Tea Cakes and Tea

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Victoria Day!  Today we had a small picnic to celebrate.  In Canada, Victoria Day was established to honour all present and past ruling Monarchs of the British Empire, which Canada is a part.  The holiday is held dear to Canadians as it marks the beginning of summer planting, the beginning of the final month of school, but most importantly, it heralds the beginning of the glorious warm months ahead.

Being an American, transplanted in Canada, I am always willing to celebrate.  Any holiday is good with me. Why not celebrate the Monarchy of Canada. On this day, tradition calls for fireworks, bonfires, a pack of 24, and being with family (which by the way I do think is all very grand).  But, I would like to propose a new tradition. How about serving tea cakes with tea? Sound very Monarchy-like, doesn't it? What do you think? Why not give them a try! I hope you love these treats like we did. 
Here is our Victoria Day Tea inspired picnic...

Tea Cakes(from The Kitchen Scoop )
makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling cakes
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy and well blended. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, and mix in vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg and add to butter mixture, alternating with tablespoons of sour cream and mixing well. Wrap dough in plastic wrap or sheets of wax paper and chill 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Dust a cutting board with flour and roll out dough until it’s about 1 inch thick. Cut out cookies with a 3-inch round cookie cutter or use a drinking glass about the same size. Put tea cakes on a lightly greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove cookies from baking sheet and cool on a rack. Store in an air-tight container.


Raspberry-Lime Mint Tea 
makes about 8 cups

Ingredients:
4 mint tea bags
8 cups of boiling water
1 cup of raspberries
1 lime, juiced
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:
1. In a medium size container (I used a saucepan), pour boiling water over the 4 mint tea bags. Set aside to brew.
2. In another small saucepan, over medium heat, combine 1 cup of water, sugar, lime and one cup raspberries.
3. Allow the mixture to come to a boil. Lower heat to allow the mixture to simmer for a 5 minutes to ensure that the raspberries are cooked through and to infuse the taste of raspberry throughout the sauce.
4. Remove raspberry sauce from the heat source and mash with a potato masher or fork.
5. Remove tea bags from the brewing mint tea.
6. Through a medium mesh sieve, pour raspberry sauce into the mint tea (This step is to remove the large chunks of pulp).
7. Allow the tea to come to room temperature then refrigerate.
8. Serve cold.

Enjoy!
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One kind elderly lady...(and homemade granola bars, too!)

It is almost impossible to smile on the outside without feeling better on the inside. - Unknown

When I first began working with the elderly, one lady in particular won my heart.   She had Alzheimer's disease and was trapped in her own world until a song was sung.  Then slowly she would walk over to me, sit down and listen.  Every week I looked forward to being with her.  She was gentle and never spoke.  Occasionally, she would sing a few words together with me and smile. When she passed, I was asked to sing at her funeral. I was impressed at the number of people who got up and spoke about her.  Every one of her four daughters and every one of her four son-in-laws spoke.  I had not known much about her life, but I found out more that day. When her four daughters were small, she had lost her husband.  She, however, was never defeated.  She tried to make her daughters' lives beautiful, even though things were not easy. One point mentioned stood out in my mind.  It was her love of picnics...because she never wanted her girls to miss a beautiful day. Every opportunity she could find (with good weather), they would eat outside. Since then, I have had a love of picnics..and have been searching for the perfect picnic food.  Here is what I have found today.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did.  



Homemade  Granola Bars
(adapted from Better Food For Kids Cookbook, by Joanne Saab RD and Daina Kalnins, RD)

makes 16 large bars

 Ingredients:
4 cups large flake rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1/2 natural wheat bran
pinch salt
1 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, etc...)
1/2  cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup honey

4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup corn syrup
4 Tablespoons brown sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
1/ 4- 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1.  In a microwave safe bowl, combine:  Oats, coconut, bran, salt, dried fruit, sunflower seeds.

2.  In a one cup measure, whisk together honey and oil.  Pour over oat mixture; toss until well mixed.

3.  Microwave on high for about 6 minutes, stirring every two minutes, until mixture is slightly browned.
4.  In another medium size microwave safe bowl, combine syrup,sugar, and peanut butter.  Microwave on high for two minutes or until mixture is just bubbling.

 5.  Add sesame seeds and cinnamon to oat mixture.
Add the microwaved sugar/peanut butter to oat mixture.  Mix well.

6.  Press into lightly greased pan.

7.  Wait until cool..  Cut into bars. Uneaten portion can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

A Little Picnic Food

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's Party!" - Robin Williams

Today was an official picnic day.  My daughter and her cousins had decided.  The weather was right.  The sun was out and the snow had melted.  Eating outside always makes the most ordinary food taste wonderful. And somehow, for children, picnics make the day more memorable.

Here is the menu the little girls came up with.
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (cut into triangles, crust removed)
sliced cheese
chocolate pieces
homemade crackers
strawberry lemonade

To make
Strawberry Lemonade:
6 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 1/4 cup frozen strawberries
about 7 cups water

1.First the girls juiced the lemons using a small plastic citrus juicer.
2. Then they poured the lemon juice into a glass pitcher and set aside

3.  Next , the girls put frozen strawberries into a small blender to be pureed. They added water to the container, just enough to help with blending.

4.  They pureed the strawberries for about 2 minutes...This is about what the strawberries should look like at this point.

5.  The girls poured their puree into the glass container that already held the squeezed lemon juice.
6.  Next, add the water.
7.  Add sugar and honey. (You might need to add slightly less, or slightly more sugar, based on the sweetness of your strawberries...so taste it before you serve)

8.  Now it is ready to serve!
     A  perfect picnic drink