I recently made a visit to the Washington DC area to visit my fiance. Now, I am engaged to a wonderful man. He makes me coffee and cups of tea whether I want it or not and I always want to return the favor. So when I was out there, I offered to make him …
Month: March 2015
Care and Feeding of the Brown Betty – Part 4
The Brown Betty, originally a small, unglazed teapot, was created over 300 years ago when the Elder Brothers discovered a red clay in the Stoke-on-Trent area of Staffordshire. This clay allowed for greater heat retention and the rounded shape of the pot encouraged "agony of the leaves," or the free swirl to steep! The famous dark …
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Recipe – Crumpets
Well, I received my crumpet rings. They are very light aluminum, I think, and have a non-stick coating on them but you still need to grease them really well before you fill them with your batter. A hot plate is good but a large frying pan will also suffice. You will need: 8 oz sieved …
Tea and Crumpets
One of the benefits of tea is that it can be paired with many foods. Scones are just the tip of the iceberg. There are cakes, cookies (or biscuits), sandwiches, and today’s topic, crumpets. You can either purchase them or make them yourself at home. You may be surprised to find that crumpets are not actually …
Care And Feeding of the Brown Betty – Part 3
In the ceramics world, jolleying is a method of shaping the inside of a plate or pot - the inner shape of the ware is made with a cutting material (metal or rigid plastic), and the clay is placed on the pottery wheel. As the clay spins, the cutters shave and shape the ware. In this …
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Recipe – Macaroons
I have a dentist appointment coming up and the receptionist always telephones beforehand to remind me about it and put her order in for cake or biscuits! So it was Emma's turn this time and she wanted coconut macaroons which I have not made for years but I have not forgotten the recipe. The only …
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Everyone associates St. Patrick’s Day with wearing green but it’s much more than that. Over the years, I have learned there are more ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s. Being an American, I have only seen people wear green, go to parties, and hold parades in the news. It wasn’t until recent years I found out …
March 2015 Tea of the Month – Vanilla
Our second tea for March is vanilla flavored black tea. According to our site, "Vanilla calms the nerves, lifts the spirits and improves the romantic aspect of one’s life." Wow. Maybe I should have written about this one last month instead of wasting space driveling about chocolate (oh, wait, sorry, chocolate is never drivel.). I've lately …
Care and Feeding of the Brown Betty – Part 2
In the beginning, there was a teapot. It arrived with the familiar sticker on the side and the lid taped to the pot. I had received a few messages asking what to do before you ever enjoy tea in a Brown Betty. Our site explains the clay, from whence the pot hails, and how to …
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Recipe – Chocolate Eclairs
Eclairs are made from Choux (shoo) pastry and are not the easiest thing in the world to make, do not keep well unless you freeze them but, taste amazing! You will need to start these early because the pastry needs to cool down half way through. Trust me, though - the wait will be worth …
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