~Time for Tea - Feb event~

Yesterday's afternoon tea theme was Berries, Cherries and love, in honour of Valentine's Day. 6 ladies (and one baby nephew) sat down to tea at 2pm, following a welcome drink of homemade pink lemonade.

The table theme was red, with gingham and roses cloths, matching vintage china and table gifts of mini-heart candles. Have used a photo of the table setting for my new header - I used L's swanky camera and did a bit of editing with special effects. Her camera is tons better than mine!

I was ably assisted by daughter L and best friend J in the tea-making and serving of the cakey delights...

I made some mini-bunting for the cherry and almond cake.  The double choc brownies with macadamia nuts were lovely.  My favourites were the homemade jammie dodgers, which turned out really well and were yummy. I added some custard powder to the mix, which made them a lovely yellow colour.  I sieved homemade raspberry jam for the filling.

Next event is in March, with a Spring themed menu (yet to be decided on!).
Some of my guests brought me a thoughtful gift of rhubarb from the Rhubarb Festival in Wakefield, which Anne at Marmalade and Catmint posted about yesterday. A bunch of Oldroyd's rhubarb tied with green ribbon - more attractive and delicious than flowers I think!

I'll be making a crumble with it on Monday morning. Thankfully I've got a day off on Monday to catch up with domestic stuff that has accumulated over the last busy week.

~Yorkshire Produce (with lots of links)~

On my way back home from the Yorkshire East Coast, I called in at Drewtons Farm Shop on the A1034 in South Cave.  At the BBC Good Food Show in June, I'd picked up a leaflet on the Yorkshire Wolds stand about this new venture that opened last year.  I love a mooch around a good farm shop for quality local ingredients to cook and bake with. There's a food hall and also a tearoom, deli, butchers, wine cellar and home accessories as well as private dining and holiday accommodation.
I bought some Mercer's of Yorkshire Lime & Basil Mayonnaise to use at my first event for Time for Tea @ Lavender Attic on 3rd September and also 2 lovely chicken breasts which were made in Thai Green Curry very nicely by 16 year old L!  I also bought Atkins & Potts Rose Syrup, though not a Yorkshire product, I love roses and just fancied experimenting with it. I made some lovely rose shortbread with it yesterday, along with Betty's China Rose Petal tea and it's delicious.The family are enjoying the recipe testing, too! For more ideas about our great county's food visit the Deliciously Yorkshire website.

~I ♥ Custard Creams~

If you're from the UK you'll be well aware of the divine Custard Cream - two pieces of biscuit with a fondant centre decorated with it's characteristic swirly relief design.  Apparently there was a BBC News poll a few years ago which said it's the.favourite biscuit of our nation. As a child of the 70s, I loved breaking them in half and biting the cream off them, before dunking them in my tea. Still ♥ them as much.
Today we have been to a nearby outlet shopping centre, not very frugal I grant you, but we were on the lookout for school shoes for J. In the M&S outlet there was this biscuit tin in the guise of a giant Custard Cream, and better still it was filled with them!

So, I treated myself, it was £3.99, and also bought a bra and 2 pair of knickers from the clearance rail for £2.98. That I spend more on biscuits than underwear, probably says a lot about me. I'm just on eBay listing some items for sale, and see that these tins, even when empty, are selling in excess of £8.99; can you believe it? Also checked the calorie content of one custard cream, which is apparently 57 kcal. The shocking revelation that (just) 34 would satisfy my daily calorific intake has made me hide them in the pantry.