tea Archives - Leanna Ellis

My Top Three Favorite Tea-Time Recipes

leanna — Sat, 24 May 2014 18:39:00 +0000

Tea time. For many years, it was a special occasion when I traveled to England and had tea at Harrods or for a bridal shower. But when my children were about four or five and we were beginning to homeschool, I started serving tea in the afternoon with a little snack. Sometimes, I used store-bought cookies or made pretzels or little sandwiches. It was an opportune time to reinforce manners (still is!). I shared poems and art books with my children, and often we listened to classical music. They loved it. Seriously, even my son loved it. What boy doesn’t like food? Now, that they’re older, we don’t have time for tea every day, but we try to have it at least once a week. It’s a great way for us to come together and share about our day, to talk about books we’re reading, to discuss what activities are coming up on our schedule. Time together is precious, and tea-time is a delicious time for us to share, not only good food but our hearts. Here are three of my favorite recipes:

Scones! There is nothing better on a cold afternoon than hot tea (Earl Grey or Yorkshire) and scones. My hint: add a little extra heavy cream…or maybe a little more. It keeps the scones nice and moist. On the side, serve butter at room temperature, mixed with a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar. This is a great way to great your kids after school. It’s fun to sit around and chat about our day.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes! Let me just say one word: YUM! Child-tested, these cupcakes were a huge hit! You can serve these with hot tea or iced tea, depending on the weather.

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

These are my kids’ favorite scones. I love to make these in the summer with fresh blueberries. Again, my hint: add a little extra heavy cream. Serve with iced tea or lemonade.

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Coffee or Tea?

leanna — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 05:11:00 +0000

Some days, serious questions demand answers. Now, I’m a gal who loves her coffee. Ever since I went to college, I have my coffee. Every day. Seriously, each morning I start with a gigantic cup. I’m talking one of those cups that looks like half a pot. And that’s just the start. I love to sit in a coffee shop and write on my laptop. I frankly don’t care if my coffee is hot or cold. Often, I’ll sit down with a big cup of coffee and start writing, then I forget about the coffee and the next time I take a sip it’s cold. But that’s okay. I don’t mind at all.

Now, most of my friends are either coffee people or tea folk. I’m not talking the sweet iced tea most southerners drink with their barbecue. Most folks don’t usually fall on both sides of that proverbial fence. They like one or the other. Coffee or tea.

But the other day, I realized I am both. Is that weird?

When did my coffee devotion wane? I think maybe the first time, I started to stray was when I went to London and had high tea. When my kids were little, we started having tea parties in the afternoon, just little snacks and lemonade, even though we called it ‘tea.’ In the afternoons now, I prefer a spot of tea to coffee. Is that sacrilegious? Truly, there is not much better than tea with scones, muffins, and little finger sandwiches.

Then I realized the reason for my two loves. It makes perfect sense. Coffee accompanies my writer self. Together, the two go hand in hand. I need that jolt of caffeine in the morning to greet my manuscript and get to work. However, tea seems to be paired with reading. I love to sip tea and read. When my kids were little and we had tea together, we’d read poetry or a short story. Oh how I miss those days! Anyway, tea and books. Perfection.

So, what do you prefer? Coffee or tea? French roast or Earl Grey?

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