earl Grey Tea.
• 1 Cup of Milk
• 1 Tablespoon of Oats (I use Quaker Oats)
• 1 Cup of Frozen Blueberries
• 1 Cup of Vanilla Greek Yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup

Directions:

1. Microwave the milk, or warm in a pan.
2. Steep the tea in the warm milk for 5 mins.
3. After tea has steeped, allow milk to cool.
4. When milk has cooled, put in blender.
5. Add oats, blueberries, yogurt, and maple syrup.
6. Blend until smooth.
7. Serve.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!

IT WAS SOOOOOOO GOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!

It is one of the best smoothies I have ever, ever, ever had. It was soooo delicious I wished I had more.

For more recipes, go to Carrot Oatmeal Muffins

For more on tea, go to Tea Chocolate

For more smoothies, go to Blueberry Earl Grey Tea Smoothie