MINT TEA

Good Morning to you,

When you fancy a cup of tea, what type do you choose?

Do you enjoy drinking Breakfast tea or the specialty teas?  George loves a morning cup of PG Tips, with plenty of milk, Natasha enjoys a cup of Earl Grey tea, Danielle drinks Breakfast tea, not just one cup, but many cups throughout the day and Phyllis likes a cup of good strong Yorkshire tea with just a little milk.

I am not a huge tea drinker myself, but I do enjoy herbal teas and my favourite is a cup of Mint tea in the afternoon or after a meal.  It is refreshing to drink and I find, it also aids digestion.

Maybe you have bought the little sachets of dried mint leaves  which you dunk into a tea cup, 

but, have you ever thought of making your own mint tea?

Mint is a herb which is rampant in growth. So as you cut the stems, they grow back very quickly. This is perfect for us, as it means we have a ready supply of mint tea.

I remember quite a few years ago, Phyllis had a mint plant, which she grew in the garden, as she enjoys minted Summer new potatoes.  She did not want the mint to rampage through the garden like a rowdy teenager, so she thought she would constrain it, by planting the mint, into an enamel bowl. This worked for a couple of years, but then the enamel bowl began to rot, just a little, but enough for the pesky mint to find a route out of the bowl. Without Phyllis knowing, it had started rooting in the surrounding area. It took Phyllis a long time to rid herself of this extra mint.  So learning from Phyllis' mistake, I plant my mint into large terracotta pots with a water dish at the bottom so that the roots cannot escape and if they try, I am on hand to slow them down a little.  Every few years I split the plants to create more, which allows me to make more mint tea...... and it is free, especially if you have a kind gardener friend who gives you a plant..... and we all know that gardeners are a generous bunch of people.

So, today, I thought I would introduce you to the very simple art of making your own mint tea or as it is also known a tisane, which is an infusion of mint leaves.

Cut yourself 5 or 6 sprigs of mint.

Wash the sprigs a few times in fresh water.

Choose your teapot, maybe you like

this one,

or

maybe something more cheerful,
 such as
 this brightly 
coloured teapot

boil some water,
 enough to fill the teapot

but, before you use the teapot,

  you must warm it,

by pouring about one inch

 of boiling hot water 

into the teapot. 

Replace the lid and gently 

swirl the water around the teapot, 

but please be careful,

remember, you are using

 hot water.

Let the pot stand for a minute. 

Remove the lid and empty

the teapot of the hot water.

Your teapot is now warmed and ready to use.

  

Now you have a choice,

you can strip the leaves from the stem,

or

just pop the sprigs, stems, leaves and all.

into your warmed teapot.

Stir

Replace the lid

Cover with a teacosy
 and allow the mint leaves to stand
 for five to ten minutes,

depending on
 the strength of tea you enjoy.

George likes his mint steeped
 for five minutes,

whereas I like mine a little stronger,
 so I

pour George's tea first
 and I wait another
 couple of minutes before 
I pour mine.

Choose your teacup,
 maybe this one,

or

this one,

and pour the mint tea,

into this cup

or

this one if you prefer.

Now all you have to do is sit back, sip this delicious mint tea and let the worries of the world pass you by.

I promise you, it is much nicer than any dried mint tea.

Take care and I will see you later in the week.

This week I shall be joining,

Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Cathy at A Peek into My Paradise

Richella at Imparting Grace

SUN DRIED TOMATOES

Good Morning to you,

What would you do, if you were given two kilos of tomatoes?

Would you add onions, garlic, oregano and make a tomato sauce?

Would you add chopped onions, spices and vinegar to make a tomato relish?

Would you remove the tomato skins and seeds and turn them into passata?

Of course, you could do any one of these things, but have you ever thought of drying tomatoes to change their texture and to concentrate their flavour?  

Well if you have not done this before, you are in for a treat, as today, I have an easy method to turn fresh tomatoes into sun dried tomatoes and you do not need the help of the sun.

As it is Father's Day, and I know how George loves sun dried tomatoes, I thought I would surprise him with a jar.   If you are ready, let's put on our aprons,  oh, and don't forget the music, well we might as well sing and enjoy ourselves in the process. I have chosen some Billie Holiday music.

The photograph was taken from the CD cover (MCA Records Inc)

I love listening to Billie Holiday and I adore her rendition of the song, Porgy.

INGREDIENTS

2 kg (4.4 1bs) of ripe, but firm tomatoes

Sea Salt
enough to sprinkle over the tomatoes

400 ml of good Olive oil
(you might find you need a little more
or a little less)

a few cloves of garlic... dependent on your taste

a spoonful of chilli flakes ... again dependent on your taste

a handful of dried oregano
If you are using shop bought oregano
you will find you will need more,
as I used oregano from my garden
which I dried and which has a more intense 
flavour

If you would like to see how to dry your own oregano

see here

EQUIPMENT

Oven temperature 50 C / 120 F

(or the oven's lowest setting)

1 large, oiled baking sheet

1 Kilner jar (sterilize in your normal way)

LET US BEGIN

Wash and cut the tomatoes in half,

then remove the stem of the stalk,
(you can see what I mean by the photograph above,
do you see the little "V" cut out of the tomato)

and then cut into quarters

Place the tomatoes, skin side down,

onto an oiled baking sheet

Sprinkle with sea salt

Place  the baking sheet into the oven at
 your lowest setting for 8 - 12 hours.

This may seem like a long time, but remember,  you are going to dehydrate the tomatoes

and not cook them.  I also left the oven door

open just slightly to allow the steam to escape.

Just as a guide, I placed my tomatoes in the 

oven at 10 o'clock in the morning 

and by 7 o'clock in the evening they were perfect.

After 6 hours remove the tomatoes

from the oven.  You can see how they are

 beginning to dehydrate.

Add the garlic cloves to the tray

Adding garlic is optional, remember
you are making something which
you will enjoy eating.

Sprinkle with dried oregano 

Return to the oven for a further

5 - 7 hours

You can see how the tomatoes have dehydrated
I know they do not look very appealing,
but trust me, you have just enhanced the
sweet flavour of the tomatoes.

Place the dried tomatoes in a sterilized jar, I used
a Kilner jar, but use whatever jars you
have available to you. If I do not have a spare
Kilner jar I use sterilized, jam jars, with lids.

Also add the garlic cloves, the chilli flakes
and the oregano as they will infuse a 
lovely flavour to the olive oil.

Cover the tomatoes with olive oil and 

make sure they are completely submerged.

I used the top of a tea strainer to press the

tomatoes down a little, then seal and leave

for 3 days before enjoying them.

If kept in a cool environment the tomatoes will last for several months, but I can assure you they do not last that long in our house.  In about a month's time I will be making some more. When you have eaten the tomatoes, you can add the oil to salad dressings as it is full of flavour.

Were you surprised to see how the tomatoes had reduced.  When you start the process the baking tray is full of ripe tomatoes, but as dehydration takes place, the tomatoes become smaller and smaller. Now you can understand why sun dried tomatoes are so expensive to buy, as so many are needed to fill a jar.

Now I can hear you thinking, Daphne has called these tomatoes "sun-dried tomatoes" and not a drop of sun reached these little tomatoes!  

Let me explain, in hot countries, the tomatoes are dried outside in the sun, but of course most of us do not live in a climate which is conducive to drying tomatoes, so we have to think about the tools we have.  I don't own a dehydrator, so the next best thing for me to use, is my oven.

Although, when I lived in Cyprus, from June to the end of September, I was able to dry my tomatoes in the sunshine.  Cypriot farmers used to grow big beefy, juicy, tomatoes.  They did not look pretty like the tomatoes I buy in the local market, they were very mis-shapen, but the flavour, well they were so delicious. On a hot day, I liked nothing better, than  a slice of tomato covered  with a slice of fresh Feta cheese. The saltiness of the Feta cheese really enhanced the flavour of the tomato..... but I am digressing, as we were talking about drying tomatoes.

George made me a square box, which I covered in muslin, to allow the sun to reach the tomatoes and also to keep the insects out. I had a large tray which we inserted inside the box.... this is where I laid out the tomatoes to dry. The box was placed on the terrace in the sunniest spot and left to dry, for usually, about three days and at the end of that time we had delicious sun dried tomatoes.  We used our own olive oil, to cover the tomatoes, but that is another story, for another time.

I think normally plum tomatoes are recommended, but I am a firm believer in using what you have, and I find everyday tomatoes, such as the ones I have used today, are fine.

The other thing you tend to read about is the removal of the seeds, again, I do not do this because I prefer the texture with the seeds remaining and also it is fair to say, I do not like waste.

A little tip, if you want to cut the sun dried tomatoes to add to a salad, snip them with a pair of kitchen scissors as this is much easier than using a knife.

I will let you know what George thinks of his gift , but before I leave you.

I would like to wish

 George

a

Happy Father's Day

and

for being

the 

most 

PERFECT

Father 

to 

our daughters,

Natasha and Danielle

Take care and I will see you later in the week.

This week I shall be joining, 

Karen at Sew Many Ways

Yvonne at StoneGable

Cynthia at Feeding Big

BLUE AND WHITE SPODE

Good Morning to you,

Do you like the colour blue?

I do.

I love seeing a bright blue sky first thing in the morning, it makes me feel happy and it makes me smile.  

I love walking along a beach, the sight of a bright blue ocean warms my heart and makes me want to dip my toes in the water. 

Add a touch of white, to the bright blue sky, in the form of big white  fluffy clouds,

and,

to the bright blue ocean add white  rolling foam.

Close your eyes and imagine these scenes in your mind's eye and you begin to appreciate the beauty of the colour combination of  blue and white.

I have some lovely blue and white Spode pieces to show you today. These spice jars are from The Spode Blue Room Collection.  

There are six spice jars and the first one I want to show you is  Ionian. This design was first introduced in 1851.  All the spice jar engravings have been reproduced from hand engraved copper plates.

Turn the Ionian spice jar around and there is another quite detailed engraving on the reverse.

I think I have to say that this is my favourite and it is called Grasshopper which was first introduced in 1812.

Spode is a pottery company based in Stoke-on-Trent and was founded by Josiah Spode in 1770.

.....and here is the reverse. Do you see the grasshopper with his large eyes. He looks like he has found a tasty snack and is ready to leap from the flower.

Today Spode is owned by The Portmeirion Group. Portmeirion produce some beautiful items, but that is another story, for another time.

..... and here we have Venetian Scenes which was first introduced in 1908. There is so much detail in this piece because if you turn the spice jar around,

you are greeted with a different scene, and again such lovely detailed work.

I could just take my book, place my blanket underneath the arbour, in the cool of the shade, and relax. Doesn't that sound heavenly.

This is Persian Bird which was first introduced in 1860.

Take a look at the reverse and you will see the Persian bird just taking flight. I could not decide if the bird was a Heron or a Stork.

The work on these spice jars is just staggering as the jars are 4 inches tall with the lid on and 3 inches tall without the lid.

I would like you to meet May,  this design was first introduced in 1826.

I did say Grasshopper was my favourite, but this runs a close second.  There is a similarity between the two.  I think it is the beautiful flowers which are on each piece that I love..... because who does not enjoy seeing a big, brash, yellow sunflower.

Here we have Continental Views which was first introduced in 1844.

Interestingly this is the same design on both sides. If you take a closer look you will see the face of a very odd looking person.  I'm not sure who he is.  At first I thought he was the musician, who played the lute, which you can see lying on the ground, but when I took a closer look I decided it was a statue..... I have to say a very odd looking statue.

..... and I thought you would like to take a little closer look at the designs on the lids. For such tiny pieces there is so much  detail.

So now, I think you can appreciate why I love blue and white so very much.

Before I go, I am sorry I was not able to speak to  you on Sunday, but I was feeling under the weather.  Normally I would let you know, but I really could not type a word.  I am feeling much better now, so gradually everything is getting back to normal.

Take care and I will see you later in the week.

This week I will be joining these lovely ladies,

Connie at Family Home and Life

Kathryn at The Dedicated House

Sherry at No Minimalist Here

Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage