Tea and biscuits

June 17, 2019June 5, 2019

Peppermint Tea (because tisane is a word that confuses people)

Tisane – a medicinal drink or infusion

Tea – as well all know – is an evergreen shrub that grows in south and east Asia

Before we get to my favourite herbal tea, I’m going to share a little of my tea journey…

When I discovered the magic of loose leaf tea, I also discovered how I prefer it steeped. Tea leaves to water ratio, water temperature, steep time were all things I never considered. My mother would drink bagged Lipton tea. She would put in some form of what I think of as poison (pink poison, blue poison, yellow poison – whatever sugar substitute was the hot new better-for-you-than-sugar on the market). She left the tea bag in the cup until the bag nearly disintegrated, and the tea was so bitter I never understood how she could stand it.

As I visit people, invite people over, or even into my office at work for a cup of tea I am hearing similar stories. My own stepmom (the owner of the lovely silver and tea cups in the photo above) told me recently that I changed how she drinks tea. I had been visiting my parents for my dad’s birthday. Dad made coffee for himself. I went through Mary’s teas to find something I did not have at home. I asked that the kettle be put on to boil, and for a measuring spoon. She presented me with some bags for tea that my sister in law had given her, and a strange little strainer. It was adorable, but not meant for more than a teaspoon of loose tea. So cute. I reached for the 16 ounce mug and tea bag. And got the timer on my phone ready.

Yeah, I weirdly apologized to the woman who laid this out as part of our Christmas Eve tea.

I apologized for my fussy approach to making my tea. I felt like a spectacle. Here’s this American woman with a specific way she likes to make a cuppa, what is she playing at? Mary shook her head and told me a tale that is becoming terribly familiar. Both she and my dad grew up in homes where the tea bag was left in the cup forever, the tea was so bitter it had to be drowned in sugar and milk. I’ve had Americans and Brits, people in their twenties all the way into their sixties, tell me similar tea horror stories. Mary said that when I introduced her to steeping times this past Christmas, it changed her appreciation for drinking tea.

*punch the air in victory with me, good people*

One of my favourite teas isn’t an actual tea. It’s peppermint. So wonderful and soothing. I’ve kept a box of bagged peppermint tea in my home since I was twenty. Not the same box. Ye gods, that’d be terrible.

borrowed this from the Adagio website. you can also see my review of the tea as well as photo of me and my goofy offspring from my belly dance class.

What is peppermint? According to Mountain Rose Herbs: “ It is native to Europe, and is actually a natural hybrid of spearmint and water mint. The herb is easy to grow in moist soil and is commonly cultivated around the world for its many applications in food and medicine.”

Interesting. I detest spearmint. So whatever water mint did to spearmint, we should all thank it.

In Greek mythology, Minthe was turned into a mint plant when Persephone discovered her husband Hades was in love with the naiad. Let’s not piss off the Goddess of the dead, okay? https://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheMinthe.html

Last autumn Adagio released a tea advent calendar. My BFF a.k.a. Hipster Wife ordered us each a calendar. She lives on the opposite end of the east coast from me. So we created 24 google docs, made up questions, bantered our nonsense and wrote about each tea. She posted it on her blog. Here is our joint blog for Adagio’s peppermint tea.

She did the write up at the beginning. I’m the one who popped in immediately after the brewing instructions with the rant. 🙂 I have opinions. And feelings. You can tell, I’m sure. I have these strong feelings because I’ve studied herbalism a bit. I have a friend who is a master herbalist. I’ve made terrible cups of tea. And I’ve made lovely cups of tea.

I’m about to disagree with Adagio’s instructions, and the google results for “how to make peppermint tea”.

Please, do not boil water for a peppermint tea. Peppermint leaves are delicate and fragrant. This is not just something to sip because it tastes nice. It’s also medicinal. It aids digestion -perfect evening cup! It is invigorating. It can calm sinuses. It can help soothe upset tummies. I like a half and half blend of peppermint and chamomile for nausea.

In my home we have discovered the magic number for a tisane made from flowers and or leaves is 185F (85C). And the magic steep time is between 3 and 4 minutes.

Peppermint tea made with boiling water will taste blanched. And if it is steeped too long it is bitter.

While there are many blogs and sites out there telling you the benefits of peppermint, I’m going to leave this link to WebMD https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-705/peppermint because I believe in science and experience based information. Now, I don’t use essential oils because my allergies are such that I’m allergic to all the nice smelling things on the planet. Even essential oils. My master herbalist friend used to despair of me. I’m only here to talk about a lovely cup of tea.

So drink a peppermint tisane, infusion or tea. Drink it hot or iced. It’s good for you, and your tummy will thank you.

June 11, 2019June 2, 2019

Shortbread – the most powerful cookie ever

This was not what I had planned on titling this post. In the past week I’ve been baking up a storm and sharing shortbread with various coworkers and family members. EVERY. SINGLE.PERSON. whom I’ve sat with over shortbread has told me stories – memories of childhood, family vacations, holidays, and even the structure of neighborhoods (and political and crime history) of the capital of Guatemala. I had the daughter of a formally trained French chef tell me the recipe I will be sharing here reminds her of her mom’s shortbread. I’ve had a young man with Guatemalan heritage introduce me to cookies that taste similar. I now have to start visiting Latinx bakeries!

I will be writing up another post about the reactions to the varieties of shortbread I’ve been baking. I’ve been told to make sure I write up things like Bill’s fist pump and Dad’s eye roll, but to leave out some of the Spanish swear words Alex taught me.

This was what I bought to my dad for his birthday. Eight different cookies. Each shape is a different recipe. We’ve explored the round (traditional) and diamond (maple).

This one I should name Lady Grey Moonlight’s Shortbread – The Most Powerful Cookie Ever.

I love shortbread. The buttery flavour, the gentle crunch, or soft melting – depending on bake time. So many people love it, but it’s not as sexy as a chocolate chip cookie, or as controversial as an oatmeal raisin. Every time I show up with shortbread I hear “my favourite!” and there are many smiles. Such a simple cookie – butter, sugar, flour – brings joy.

Where does shortbread come from? Scotland, if The Historic UK is to be believed. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Scottish-Shortbread/

“Shortbread was an expensive luxury and for ordinary people, shortbread was a special treat reserved just for special occasions such as weddings, Christmas and New Year. In Shetland it was traditional to break a decorated shortbread cake over the head of a new bride on the threshold of her new home. The custom of eating shortbread at New Year has its origins in the ancient pagan Yule Cakes which symbolised the sun.”

Mary Queen of Scots was reportedly fond of shortbread petticoat tails with caraway seeds. (Pardon me as I break into song. Anyone want to join me singing Blind Guardian’s cover of “To France”?)

In the months between Halloween and New Year’s my kitchen is full of containers of shortbread. I don’t make it in the round dish and cut into petticoat tails. I prefer to use Grandma’s cookie cutters to make shortbread rounds (or hearts, trees, pumpkins, triangles, suns, wolves, moons). I bake them for Easter, my dad’s birthday in June, and pretty much upon request.

Hipster Wife sent this to me on Pinterest when she was explaining London Fog cookies to me. The base of the recipe has become my standard shortbread. It’s creamy, melt in your mouth, and you can pop them like potato chips and not even realize how many you’ve eaten. This is the recipe I use for my holiday cookies, sugar and iced cookies, and even a little sandwich cookie.

What is a London Fog? Besides the thick mist Lon Chaney may be found lurking in?

According to Wikipedia a London Fog is a latte made with Earl Grey tea (or Lady Grey tea) instead of espresso. A London Fog latte has steamed milk and vanilla syrup.

The internet is full of recipes to make your own. We may explore some of these.

A London Fog Shortbread has vanilla and Earl Grey tea in the dough.

I have this scribbled in my The All New Good Housekeeping Cookbook above the Scottish Shortbread on page 717.

1 cup butter

⅔ cups powdered sugar

1 ¾ cups flour

1 tsp vanilla

For London Fog Shortbread: add 2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea

Bake at 325 F for 10-12 minutes, 13-14 for a crispier cookie.

I always put the vanilla in now. When my daughter was small I attempted to teach her how to cook and bake. She can’t do either, but she does remember that the secret ingredients to her favourite baked goods were vanilla and love.

The powdered sugar gives these cookies their delicate texture and flavour. The vanilla is just a creamy kiss in the butter that makes you think of a standard sugar cookie. My stepdad, whose mum is from northern England, ate one of this version of my shortbread and declared “THAT’S shortbread, spot on.”

I hope you agree.

June 10, 2019June 17, 2019

Madame Flavour Australian Afternoon Earl Grey

Two of my favourite things! Tea and chocolates.

How did an American get her Earl Grey addicted hands on this gem from the other side of the planet? Postal service.

Actually, I read and write Sherlock fanfic. And I made a friend and beta in Australia. We’re mutual fans of each other’s writing. Out of the blue she sent me this box of tea and some Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramello Koalas, just as I was about to start publishing this blog.

Let’s take a closer look at this imbibable wonder from down under…

Ingredients: Pure Ceylon tea from Kennilworth, Hatherleigh, Ullswater estates, Australian lemon myrtle, natural bergamot flavour.

Ceylon tea is from Sri Lanka, which used to be called Ceylon. Fun fact.

Madame Flavour’s site has great info on where she sources her tea https://www.madameflavour.com/pure-ceylon-tea/

borrowed from https://claire-bickle.com/2014/08/11/lemon-scented-myrtle-cake/backhousia-citriodora/ this is a lemon myrtle tree

Lemon myrtle is a new plant to me. It is a subtropical flowering tree from the rainforests of central and southeastern Queensland. It tastes lemony, closer to lemon verbena or lemon grass. As an amateur herbalist I was curious about the health benefits of lemon myrtle. According to drugs.com https://www.drugs.com/npp/lemon-myrtle.html No contraindications, no known interactions, no adverse reactions. Cool! Sounds like a great plant.

But, I kept on clicking links and found this http://www.stylishwalks.com/lemon-myrtle-tea-side-effects-benefits/

WHAT?? Canker sores? Alzheimer’s risk? There are a few blogs out there that look like they all copied this information on to their own pages. Since I am not planning on drinking straight lemon myrtle on the daily, I’m pretty sure I’ll be alright with these 40 tea bags of Earl Grey.

Upon opening the box there is a nice printed note from Madame Flavour asking for feedback. Totally going to email her. The scent is lemony. More akin to lemon grass or lemon verbena. Not lemon balm. I ran out to the deck to rub the leaves of the lemon balm and lemon verbena I have in pots just to confirm for you good people and curious tea drinkers. Now we all know that if we want a close version of this tea we can toss in some lemon verbena to our fave Earl Grey and not be too sad we don’t live in Australia.

I got an email back from Madame Flavour! We Americans can totally order from their website and have their teas shipped to us. YES!! https://madameflavourshop.com/shop/

You know, if she can go by Madame Flavour, I’m going to ask my friends to call me Lady Grey Moonlight.

I’ve now had this tea hot in my 22oz travel mug, hot in my hand painted Johlock mug (my fangirl ways know few limits, and I love painting ceramics), and iced in one of my Sherlock glasses. In honour of my dear Aussie friend, I chose the Mycroft glass. We share a passion for Mystrade fics.

That’s actually a 22 ounce beer stein. But I painted it for coffee and tea drinking. John and Sherlock are okay with that.

Mycroft Holmes would likely turn his nose up at an iced tea. But he might be flattered by the custom etched Tiffany crystal with his image.

I asked my friend about the tea. How she came upon it, does she drink it herself, what does she know about lemon myrtle? She said:”I only discovered this tea recently but it’s what I drink during the day at the moment for a change from Lady Grey.

Lemon Myrtle is native to Aus and is used fairly commonly – I have I as an essential oil, and it’s often found in soaps. It’s one of the things I think of when people say ‘native Australian scents/flavours’. It was used by aboriginal people as a flavouring and healing oil (including skin conditions apparently). The information I can find varies about its properties – sites that sell it tend to say it’s good for detox and has antioxidant properties, but it’s so widely used that I can’t imagine it’s particularly dangerous unless you drink the oil. I’ve never heard of any problems with it.”

We agree on Twinings Lady Grey. A gorgeous, refreshing tea. More on that in a future post.

She went on to say “I like the subtle lemon flavour of this when I drink it black but I find it’s washed out a bit when I add milk. I’ll probably buy another box when I finish this – I’m not really into sweet teas so it can be hard to find something I really like that’s not all flowery or overly sweet. I’ll let you know if I see it being discontinued lol.”

We agree on Twinings Lady Grey. A gorgeous, refreshing tea. More on that in a future post.

I also dislike super flowery and overly sweet tea. I do not normally put milk in tea, but I can imagine how it would wash out the lemon.

And if Madame Flavour discontinues this, I’ll Venmo my friend some $ to ship me some. Although it looks as though we might be able to get their teas shipped here.

In both iced and hot versions, this tea is very lemony. Not lemon flavoured. If you’ve had lemon myrtle, lemon verbena or lemon grass, you know what I mean. On its own it isn’t citrusy. With the bergamot flavour, it’s lemony, it’s citrusy. This tea is refreshing. It’s bright on the palate. A true delight.

As an artist, I’m super happy when companies use local artists in their package design.

A note on my custom etched Sherlock glasses – upon my third work anniversary, I was able to select a gift from Tiffany and Co from a limited list. The least ridiculous item was a set of 6 crystal glasses. Plain, boring, super fragile Tiffany crystal. *shakes head sadly* Not in my home. I’m blessed with a super craft BDF (best dude friend) who etches glassware with his Dremel tool. I sent him a picture of silhouettes from the show, handed him the box of crystal and waited. The set is of 6 glasses so I chose Sherlock, John, Mycroft, Greg, Mrs. Hudson and Moriarty.

June 4, 2019June 3, 2019

Gluten Free Early Grey and Jam Cake

I don’t get paid to be a kitchen scientist. Why mess around with flours and binders? Go with what works. Thanks, Bob’s Red Mill!

1 bag Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Vanilla Yellow Cake Mix

3 eggs

½ cup melted butter

½ cup water

1 heaping tablespoon Earl Grey Tea (I use Adagio’s loose leaf Earl Grey Moonlight, but Plum Deluxe’s Gratitude Earl Grey Blend would be an excellent choice)

Strawberry preserves slightly heated

Grandma’s old bundt pan gets a workout in my kitchen.

I like to keep it no nonsense. Pretty much, just follow the direction on the bag. But add the dry tea, mix it up, put more than half in a bundt pan. I put the jar of strawberry preserves in the microwave for about 20 seconds and stirred it up. Spoon jam into the center, careful not to touch the sides of the pan, cover with remaining cake batter. Bake at 325 F for 35-40 minutes.

I should have warmed the jam a bit longer.

If you’ve not gotten the hint yet, this kitchen is run by a fan girl. Wait until you see some of my custom glassware for my iced tea posts!

It’s a good thing I don’t look at recipes like sets of rules. They are more like guidelines. I’m happy to follow the chemistry part of the baking (so much baking powder, baking soda, salt, etc). But the rest is art, and as far as I know there are no rules in art.

Regular yellow cake with Earl Grey Tea and apricot jam.

A few years ago Hipster Wife shared a recipe she found on Facebook for an Earl Grey bundt cake with fresh peaches in the center. It took me about 2 years to get around to making it. Or a version of it. Because by the time it came up in my memories and I decided to bake it, we discovered my daughter is allergic to peaches and is gluten intolerant. So the first version was gluten free and with white nectarines. The glaze was typical confectioners sugar and water with some tea leaves. It was bloody amazing.

My second attempt at this caffeinated confection was this past Beltane. I made a GF version and a regular version. I was pressed for time so I used a box yellow cake mix. I always use GF cake mixes because I’ve failed too many times blending flours for cakes on my own. Both were made with Adagio’s Earl Grey Moonlight tea in the batter. Both had slightly warmed apricot jam in the center.

Gluten Free (Thanks Bob’s Red Mill!) Earl Grey Apricot Jam cake – no glaze

I baked the GF cake first. I didn’t use a lot of jam because I had planned on making a jam and tea glaze. In the course of baking, all the jam sunk to the bottom of the pan (top of the cake). So it did not end up needing a glaze. The jam on top kept it moist and sweet.

The regular cake retained the jam where I left it. So I boiled some jam and water and tea to make a little glaze and drizzled it over the cooled cake.

Glazed with a reduction of apricot jam, water and Earl Grey. When you bite this, it sorta bites you back in a tart/tangy way.

My GF friends loved their version. My friends who don’t have to avoid the evil gluten tried both – in the name of science of course. The consensus was both were excellent, but the one with the glaze on top had a nice flavour bite that took one friend of mine to rapturous reviews in the moment.

The strawberry Earl Grey cake was for my… grandhog’s birthday party. Read on… My daughter has a hedgehog named Chester. As his first birthday rolled around, I was informed that as Hoguelita (our made up name for me as his grandmother) I should plan some sort of celebration. Clearly he got baby food chicken and shared some watermelon with my guinea pig and one of our cats, but the humans can had nice things like tacos and gluten free desserts.

It’s Fun to be One! Sir Chester William Wigglenose has his birthday treats.

Rey Galadriel opens her door to her BCF (best cat friend) Persephone Anna. They are waiting for their chunks of watermelon, as it was Rey’s 2nd birthday the same day as Chester’s 1st birthday.

Stole this from my daughter’s Snap Chat. My photo is better, but I love the porg and hedgehog she added to this.

June 3, 2019May 27, 2019

Wendigo Black Shuck Earl Grey

I am Black Shuck, and I haunt the graveyard of English Prime Minister Earl Grey. I am the bloodthirsty beast that dwells in the shadows. I am a legendary hell hound, and I’m ready to pounce. Most Earl Greys use perfumed flavor extracts to mask the boring, bitter taste of their cheap tea leaves. These teas may bash you in the face with flavor, but it’s the flavor of chemicals—not of high-quality tea leaves and all-natural ingredients. Wendigo Black Shuck Earl Grey is a beast of a different nature. Black Shuck is a complex tea characterized by notes of warm autumn spices, earth, and invigorating citrus. Natural bergamot orange zest adds that signature Earl Grey taste to a delicate Indian black tea base. This tea’s classic flavor and haunting aftertaste will leave you looking off into the distance wondering, “Is that the Shuck?” Yes it is. Suggested Brewing step 1. Heat water to a boil. step 2. Use 1 heaping teaspoon of Black Shuck leaves per 8 ounces of water. step 3. Pour water over tea leaves and let steep for 2-3 minutes. step 4. Immediately strain leaves from liquid. step 5. Enjoy your Black Shuck…if you dare.

Ingredients: Giddapahar Clonal Tea base, Aroma King Indian Bergamot, Lemon Juliennes, and Naturally Extracted Bergamot.

Image from Wendigo’s site. The packaging is sleek, the design is fantastic, the canister seals in aroma and freshness. Totally worth the $14 for 2.5 ounces

The woman who leads me down all the Tea Paths, Hipster Wife, talked about this tea for a while. She said she was going to order it. She didn’t. She shakes like a hummingbird if she has too much caffeine. Because she likes their Facebook page, and I looked at it once, it kept popping up in my feed. Once I started this blog, I had to try it and see what all this darkness is about.

This description is fantastic! Is the grave of Earl Grey haunted? Will my untrained palette be able to tell the difference between this and all other Earl Greys with their chemical flavours? Will I taste warm autumn spices and invigorating citrus?

What is a Black Shuck? Well, it’s like the wicked cool drawing on the package. It’s a hell hound, a demon dog from East Anglia. Likely the inspiration behind Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles.

Shipping is super fast. And when I opened the box there was a handwritten note! “Thank you Kara! Have fun with Black Shuck. -Wendigo” Plus there was a sample of their Bigfoot Black Tea. I like this little company before my first cup.

How can you not love a personal HANDWRITTEN message and a free sample?

When I opened the tin (black, tight seal, nice brown paper labels) I shared the first sniff experience with my daughter’s boyfriend. He enjoys tea, and will be joining me at some point to share a cuppa and chat. Our first smell we agreed it was intense and dark. Ben said “woah”. But we couldn’t pick out the bergamot immediately. My daughter felt left out of the experience, so she leaned in for a sniff, immediately made a face and walked away. She’s not an Earl Grey fan. Why did she bother? She hates feeling left out, or that Ben and I are somehow conspiring against her.

First cup experience… let’s be honest. Unless I think I’m going to hate it, I’m using my 22 ounce travel mug. Enjoy Black Shuck if you dare, Wendigo? I’m going to dare this on a Friday morning on my commute to work. I take your dare and go big.

First sip – no bergamot. I’m trying not to be sad. My upper palate was struck with the sensation of an allergy. Like the strong desire to sneeze when I smell cut flowers or someone’s perfume. Despite the company’s anti-perfume write ups on their website, I felt the flavors (actually natural ones) as a perfume.

Four sips in I felt like my sinuses wanted to let loose in a sneezing fit. No dry mouth feel from the black tea. Nice. This Giddapahar Clonal Tea is excellent. It’s bitter, astringent, and the bergamot is faint.

After 10 sips I paused. The aftertaste was of bergamot and citrus. And the mouthfeel was smooth for the remainder of this ‘cup’.

Day Two – I had to run out to do some errands. I made another 22 oz travel mug of Black Shuck and went on my merry way. Before I scooped it, I shook the tea tin to blend the contents. This cup was more like an Earl Grey that I’m used to. The black tea is intense, smooth, and reminds me of a fine Darjeeling. The bergamot and lemon would satisfy even my friends who buy bergamot extract to add to their Earl Greys because the brands they drink aren’t ‘bergamot-y’ enough.

To the Google! Turns out, the black tea used in this is from a small tea plantation in India that grows… Darjeeling!

Gratuitous image of my favourite actor sipping a warm beverage.

To answer the earlier questions – I don’t really care if Earl Grey’s grave is haunted by a hellhound. But it’d be super cool if it was. *slips deerstalker cap on head*

Yes, my untrained mouth and tongue can totally taste the difference between this and all other EGs I’ve had (or currently have because at this moment I have 21 brands and varieties in my cabinet). The base black tea is gorgeous, and the actual real life bergamot is a revelation. Or, to quote them, it’s invigorating.

Warm autumn spices… nope. Nothing about this reminds me of warm autumn spices. I’m from New England. Warm autumn spices mean cinnamon, cloves, and allspice and maybe a bit of ginger and black pepper. But if you’re going for the haunted graveyard angle, what better season to attempt to invoke in your write up than autumn?

I can’t see this taking pride of place in my cabinet. But it is certainly one I shall enjoy, and will likely order again.

I sip and look off into the distance of a stretch of Route 2 here in central Massachusetts, all woods and spring green and I ask myself…

Is that the Shuck?

image from https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/not-always-man-s-best-friend-terrifying-black-dogs-british-legends-007245

May 29, 2019May 25, 2019

Scottish Shortbread and Maple Shortbread – The Taste Testers Weigh In

The recipe as seen in the Scottish Shortbread post

I distributed samples of the Scottish and Maple Shortbread cookies to several friends and coworkers. There is only one difference in the actual recipe between the two cookies. The Scottish Shortbread were cut round, the Maple were cut in diamonds. All I told them was they were both shortbread. They did not have to select their favourite.

The first sample went to my friend L. She is the most English American I know, and appreciates tea and biscuits. We shall quote her directly from her Facebook Messenger response:

the flavor profile of both of them is lovely.

the butter comes out

what is the undercurrent in the round ones?

texture wise, it would depend on my mood. sometimes I like them a bit ‘shorter”

like the diamond ones

the round ones had a nice chew, but it was more uniform than I am used to in my (admittedly North of England) preferences

the diamond ones also had a fantastic caramelization on the bottom that made the butter richer.

but the round ones had a lovely subtle flavour I couldn’t place but was addictive.

so…the flavor of the round, the texture and caramelization of the diamonds?

that said, both were fab, thank you

Bill- (Coworker who trained as a sommelier in France in the 70’s, then later went to culinary school at the same time as Anthony Bourdain. Now he works in accounting with me.) He was convinced the original had almond flavour. Maple not as sweet. Agreed maple was flaky. And original had a firmer form.

Alex – (Coworker, IT, from Guatemala) said diamond tasted like traditional shortbread. Round one much sweeter. Says sweetness tastes familiar. Likes the maple one better. Round too sweet. He is used to having dessert with a beverage- coffee or tea. If he had the round cookie he wouldn’t finish his drink because the cookie is too sweet.

I presume his comment about his hot beverage is because he takes his coffee and tea with sugar. Note to self: ask Alex how he takes his tea.

Ashleigh- (Coworker from South Carolina who loses her mind when I bring in cookies of any type)- round seems more buttery. Round chewy. Diamond flaky. Likes both. “Two totally different cookies”.

Mick- (Coworker, IT, who also enjoys experimenting in the kitchen to the pleasure and anxiety of his wife) diamonds were drier. And less buttery tasting than circle ones. Round ones denser. Diamonds flakier. Liked both. Prefers maple

Alison (Coworker, HR director, who thinks my kitchen experiments are avant garde. She doesn’t get out much) The diamond crumbles, it’s a typical shortbread and has a little aftertaste. (of what I don’t know. She left me a note.) The round ones are sweeter, she likes the texture better, they are chewy which she loves.

Bev (Coworker, friend outside of the office, total geeky fangirl in her late 60’s) “Oh my Goddess those cookies are wonderful. I think I detect a citrus note in the round ones. Thanks so much for these – shortbread is one of my favorite treats, happy taste buds here!” All she said when I revealed the difference between the two was white granulated sugar/ maple syrup she replied “Maple syrup? That’s creative!”

Same flour, same butter, same bit of salt. The Round Ones had white granulated sugar and the Diamond Ones had maple syrup.

I’m so happy that everyone took this seriously, and is looking forward to the next round of tasting.

May 29, 2019May 25, 2019

Maple Shortbread – The Obvious New England Version

What is more quintessentially New England than maple? Here is a maple sapling growing in the sandy bank of the Saco River in Conway, NH

1.5 cups all purpose white flour

1.5 sticks butter (room temp)

3 tbs maple syrup

⅛ tsp salt (technically my spoon is labeled “Dash”)

Every year at our Lammas Games and Faire we have a bake off. I’ve been helping to organize it for the last few years. I have a really great group of friends who I call my planning committee. I asked them for ideas for the 2019 bake off. I took the suggestions to the board of directors and maple was the winner.

Since it rained this morning and the grass isn’t dry yet I can’t mow. I thought I’d see what would happen if I substitute maple syrup in a shortbread cookie. This could be my entry in the bake off, or it could be a hot sticky mess. Let’s find out!

My play-by-play (with periodic hand washing and many towels to launder at the end)

The dough is sticky. This should be tempered as I roll it out and cut it.

Break to hand wash – the flour used to roll out the dough doesn’t do much to temper the stickiness of the dough. The previously floured and rolled out dough does not recombine well with the fresh dough from the mixer. This could be disaster or flaky. I’m curious about how much these will spread from their shapes.

I’m so New England, I paint autumn leaves on vacation.

Rolled out and cut into diamond shapes. Will they spread? Will they retain their shape?

I set the timer for 10 minutes. But the cookies were squishy. I gave them another 5 minutes. They came out slightly golden on the edges. There was no spreading. The cookies retained their diamond shape.

Woah. Retained shape. Came up nice and golden brown. But how do they taste??

The consistency is nothing like my usual shortbread. The maple is shocking in a pleasant way. And not all overly sweet. They are not overly bound like the Scottish Shortbread with granulated sugar. Instead these break nicely and have a flakey texture.

Will they win me the medal in the bake off? Not likely. But they are really good.

May 27, 2019

Earl Grey Moonlight by Adagio a.k.a. The Tea That Gave This Blog Its Name

looking down into my jar of tea. You can see the orange peel and cornflowers. When I first discovered this I wanted to make a perfume out of it for myself. Hmmmm… maybe later…

The tea where I took my blog name from. https://www.adagio.com/black/earl_grey_moonlight.html

By popular demand, we created this Earl Grey ‘cream’ blend. Comforting flavors of vanilla and cream combine to soften the citrus notes of traditional Earl Grey. Your taste buds will swoon at first sip of our Earl Grey Moonlight.

This tea contains a high level of caffeine | Steep at 212° for 3-5 minutes.

Ingredients & Lore

Blended With Black Tea, Orange, Blue Cornflowers, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Natural Bergamot Flavor & Natural Creme Flavor

It is said that in 1830, an Englishman named Charles Earl Grey traveled on a diplomatic mission to China, where in return for his act of kindness, a local man presented him with the recipe for making this distinctive tea. A few corrections are in order. Firstly, the Chinese have never been black tea drinkers, and were unlikely to have a recipe for Earl Grey to bestow on visitors. Secondly, Charles Earl Grey never set foot in China. Otherwise, the story is completely true.

Alrighty. Adagio, that’s the standard story. It’s everywhere. I’m not concerned about the mystery behind the name, I want to delve into what Adagio put into this blend. Let’s take a look…

“Blue Cornflowers” – also known as Bachelor Buttons. Cornflower blue is one of my favourite shades of blue. They aren’t corn, corn products or corn derivatives. They got this name because they were often found growing in ‘corn’ fields. ‘Corn’ in the Old World sense of barley, wheat, oats, rye. Not the corn of the Americas. According to Burpee, cornflowers have a clove-like flavor.

Gorgeous shot from GrowVeg.com How can you not just want to fall into this and swim forever in those soft blue depths, just like this bee?

Adagio’s Natural Flavor explanation: “The flavoring process for our teas begins with the black, green, oolong, white or herbal teas sourced directly from countries of origin. Upon arrival in our blending room, the teas are mixed with natural flavors derived from nature. These are mainly essential oils extracted from vanilla, cinnamon, or any of the other flavors present in our collection.

Once the tea leaves dry, we add inclusions of apples, cinnamon, ginger, or anything else that the recipe may call for. When the mixture is complete, the teas are packaged and made ready for sale.” https://www.adagio.com/faq/tea_info.html

Adagio’s answer to a customer question on the page to order this tea:

“Natural Creme Flavor”

“ All of our teas are dairy-free and vegan friendly. ‘Natural creme flavor’ simply indicates that the flavoring is derived from natural essential oils. ”

Answered by Adagio CS

on December 15th, 2016

Hot or iced, this is my daily cuppa. This is the loose leaf tea that made me give up bagged tea from the grocery store. This is the tea I turn to when I add it to to shortbread or cake.

While I am not a fan of “natural flavor” because it’s too vague a term, I choose to believe the gentlemen and their mum who run this company.

Here is a good article on natural flavors.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/what-does-natural-flavors-really-mean/2017/07/24/eccdc47e-67f7-11e7-a1d7-9a32c91c6f40_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dad5da70ad70

I will drink tea hot, room temp, or iced. I’m not fussy about temp, as long as whatever I’m drinking has been prepared properly (water temp, tea to water ratio, steep time).

I keep my tea in a large glass jar, with a tight lid, inside a dark cabinet. When I open the jar, my nose is tantalized EVERY. DARNED. TIME. by the spicy orange, bergamot and creamy scent. I can feel that bitter, delicious tangy bite in the upper part of my mouth and into the hinge of my jaw.

For a pitcher of iced tea, I use ¼ cup loose tea and 2 quarts of water. I pour a quart of boiling water over the tea in a pitcher, let steep for 4 minutes, then strain into a second pitcher, and fill with cold water. I use a fine mesh strainer with a clean coffee filter. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. If I need the iced tea faster, I will top off the strained pitcher with ice cubes.

Kicking back on the deck, watching bees buzz around on a late spring afternoon

When iced, this tea’s vanilla profile is strong. The ‘natural creme’ flavor tempers the citrus into the background. The orange peels and bergamot flavor are notes that linger after the sip has settled and the mouth begins to warm to its correct temperature again.

When hot, the orange and bergamot take center stage. The citrus flavours sit in the front of my mouth, beneath my tongue. The faint clove-like flavour of the cornflowers gives the orange a hint of the memory of a third grade holiday project where we made our fingertips raw by pressing cloves into oranges for our moms.

This is the Earl Grey I use when a friend comes for tea and can’t decide what to choose. I’m making fans of it one cup, one shortbread, and one tea cake at a time.

May 22, 2019May 25, 2019

Scottish Shortbread

To kick off the baking, we’re going to visit the first Scottish Shortbread recipe I ever used. So to my wrinkled, stained and bookmarked copy of The All New Good Housekeeping Cookbook we go.

This recipe is supposed to be baked in 2 8” round pans. Once baked and cooled, you cut each round into 16 wedges. I’ve never done this. (Points to General Leia Organa tattoo on my back) This is where the rebellion begins.
We start with the recipe as printed:

1.5 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

1.5 cups all purpose flour

.5 cup sugar

.25 tsp salt

1.5 cups (3 sticks) butter cut up and softened

I make notes in my books. My books, my rules.

I grew up in a house where there was one type of flour – white and bleached all purpose flour. (This can also be seen as commentary on my mother’s culinary skills and lack of creativity.) Cakes were more often than not from a Duncan Hines box. We didn’t have cake flour or whole wheat flour. She took cake decorating classes when I was a kid, and she could frost those Superman and Strawberry Shortcake shaped cakes like nobody’s business. While I now keep several types of glutinous and gluten free flours in my kitchen, I still have never purchased cake flour. *shrug*

For today’s blog I made half a batch thusly:

1.5 cups all purpose flour

.25 cup white granulated sugar (which I presume is what our friends at Good Housekeeping intended, but you will learn this isn’t my usual)

Just under .25 tsp salt because I was too lazy to find my ⅛ tsp

1.5 sticks of butter at room temperature

I rolled out the dough with more white flour and cut with my grandmother’s antique (?) Set of 12 Cookie and Sandwich Cutters. My stepmom has the same set from her mother. I got 70 small round cookies from this half batch of dough.

Cookie dough you could eat raw and I’d not slap your hand for it.

I baked at 325 F for 10 minutes. The cookie is softer than a sugar cookie. It has a quality to it that I can only describe as “made with granulated sugar”. Gluten is a binding agent. If you’ve eaten GF baked goods without a good binder, you know the quality that is missing. This version with granulated sugar and regular white flour to me seems to have extra binding. If I baked for longer these would not be chewy cookies.

This Scottish Shortbread (used as a rolled and cut cookie) makes an excellent replacement for sugar cookies, though softer. So cookie cutters with antlers or fun bends in the shapes may not hold up as well as a more solid (need to dunk in a beverage) cookie. I like to make these for holidays and potlucks with coloured sugars and sprinkles.

May 20, 2019May 19, 2019

If it’s good enough for the Queen…

Her Majesty isn’t sure what I’m about to say will please her.

I thought I’d kick off my first tea post with the one that Queen Elizabeth II drinks. It was not already in my extensive tea collection, so I had to pick some up on my fortnightly grocery trip.

To be honest, I am not feeling excited about this. I question her taste in hats on the daily. None of the grocery stores in my area carry Twinings loose leaf. So, with a sigh, I reached for the ombre yellow box. I know Twinings offers their teas both loose and bagged. Grocery stores can’t stock all the options food and beverage companies offer. They stock what will move.

I set my kettle to boil. I chose one of the smallest mugs I own. Don’t let the pretty cover photo from Christmas Eve 2018 fool you. That is my stepmother’s silver and china. Although I very likely gifted her some of those cups and saucers in the early years of my parent’s marriage. My two smallest mugs are a Doctor Who one from my eldest godson, and a Star Wars lightsaber one from my youngest godson. To the TARDIS!

This is the best kettle I’ve ever owned, or currently own.

Water boiled, tea bag opened. The scent from the bag is surprisingly delightful. The citrus is strong with this bag. While it doesn’t quite smell like the Bergamot essential oil I have, I can tell it has Bergamot in it. Belatedly I look at the box.

Ingredients: Black Tea, Natural Flavours, Bergamot Peel.

Pet peeve: ‘natural flavour’ also see ‘natural flavor’. What does that even mean? What flavours? Can we narrow down the field? I mean, it’s obvious it’s not natural bacon flavour. I’m not obtuse. I want to know what the natural flavours in question are. Orange? Lemon? Lime? Grapefruit? Something floral?

Persephone is attempting to imitate the Queen.

I brewed exactly a cup. That’s 8 ounces or about 225ml. I steeped the recommended 3 minutes. I’m already having anxiety about following these rules. I need a Sex Pistols tee shirt and some safety pins.

First sip – black tea not overwhelming or bitter, definite bergamot… and… perfume. This is a strongly perfumed cuppa. When I put the mug to my nose I smell what I expect for Earl Grey. But when I lift to sip, the scent changes to something more intensely perfumy. The taste is mild and doesn’t have the dry finish of a typical black tea. If I didn’t have any of my usual EG blends on hand, and this was an option, I’d drink it happily.

Alright, QE2, I can see why you have this every day. I’m pleased to say that I found some reports on how your tea is made, and I’m relieved. Loose leaf in a teapot poured into a tea cup, strained, with milk, no sugar. While I can’t get behind milky tea, I’m pleased you don’t take it sweet.

I’m also super excited to arrive late to this party – a cookbook! I’ve ordered my copy while typing this up and look forward to it becoming well used in my home.