"Life isn't about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself."
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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Time for tea!

For this, the second Tea Time Tuesday, hosted by Barb @ Grits & Galmour, I am revisiting a previous post. It was one of my first, over a year ago, so I don't think many have seen it but it was mine & Caralyn's very first tea party. We had another for her 3rd birthday (@ her request) but Clifton had just gotten out of teh hospital & I had my hands full w/ taking care of him. I could barely squeeze in time for the tea party so I was unable to get pictures.

Somebody on last week's Tea Time post, commented on how her & her grandmother used to have impromptu parties & it gently reminded me that we don't need a perfectly set table w/ lots of fancy food....we just need me & Caralyn sipping tea out of a pretty cup (got lots of those!) w/ maybe some vanilla wafers & strawberries. Anyway, this is my post from last March in it's entirety......

My granddaughter, Caralyn, & I had our very first tea party this past week. I cannot tell you how much fun it was. She was the perfect tea partner. I thought she might be a little young (she's 2 & 1/2) but boy was I wrong...she was born to dine on tea! I decorated the table w/ vintage hats, jewelry, gloves (we played dress-up after the tea) pink depression glass & the sweetest little ballerina. Vintage necklaces hung from the chandy w/ teacup ornaments & we used vintage hankies as napkins. On the menu was Egg Salad Sandwiches (cut into flower shapes), Roasted Red Pepper Soup w/ Orange Cream, gourmet marshmallows (store-bought), fresh strawberries, sliced cukes, cinnamon-apple tea (the only decaf I had) & mini-orange vanilla cupcakes (I just added zest, orange flavoring & vanilla to a white cake mix) w/ orange/cream cheese frosting. I would have made more goodies if it hadn't just been Caralyn & I but I didn't see the point in overloading a 2 year old w/ sugar.


click on any picture to enlarge for details

You can't really tell in this picture but Caralyn & her baby are wearing matching outfits. Don't they look adorable?


The gourmet marshmallows were too die for! We ate them all so I think I may make some homemade ones this next week for Easter.


I practically had to look all over town for sugar cubes! Jeez, this is Texas! Doesn't anyone feed them to their horses anymore?


Of course Caralyn's baby had to come to the party too...so I set her a place at the table! LOL


The Orange Vanilla Mini-Cupcakes w/ an orange flower water/cream cheese frosting ( I didn't want them to have an orange tone so I used flower water instead of zest) were pretty good but I thought they needed more flavor. Maybe some melted white chocolate added directly to the frosting. I didn't want to stress on this party....I wanted it to be all about fun so I garnished very simply w/ white chocolate shavings & picks left over from Valentine's.


Roasted Red Pepper soup.... this recipe calls for a splash of OJ & it really made the recipe. The soup paired very well w/ the egg salad sandwiches.




here's the recipe for the soup....

Roasted Red Pepper Soup w/ Orange Cream



1 tbp olive oil

2/3 cup chopped shallots

1 15 oz jar roasted red peppers, packed in water

1 tsp sugar (I used about double that)

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tbp whipping cream

tbp of grated orange zest

thinly sliced fresh basil leaves


Saute shallots in oil for about 5 minutes, Add red peppers (w/ their liquid) & sugar & simmer for 2 minutes. Add broth & simmer for another 5 minutes. Puree the soup using either an immersion blender or in a countertop blender (allow to cool slightly if using a countertop model). Bring soup to a simmer again & add OJ, season w/ salt & pepper. Whisk whipping cream & zest until thickened. Ladle soup into bowls & drizzle w/ orange cream. Sprinkle w/ basil.


I'm embarrassed that my egg salad "flowers" are so sloppy! :o( I used gel food coloring to paint on the centers & even though I did it hours ahead of time, the bread didn't get soggy so that went well.And I discovered that Caralyn loves egg salad...although that may have been because she helped me fix it. Kids always like food better when they've had a hand in making it.


She's really getting into the process now! LOL




She so enjoyed her tea. I should have known she'd like the whole fou-fou'ness.

I see many, many more tea parties in our future! ;o)

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I hope you enjoyed seeing this old post....I knwo I sure enjoyed the memories! Now run over to Barb's to enjoy some tea & some wonderful porches.

19 comments:

Sue said...

The best part about these parties is discovering new blogs! Love the tea party! I look forward to many tea parties with my granddaughter!

Barb said...

Hi Cami, this is so pretty. Everything is just a vision. Also love the recipe. Thank you!

Happy Tea Time Tuesday.

Barb

Tammy518 said...

Cami, what a sweet thing, having a tea party with your granddaughter. Everything looks beautiful and magical. Your soup sounds good; I'll have to make it sometime.

You asked about my bee flatware on my teascape, and I wanted to let you know that I got it from Niemanmarcus.com.

Happy Tea Time Tuesday!

FancyHorse said...

Such a sweet time, and happy memories! I'm looking forward to times like that with my granddaughter!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

How absolutely adorable, Cami! This is just the cutest post ever, and that cute baby! Oh, be still my heart. Some of my favorite times with my grandmother were tea parties, and they were often held at her kitchen table which was painted white, had white ladder back chairs with it (always with some cute cushions she had made), and was parked smack in the middle of her old-fashioned kitchen that I still see in my mind's eye.

My mother and I usually upped the ante in terms of where we had tea parties together (usually around a marble top table in the living room), but either way, it was fun for me. I just loved the time spent with them. It was a very special time. Your dear one will think the same thing!

XO,

Sheila :-)

Unknown said...

That's right...start them really young! Love it! Stop by and say "hi" soon and enjoy your visit and stay a while there's so much to see.

Prim Rose Hill ©2008-2020 said...

What a sweet tea party! And the soup looks yummy!

Kim @ Starshine Chic said...

I wish I had a grand daughter to have a tea party with. But I do have nieces. I am doing a tea party tablescape for Tablescape Thursday. I guess I could have posted it for today. Oh well. Your table looks fabulous & your grand daughter looks like she is having a grand ole time.

Katy ~ said...

Cami, you make my heart melt and feel wistful. So beautiful...

Barb @ The Everyday Home said...

Cami - what a beautiful teascape. And your little guest is just charming! You have a special way of pulling together a table with lots of small details that create a huge impact. And your soup recipe sounds deelish. Thanks so much for joining in this week's TTT. Hope to see you join in again nect week. Blessings, Barb

Kammy said...

Hey Cami !
How cute are u ? Love the post and your granddaughter is precious! I can hardly wait to have one (in a few years...lol) You really went all out , especially with the food !
I have never seen such sandwiches...
Hugs ~ Kammy

Unknown said...

Oh what a doll!
I can't wait for grand babies!!!!

~Liz

Linda Q said...

How Darling. You are never to young or old to have a tea party!
Lovely table.
Linda

Kathleen said...

That is precious! Caralyn is so sweet...I have 3 little gsons, we can be matchmakers, LOL!
The cupcakes look delicious!

Ginger said...

What a sweet post. I loved seeing your tea party and the menu sounds so good. I love egg salad sandwiches too.
When my granddaughters were small we would have dress up tea parties too. I would let them pick their favorite tea cup from my collection, to use.

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

This is such a sweet post, and a precious little girl! I bet she begs for tea parties now! Love the little tea cups hanging from the chandelier. I thought your egg salad sandwich flowers looked so cute! What lovely lessons you taught her by letting her help and then having the tea party with you. Memories she will cherish. laurie

Miss Janice said...

She is just precious! What sweet memories you are making:)

Miss Janice said...

She is just precious! What sweet memories you are making:)

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

Oh girl this is just lovely my friend..love the tea set beautiful...thanks for sharing a cup of tea...May you have a great week...hugs and smiles Gl♥ria