Breakfast Picnics

 

During the pandemic, daily walks have been a means for me to find sanity, comfort and even joy. Sometimes all three in a day, sometimes just holding tightly to sanity. 

I occasionally add a breakfast picnic to the outing, and it's definitely a boost to my well-being. It typically works like this:  I pack up my backpack with a very simple breakfast (muffin, scone, etc.), a cup and saucer (maybe two), a thermos of tea and maybe a tablecloth.  Then off I go for my walk, ending where I can sit and have a quiet moment. 

Even if it's on your patio or front steps, consider giving this a try!  Now that many of us are moving into cool weather, don't give up.  A hot cup of tea warms my heart and soul. 

Memories in a Tea Cozy/Cosy

How do you spell it?  Tea Cozy (common in the US) or Tea Cosy (common in the UK).  I appreciate both styles.  :-)  Anyway you spell it, they're handy. I dislike cold tea, and a cozy/cosy helps!  Especially this one, which has a thermal lining in the middle.  I used these instructions to make one sized for my smaller teapots. I wanted to feature the Darjeeling text, and on the other side, Ceylon, so I fussy cut the fabric.

This fabric was a gift from my "room friend," affectionately called Rose MacGyver due to her cleverness in devising solutions to all kinds of needs when we were traveling in China, Tibet and India. We also traveled together to London, and so it's my attempt to connect these adventures (a British-inspired cosy with the Indian tea-growing region prominently displayed). 

That's the DH, dear hubby, gardening in the background at a community garden plot 

This cozy/cosy also connects me with my trip back to Darjeeling this past October, and another dear friend who was my traveling companion, AM. I dream of the day when I can host a tea where these two women can meet and share talk of travel.  

I've been using this cozy/cosy nearly every day, and thinking of my friends and our adventures! Comfort and warmth in tough times.

Tea Flowers

My tea plant (Cami, get it?  Short for camellia sinensis) has been covered in tea flowers!  I took these photos several days ago; they're now starting to fade. I think tea flowers are beautiful and I like to bring them inside (see bottom photo).  Tea flowers are discouraged in commercial production because when the plant is producing flowers its energy is towards making fruit and seeds rather than producing more leaf. (Most tea plants are propagated by slips (cuttings) rather than seeds). On my balcony, I love to let my tea plant go crazy with blossoms.  Enjoy the photos.

Hanazuki: Month of Blossoms

Crocus

I love that the Japanese have such precise seasonal words, phrases and poetry. March, for example, is called Hanazuki which can be interpreted to mean month of blossoms. (Translated word for word, it means flower moon.)  Where I live, March is definitely the month of blossoms.  Here are some pictures from our gardens. Sending thoughts of Spring to those on the Eastern side of this country.  

I love the subtle purple veins inside this crocus

More bright crocus

I love wild daffodils!  What stories they could tell!
Where did they come from? How did they get here?

Camellia with a Happy Bee
(We've just begun to see active bees)

Marsh marigold

Plum blossom

Camellia Sinensis with Effusive Blossoms

As you know, "tea" comes from the camellia sinensis plant.  And here's what that plant looks like, in case you have not had the pleasure to see one.  This plant came to me as a gift from Marmalady about three years ago and, thanks to the green thumb of the DH, has been thriving.  This year it bloomed effusively.

"Cami", as I call her, has been living for the past year on our north balcony.  The plant seems to be thriving within a large pot (I think this is pot #3), well-drained soil and the level of light in that space. It's not a full day of sun.  We had Cami on the south balcony for a bit and it was too much direct sun. The DH also provides an occasional fertilization and has done some shaping of the plant, as well. 

If you have a tea plant that is doing well, what tips can you share for its healthy growth?

Blooming Succulent and Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Snap for winning my Giveaway of a Global Tea Hut package!  It will be on its way soon!  Woohoo!

These images are of a succulent (hen and chick) that's been blooming for a long time this summer. It's happy on the front balcony.  Such a cool plant with amazing flowers.

Meatless Monday: A Late Summer Picnic

All packed up and ready to go!

The weather has been so nice lately, and with our abundance of garden tomatoes...a picnic was in order!

Our neighborhood has several lovely places to sit and snack. I liked this one for the view of the roses and the large grass lawn. The angled sunlight of this time of year is beautiful and golden.

Garden tomato and basil with fresh mozzarella on baguette, one of my favorites

Lemonade with huckleberries

How are you making the most of these late summer/early autumn hours?

Red Bench Tea

 Last weekend, I took my thermos and some Japanese green tea to the garden.  My goal: deep relaxation.  I sat and watched the DH (dear hubby) do his thing.  We have an agreement.  He grows it; I love it.  

Sencha, strawberry and thyme flowers

How do you like to relax?

Tea Blossom

Camellia Sinensis blossom

My tea plant has had a beautiful flush (growth spurt) this autumn, including a profusion of flower buds. I love to follow the fat, round buds as they develop into this simple flower.

Notice the fall leaves in the background, also reflecting on the front edge of the dish

We (meaning the DH) recently moved the tea plant into a rather large pot and it will be spending its first winter outside on the back balcony.  It's doesn't get super cold (or hot) where I live, and so I think it will be happy there.

Do you have a tea plant?  Does yours live inside or out?



Zinnias

Whether, like me, you pronounce this "zee-nya" or say "zinn-ee-uh", the zinnia flower is worth a closer look. Old-fashioned and sturdy, it packs an intense color rush.  My grandmother used to grow a very long row of these alongside her garden. So many colors!  She could see them from her bedroom window.  When I think of zinnia's, I think of summers spent with Grandma.  What do they bring to mind for you?

                                             

Cake for Breakfast

Stone Fruit Skillet Cake

We went for an early walk to pick flowers today and came back home with nowhere to be and nothing to do.  So rare, too rare, precious.  In honor of this, I decided to make cake for breakfast.  A friend had given me a big bag of plums from her garden and I remembered this recipe for a cast iron cake with fruit.  Mmmm!  Slow mornings.  I love them, and cake for breakfast too.

I ate mine in a nearly-civilized way, with a 2nd flush Darjeeling and the paper.  But notice I couldn't wait for the cake to cool, allowing me to slice it nicely.  Nope, straight from the oven immediately to plate and mouth.  Only slightly more civilized than the DH who ate his with his fingers while standing over the cast iron skillet.  

 

Here's the recipe.  I may play with it some more and see if I can get it to work on the the grill, covered.   Gotta love the flexibility of cast iron!  My recipe, below, has been changed extensively from the original - adding whole wheat, reducing the sugar and veganizing.  It works great in vegan form!  If you'd like to see the non-vegan, white flour original, go and visit with Martha.

Stone Fruit Cast Iron Cake for Breakfast

(I've enjoyed this with plums and nectarines and I think any stone fruit would do well)

Ingredients:

*4 Tbsp vegan "butter" plus enough to grease the pan

*An 8-9" cast iron skillet

* 1 cup whole wheat flour

*1/2 tsp baking powder

*1/4 tsp baking soda

* A dash of salt

* 1/2 cup sugar (down from 3/4 originally) plus 2 Tbsp for the top

* Egg replacement for 1 egg - I used 3 Tbsp water + 1 Tbsp flax seed meal, let sit 5 min

* 1/2 cup non-dairy milk + 2 tsp lemon juice, let sit for 5 min

* 2 - 4 ripe (but not mushy) stone fruit, stones removed and sliced thinly

Ready for the oven
The next time, I'll use more fruit and fill much of the top

Make the cake:

* Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

* Grease and flour the cast iron skillet

* Make the egg replacement and add the lemon juice to the non-dairy milk; set aside

* Whisk together the dry ingredients

* Beat vegan "butter" and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy; stir in egg replacement

* Add 1/3 of the flour and 1/3 of milk - mix gently and repeat until you have a batter; do not over mix

* Pour into cast iron skillet and smooth with a knife

* Add stone fruit in a pattern of your liking; I try to make mine skin-side-up so the color shines through after baking

* Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of sugar over the top; don't skip this, it makes a nice crunchy topping

* Bake for 30-35 min, until a toothpick comes out clean

* Technically, you should let it cool for a few min before cutting into the thing; I never do that

Strawberry Scones and Bergamot Lemon Curd

Our garden has been generous with providing amazing luscious strawberries!  I also had frozen bergamot citrus juice and rind I'd been wanting to use.  Over the weekend I made strawberry scones and bergamot lemon curd.  This combination was stellar!   

Bergamot is the Mediterranean citrus that is used to scent Earl Grey tea.  The scent comes from the rind.  To make this curd, I used the food processor to disperse the rind in small pieces throughout the sugar before adding to the custard mixture.  It worked well.  The bergamot aroma is subtle but prevalent.  It invites you to take a bite, close your eyes and smile.  It also balances the sweetness of the strawberry scones very well.

Meatless Monday: Green Hummus

It's been some time since I wrote about a Meatless Monday, and with the garden producing so much, I thought I'd get back to it.  We've grown fava beans for the first time this year.  LOVE them!  Not only do they fix nitrogen in the soil, but they produce this wonderfully plump and flavorful bean. 

The DH made up a recipe for this "green hummus":  fava beans (shelled and raw, skins included), parsley, lemon sorrel, lemon juice, tahini, dash of salt.  The parsley and lemon sorrel are also from the garden.  The raw fava beans are quite starchy and the other ingredients help balance that out.  It was very delicious!

Do you like fava beans?  How do you make them?  You may also know them as horse beans or broad beans.

Rose Hip Tea

Fall brings rose hips in my neighborhood.  I love these plump orange/red fruits.  Picked when ripe but juicy (left), these can be made into a fresh herbal tea.  Picked when dried (right), or allowed to dry naturally, they can be stored for a teatime beverage in the wintertime.  (The hips are high in Vitamin C.)

This was my first experience making fresh rose hip tea, and I'm not sure I've got it right just yet.  Everything I read suggested that I needed to open the hip and remove the fuzzy seeds inside.  I did this, more or less.  What is your advice, is this necessary?

Also, I think I needed about double the amount of fruit, for a stronger brew.  My herbal tea was delicious, but lightly flavored.  With more fruit, it would brew faster and stronger. 

The liquid itself was full of small filaments.  I'm not sure if it was pulp or the fur from the few remaining seeds.  Thoughts?  A simple solution to this was to pour the liquid through a tea sock (cloth filter, but paper would work, too).

The flavor was delicately tart with a hint of sweetness and rosiness.  I enjoyed and will definitely keep experimenting with the formula.  I'd love to hear your advice!

A Little Breakfast Picnic at the Rose Garden

A recent regular day was elevated to specialness by a little breakfast picnic at the International Rose Test Garden.  I left early this day so that I could have an hour to myself to browse the garden.  I wanted a few moments of private solitude.  There were a handful of others milling about the roses, but we respectfully gave one another wide swaths of space.

The DH had made strawberry scones, whole wheat and delicious!  I packed them along with some Oregon cherries and a thermos of pineapple mint herbal tea.  I sat on a bench and took in the views of the roses and the surrounding ring of towering evergreen trees.

But I didn't sit long, as there were many roses to see  We're very lucky to have this public garden.  The roses bloom from late spring through September.

Where would you choose to have a solo little breakfast picnic?