Motherly Advice {Royal Wedding English Tea Recipes Edition}

There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea. 

~Bernard-Paul Heroux

In honor of Will and Kate's Royal Wedding, I thought I would provide a few English Tea recipes. I was raised on hot tea and scones in Texas. My dad makes really lovely pot of tea; my mom's scones are delicious...and fat and calorie laden.

I really don't know why we always had tea, but we did: a wonderful warm pot sweetened with milk and sugar at breakfast to wake us, for an afternoon tea after school to revive us or in the evening to soothe us after a long day.

I still turn to tea for warmth, for renewal and for comfort on a daily basis. I rarely ever order tea at a restaurant or coffee house {I like it the way I make it at home with milk or cream and sugar} with the exception being the summer I spent in London. One of the most poignant memories I have of my summer is the first time I had Tea for One with my own little pot served with sugar and milk smack in the middle of London. And if you're wondering, English Breakfast is my favorite.

I don't like green or white or red or herbal {although I do drink Chamomile tea when sick}. I don't drink it because it's trendy or has health benefits. I drink it because it reminds me of my childhood. I drink because it soothes my soul when I'm exhausted, sick, chilled, worried or vexed. I drink it because it grounds me and lifts me up at the same time. It's my elixir of life.

Here are instructions for Properly Brewed Tea:

2 tablespoons black or herbal tea leaves

6 cups fresh boiling water

 

Warm teapot by pouring in hot water. Allow to stand 5 minutes and pour out. Place tea leaves in teapot, add boiling water and let steep for 5 minutes. If serving with milk, pour milk in teacups before adding tea. Makes eight 6 ounce cups.

    ~From Afternoon Tea Delicacies

Of course, you don't have to go to such lengths anytime you want to make a cup of tea. It's OK to boil water in the kettle and make one cup with a tea bag. I rarely have time for the properly made tea.

If you are cold, tea will warm you.  If you are too heated, it will cool you.  If you are depressed, it will cheer you.  If you are excited, it will calm you. 

~Gladstone, 1865

Somewhere along the way, scones got a bad name. Many restaurants and bakeries make them poorly, offering up large, lumpy, pasty, bland mounds of dough and labeling it as a scone. That was never my experience as a child. My childhood scones, lovingly made by my mother, were tender, melt-in-your-mouth, triangles covered in a crisp butter and sugar shell. Ah, my mouth waters just thinking of them.

I have had scones more deserving of the title more recently, but I have never found a scone that is rolled and cut with the exception of my mom's recipe and a recipe that DH has made for me over the years; one very different from my mom's, but one that is also very tasty. All of the bakeries and restaurants I have come across are of the drop variety.

Here are the recipes for my two favorite scones:

Four O'clock Tea Scones {Mom's Scones}

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

4 Tablespoons cold shortening {yes, I know; a death trap for health, but this recipe has been around a long time, but it's just 4 Tbsp go with it.}

½ to 2/3 cup milk

1 egg, well beaten

Melted butter

Sugar

Mix dry ingredients together and cut in shortening. Add milk to well beaten egg, then add to flour mixture gradually, adding more milk, if necessary. Knead lightly on floured board. Roll to ½ inch thickness. Cut into wedges, place on greased or parchment covered baking sheet. {Please, I beg of you, DON'T USE PAM or other baking spray Ever!} Brush with melted butter and dredge {meaning, coat lightly} with sugar. Bake in hot oven {400 Degrees Fahrenheit} for 15 minutes. Serve with hot tea.

Currant Scones {Dear Husband's Scones}

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

3 Tablespoons sugar

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup butter

½ cup buttermilk {We usually just add a bit of apple cider vinegar to the milk. We found this concoction listed as a substitute somewhere a long time ago. It works. We never have buttermilk on hand}

1/3 cup currants {or whatever dried fruit or nuts you want to add}

1 egg, well beaten

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir in buttermilk to form a dough, then add the currants. Place dough on floured board and roll into a rectangle ¾ inch thick. Cut into small triangles and place on buttered or parchment covered baking sheet. {Again, Please Heed the Advice Above regarding boycotting Pam or other baking spray.} Brush lightly with beaten egg. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with hot tea.

    ~From Afternoon Tea Delicacies

There is something ever so delightful about taking a proper high tea. I've had the pleasure of doing so in some splendid locations. If you have never had a formal high tea, put it on your list of things to do someday.

But the thing about tea is that it's just as lovely served with snippets of this and that pulled from your cupboards and had with good friends around your kitchen table. Some of my sweetest memories are teas like this with one of my tea party loving friends who always had the most wonderful snippets of this and that on hand for such impromptu gatherings.

There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. 

~Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady

There's really no wrong way to drink tea, but drink it you should. I'll be having some in a bit as I toast Will and Kate on their day!

A note regarding kids: There are herbal teas made for kids in the section of grocery stores that I add a bit of milk, honey or apple juice to for cooling and sweetening purposes. My boys love to have tea with me this way & sometimes sneak a drink or two from my cup too.

 

It's Friday…. Go eat some chocolate. It's good for you, and you deserve it!

Anna

Nota Bene: I hold these truths to be self-evident, that all parents and kids are not created equally, but are wholly individual in personality and style. Regardless of these differences, the basic needs of love, patience and support remain constant. Here are the weekly affirmations, tips and reminders. Unless otherwise noted, these are entirely my opinion. Take them with a grain of salt, or not!

Comments

[TLM]

Lovely reading this! I was up at 4:30 this morning to watch the fairy tale wedding and made these scones and English Breakfast Tea! Loved every bit of it! At times, Andy the cat, hopped in my lap to join me in viewing the festivities. Then I get to read your blog! Made my day!!