Mint tea and a potager

I've been unplugged for about a week,

because the weather has just been gorgeous.

Spring is here!

I've been outside digging in the dirt every day,

planting my flower beds and

preparing my garden beds.

I'm a bit late on that but,

drought plus wildlilfe plus no fence equals no garden.

So, for the past few weeks we've been working on putting up a fence

to take care of that issue.

I usually like to plant vegetables, herbs and flowers

all together,

like an old fashioned potager garden.

I've been sitting here this

Tea on Tuesday morning,

drinking my mint tea,

in my vintage tea cup

(a tea cup swap gift)

thinking of what I will be planting.

I love different kinds of mint,

and putting a sprig or two in my tea is wonderful.

So mint will surely be in my potager garden this year.

Potager Garden Definition: (pronunciation: puh ta zhay)

a garden that combines both edible

and ornamental plants;

 a vegetable garden that is utilitarian in nature

 but designed with beauty in mind.

I love the idea of a potager garden.

 I will make use of the herbs and flowers

as much as the vegetables.

 

Now I'm thinking of a name for my

enclosed yard/garden.

Photos to come later of the fence

and my 'moon' gate.

 

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Starry Night Tea and Renoir

I'm off on a road trip,

but have scheduled this

for Kimmie's Tea on Tuesday.

Yes, I took my tea along with me.

I'm having  Starry Night Delight tea

by Zen Granny.

You can find her on Etsy.

Her name is Debbie Gibson,

and happens to be a friend of my sister.

 She makes wonderful tea blends

from her own herb garden.

I thought this tea was fitting,

because our road trip includes

the McDonald Observatory

at Ft. Davis.

The night sky in west Tx. is like no other.

By the time you read this,

I will be headed home

 after painting 'plein air',

 in beautiful west Texas.

The Chisos Mtns. are beautiful

this time of year,

and Santa Elena Canyon is always gorgeous.

The ride from Lajitas to Presidio

is one of the most beautiful in the U.S.

 I so enjoy the beauty of the desert and mountains.

We stayed at

Upstairs at the Mansion

in Terlingua.

The book I have been reading

in this desert quiet,
while enjoying my Starry Night tea, is

Luncheon of the Boating Party

by Susan Vreeland.

It was on the NY Times Bestseller list awhile back.

A book that looks into the Impressionist movement

of the famous artist Renoir's time.

Quote by Renoir....

"The work of art must seize upon you,

wrap you up in itself

and carry you away.

It is the means

 by which the artist

conveys his passion.

It is the current

which he puts forth,

which sweeps you along

in his passion”

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Caraway tea and bread recipe

Last Tea on Tuesday post

I talked about trying something new,

making a new tea,

to add another thing to my

"Do 58 new things in my 58th year" list.

I am trying Caraway Tea.

I bought some caraway seed,

filled my tea infuser with them,

and added hot water.

I let it steep for about 8 minutes,

until it had a good 'tea' color.

Then I added a bit of agave nectar.

I think it has a very nice flavor!

I could probably press and bruise the seeds

with my mortar and pestle to make the tea stronger.

Caraway is an herb that can be used in many foods.

I found a recipe for

Caraway Tea Bread

that I wanted to share with you,

even though I have not tried it yet

 as I'm out of eggs at the moment.

I will make it this week

and will let you know how it turns out

next tea post.

It sounds easy and good.

I just love homemade bread!

From Tea-Time and some Cakes, Kitchen Essays,

 Agnes Jekyll. (Persephone Books, reprinted 2008)

Caraway Tea Bread

3 teacups flour

1 teacup castor sugar

1 cup boiling milk

3 oz butter

2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 large dessertspoonful ground caraway seeds

Mix flour, baking powder and sugar, rub in butter, mix the milk warmed with the egg beaten and the ground caraway seeds. Knead into a flattish brick-shaped loaf or cake, and bake 20 minutes in a quick oven.

To be eaten fresh with a little butter.

Note about using herbs...

Know your herbs and info about them. 

When using fresh herbs,

be sure it is what you think it is.

Visit Kimmie at

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

to read other bloggers tea posts,

or better yet,

why don't you join us for

Tea on Tuesday.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Tea Day Herbs

Happy Tea on Tuesday!

This morning I was outside watering my garden.

It is such a nice cool morning.

I almost forgot that today was tea day.

I thought I would share with you today a photo

of my basket of tea bags.

This is how I keep most of my tea bags organized.

I also have tins full of tea.

All of my tea cups,

sweetners, etc. are in one cabinet,

with this basket.

I used to have jars full of herbal tea mixes also.

But at the moment they are all empty.

Time to mix up some more.

I was looking through some of my books

for herbal tea recipes,

and found a surprising tea mix made with caraway seeds.

That is a new one for me.

I found it in

Southern Herb Growing

by Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay

I don't know if I will grow my own caraway

because this is what it says...

"One would have to be a small elf

 making tea for the elf family

 in order to have enough seeds

 from a few plants."

So, I guess it's off to the store I go,

to purchase some caraway seeds.

They give a recipe for

Caraway Tea..

"A lesson learned from a memorable lunch

 in Riga, Latvia, several years ago: 

Steep 2 tablespoons of caraway seed

in 2 cups boiling water

 for 7-10 minutes. 

Strain, reheat if necessary,

and sweeten with your best honey."

Other good tea plants are...

basils, bergamot,

borage,

catnip, chamomile,

jasmine (not carolina jessamine),

lemon verbena,

licorice,

and mints.

To read more tea posts

visit Kimmie at

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

Savor the Day!

Yvonne