Shades of Earl Grey (30 page)

 

Cut open tea bags and mix tea with ice cream and cinnamon in a blender until fully blended. Pour into a tall glass, garnish with whipped cream. Makes 1 serving.

 

Combine soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, and sesame oil in a medium bowl. Add chicken strips, tossing to coat, and let marinate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook noodles in boiling, salted water in a large saucepan for 10 minutes. Drain, transfer to bowl containing chicken mixture and cover. Using the same saucepan, bring the tea to a simmer. Add the chicken mixture, snow peas, and leek and cook over low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar and cilantro and ladle into bowls. Yields 4 servings.

Spread each bread slice with softened butter. Sprinkle pear slices with lemon juice. Place ½ of the pear slices in a single layer on one slice of bread. Top with half of the crumbled cheese and the second bread slice. Make a second sandwich the same way. Slice off crusts. Cut each into 4 finger-sized sandwiches. Yields 8 tea sandwiches.

 

Sift flour, then add baking powder and salt and cut butter into dry mixture. Combine eggs and cream and add to dry mixture. Pat to ¾-inch thick. Cut in squares or triangles, sprinkle with sugar and bake at 375 degrees until lightly brown, about 20 minutes. Serve hot with jam or preserves.

Grate the lemon rind and set aside. Squeeze the juice and put into a blender or food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Pour the mixture into the top half of a double boiler. Stir in the lemon rind and cook over simmering water for about 10 minutes, until thickened. Stir the mixture with a wire whisk if it appears lumpy. Chill the lemon curd before serving (it thickens as it cools). Spread on scones, crumpets, muffins, or toast.

 

Steam green beans in water. While beans are steaming, sauté minced garlic in canola oil until opaque. Add brewed tea and simmer with garlic for 2 minutes. Remove beans from steamer and put in large bowl. Pour tea marinade over drained beans. Garnish with toasted almond slices, and serve as a side dish.

Bring water to boil in saucepan. Sprinkle flowers onto water and boil for about 30 seconds with the lid on. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 minute. Serve with honey and lemon juice.

From your local co-op or herb store, get about 1 cup of each:

 

Mix together in a large bowl. Sew small squares of muslin or cotton on three sides. Scoop in herb mixture; sew the fourth side closed. Toss a fresh one into your bath each time you want a relaxing soak.

You don't have to travel to Charleston and the
Indigo Tea Shop in order to enjoy a specialty tea.
Simply invite a few friends in and be creative.

 

 

Try a Garden Tea in the out-of-doors when flowers are blooming and breezes wafting. Serve tiny triangles of chicken salad, cucumber sandwiches, deviled eggs, and date nut bread. For dessert don't forget tarts topped with the season's fresh berries. A Darjeeling is ideal, although on hot days, nothing refreshes like iced tea. Invite all your guests to wear floppy straw hats.

 

A Valentine Tea is a grand excuse to nibble an assortment of chocolate cookies, bars, truffles, and bonbons. To complement the chocolate, serve teas that offer blends of orange, vanilla, and spices. Put a white lace tablecloth over red fabric for extra punch and dress up the table with roses!

 

Quiche, blinis with sour cream, Eggs Benedict, or fruit compotes make a Brunch Tea extra special. If you have a chafing dish, this is the time to use it. Assam tea, with its rich, refined flavor is a delightful complement.

A Midnight Christmas Tea is perfect at this most special time of the year. Serve brioche, roasted chestnuts, and crepes in front of the fireplace. Cardamom and cinnamon teas warm the heart.

 

A Mystery Tea can mean a rousing game of Clue, reading tea leaves, or enjoying a mystery book discussion. Break out the candles, douse the lights, and serve steaming cups of Lapsang Souchong, the traditional tea of mystery.

 

If you have a group of friends who enjoy doing crafts together, why not have a Quilters Tea or Scrapbookers Tea? Don't bother to match teacups with plates; just jumble all your patterns together for a creative look. Jasmine tea or an Indian chai would be lovely.

Dawn is about to break at South Carolina's Halliehurst Beach and the members of Charleston's Sea Turtle Protection League are taking part in the annual “turtle crawl.” As they help hundreds of tiny green loggerheads tumble safely into the surf, the dedicated volunteers congratulate themselves with a well-earned shore breakfast. But as the tea steeps and the gumbo simmers, a strange mass is spotted floating off-shore. Donning mask and swim fins, Theodosia paddles out to investigate, only to discover a dead body bobbing in the waves. The hapless victim turns out to be Harper Fisk, a prominent Charleston art dealer and passionate collector of Civil War antiquities. Rumors of sunken treasure and gold bullion have abounded, yet nothing has ever been found near Halliehurst Beach. But now Theodosia begins to wonder—did Harper Fisk finally stumble upon something? And was he killed because of it?

Praise for the other books in the Tea Shop Mystery Series

“Brilliantly weaving suspense and tea knowledge, this is a true gem.”

—
In the Library Reviews

“A charming mystery . . . as brisk and refreshing as any brew!”

—
Romantic Times Magazine

“There is real gunpowder in the air . . . not just in the name of the tea.”

—
Deadly Pleasures

“Joins the growing trend of cozies that give food depictions and recipes a close second billing to the mysteries.”

—
I Love a Mystery

“Keeps the reader guessing until the last pages!”

—
The TeaTime Gazette

 

“Any fan of Agatha Christie would enjoy this as well.”

—
Tea Time World Wide

“We are treated to a behind-the-scenes look at running a tea shop, as well as solid tea information.”

—
The Tea Shop

 

Find out more about the author,
her Tea Shop Mystery Series,
and her Scrapbook Mystery Series
at
www.laurachilds.com

COMING IN MAY 2003 FROM LAURA CHILDS AND BERKLEY PRIME CRIME

 

As the bawdy Pluvius parade rolls through the streets of New Orleans, something goes very wrong atop the giant sea serpent float. Carmela Bertrand, owner of Memory Mine, a scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter, is shocked when a body is suddenly handed down—a dead body! If that isn't bizarre enough, her soon-to-be-ex-husband, Shamus Meechum, quickly comes under fire as the number one suspect! As Carmela kicks off a new round of scrapbooking classes and designs a commemorative scrapbook for St. Cyril's aboveground cemetery, Shamus pleads for her help. And Carmela uncovers an important clue in a very unlikely place—a customer's scrapbook!