Wordless Wednesday

Gearing up for our party today!

Sweet little tea time with my Bundle after a long day's work.

Don't mind half the banana over there on the left...  :)

Beautiful Bird Feeder(which obviously is not outside yet) -- made at our playgroup today!

New Valentine's Day Tradition -- "14 Kisses" -- we share one kiss each night after dinner until the 14th! <3

The adorable heart crayons Bundle made for her valentines. :)

Tea Time: an adorable and delectable play date

Last week at Bundle's play group, one of the kids suggested having a tea party instead of meeting at our usual hangout. You know, in that no nonsense sort of toddler way, "Yeah, let's have a tea party! I'll bring the tea. And the hot chocolate."

What. A. Fantastic. Idea.


I was immediately sold.



So earlier this morning we had the play group at our house! What a blast! Several mommies brought food and one mommy even brought hot chocolate. Another brought an actual children's tea set the kids could use. I was in charge of the tea. :) The kids served each other, dressed up, made tea party hats, and ate delicious tea party fodder like muffins, cobbler, and my earl grey tea biscuits.

I laid out a tray of sliced lemons, honey, milk, and sugar along with the china teacups for the moms. The flavor of choice for most ended up being the white island mango and peach. Guess what? It's Lipton! No fancy tea-purchase necessary!


Anyway, I haven't checked yet with all the mamas if it's okay post pics of their little ones, so here's quick peek at some of the things we had set up before everyone came. Hope it sparks some fresh-brewed inspiration!

Quick and easy banner made from notebook paper, some stencils, yarn and hot glue.

Here's the whole thing. It reads "time for tea."

The tea time dress up box!

A welcome sign on the door

Earl Grey Breakfast Biscuits

Brought up Bundle's play kitchen from the basement. It worked perfectly for them to bake their own "treats" and make their own "tea!"

Lighter fare for the kids...(mostly plastic...)

China lined up, ready to go.

I made a "Mad Hatter's Station" where the kids could make a little party hat out of a small paper plate. They colored, used hole punches, and glued (with many mommie's help) small foam shapes and faux flowers.

Centerpiece made from a wreath and faux roses I used for Bundle's "Wonderland" themed birthday last year.

Not as popular as the play kitchen, but still fun. 

What a joy to do these dishes! The fine china mixed right in with the colorful plastic ~ love.

Enjoy with life. <3

Earl Grey Breakfast Biscuits with Lemon Sugar Glaze

My daughter's play group is having a tea party this week, and we get to be the hostesses!!

Isn't it every little girl's dream to have a giant tea party with all her friends? (Okay, maybe not every girl's, but definitely mine!)

Another generous mommy offered to bring the culinary fare, but in the spirit of tea time, I made these breakfast biscuits just for me and Bundle to eat tomorrow morning.

I cannot wait!



...okay...I totally already had two....shhhh.



This recipe calls for both brewed tea and tea leaves, so the flavor is great! The honey lends a sticky texture to the batter, and the lemon gives it a perfect kick.

Enjoy with tea.


Earl Grey Breakfast Biscuits with Lemon Sugar Glaze

Ingredients:

Biscuits

1 cup cooled earl grey tea
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. melted butter
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 c. flour
1 regular bag of earl grey tea leaves, dry
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Lemon Sugar Glaze

1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. milk


Instructions:

Mix the sugars, butter, salt, vanilla and brewed tea with a hand mixer or stand mixer on high for one minute.

Brewed and cooled tea

Add the egg. Mix again for one minute. Add the flour cup by cup, mixing in between each addition.

Next add the tea leaves (I just cut the bag open, and dumped it into the batter!), lemon juice and honey. Mix again on high for one minute, or until batter is thick, sticky, and all ingredients are incorporated.

Scoop batter into small (about 2 inch) heaps onto a prepared baking sheet. I treated them sort of as a drop biscuit. This recipe makes about 2 dozen, so I placed the biscuits about 1 inch apart, 12 per sheet.

Bake at 325 for ten to twelve minutes, or until golden brown.


While baking, prepare the lemon sugar glaze:

Stir lemon juice, powdered sugar and milk together until it forms a creamy, thick icing.

When biscuits come out of the oven, transfer immediately to a cooling rack or serving platter. Drizzle generously with lemon sugar glaze.


And of course, as usual... taste them immediately!

Bundle tested them out this morning. Result: "More cookie!"

The lemon and earl grey flavors pair perfectly together, and I can't wait to make them again!



Enjoy with life. And tea. <3

Wordless Wednesday...

I recently noticed another food blogger engaging in "Wordless Wednesdays." I absolutely love that idea! I have no idea which food blog I was on, so unfortunately, I can't give her the props. But here's to Wordless Wednesdays...photos of the aforementioned tea cups, tiramisu cake and a chilled watermelon gazpacho.