A Message from Ruth at Antiques And Teacups

Welcome to the blog of Antiques And Teacups! Let's share a cup of tea and talk about the things we love...like teacups, antiques, collectibles, visiting England, antiquing and learning about victoriana and quirky gadgets. Fun!

Showing posts with label green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green. Show all posts

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Tuscan Blenheim, Murchie's Teas

Hi there tea loving friends and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea, a meme built around the love of teacups and drinking...or taking...tea, as it was originally called.  The list of some of the other blogs I am joining is at the bottom and the linky if you would like to add your tea related blog link.



This is a little shorter than most Tuesday Cuppa Tea posts. After we attended the Lover's Lunch for Valentine's Day and our 39th anniversary at the Tea Room At Port Gamble (see that previous post HERE), my husband, who has Parkinson's Disease developed a cold, so I have been a bit otherwise occupied. Parkinson's disease makes any little ailment magnified as the system is using all it's defences and antoxidants to fight the disease, and has little left over to combat other things. So any little thing hits hard and last long. But...we are so blessed compared to so many other things he MIGHT have, that it's okay. Just less spare times to do my thinking and posting! So I hope you can bear with me...


 My teacup today is a teacup trio, or cup and saucer with matching plate that I got in a lot of estate china i acquired recently. I absolutely love the pattern! It has such a nice contrast between the green and white with the flowers. The pattern is called Blenheim, after the estate of the Dukes of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, who, incidentally was the son of an American heiress who married into the family just like Cora on Downton Abbey.


 There is hand applied enamel painted accents on the floral transfers, nout not like the extensive hand painting done on the 1930s era Tuscan and Plant Tuscan china I love. But this is such a striking pattern!


 The teacup trio was made by Tuscan, England which was a trade name of R.H. Plant in the Tuscan pottery in Longton who also produced Plant Tuscan and Royal Tuscan and Decoro and ceased operations independently in 1962 when they sold all trademarks to the Wedgwood Group which used the name in a limited fashion until 1992. The pottery was completely shut down in 2006, when Wedgwood had further difficulties.  Available at Antiques And Teacups, just click on the photos for more info. 




When we were in Victoria, BC last weekend for the Victoria Tea Festival (to read that previous post click HERE) we also had a visit to our favorite tea store, Murchie's on Government Street, an easy walk up from the Inner Harbor in Victoria. We always have to stop for tea and to buy some to take home.



For tea we had a pot of Afternoon Blend and a Raisin pastry, as my honey had been thinking about Eccles cakes all afternoon. They didn't, of course have those quintessential English tea room delights, but the raisin pastry was as close as we could get.









And of course we had to bring some home. We brought Afternoon Blend and Blend #10, my favorite. I tried to photograph the packages, but as they are in plastic wrap they came out light struck and distorted, so I gave up.  Murchie's has a great selection of tea ware and teas, does their own blends and has a wonderful selection of sandwiches, scones and baked goods. It is always a pleasure to stop here.

So my lovelies, time to go make dinner, a hot honey and lemon for my honey, and get set for the final episode of Downton Abbey. Bwwwaaahhhhhh!!!!! Sniff...

Here is the list of some of the blogs I am joining and the linky . Thanks so much for visiting Tuesday Cuppa Tea and have a great week!


Monday Marketplace
Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday
Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/ 
Tea Party Tuesday
Teatime Tuesday
Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness
Tea On Tuesday
Miss Kathy ~http://thewritersreverie.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Tea       
Tea On Tuesday
Tea Tuesday
Tea On Tuesday
Poetry In A Pot Of Tea
Friends Sharing Tea Wednesday
What’s It Wednesday                                           
Home On Wednesday
 A Tea Lover     ~http://the-teaist.blogspot.com/
Tea Talk Wednesday


Sunday, July 29, 2012

Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Royal Grafton Green and Pea Salad!

Hiya me lovelies and welcome to my tea themed meme Tuesday Cuppa Tea. I hope you have been enjoying the London Olympics! Awesome! Along with most folks, my favorite part of the Olympic Opening ceremony wasthe wonderful opening featuring production starring Her Majesty and 007 with "her" parachuting from a helicopter! LOL! How fun was that!!!


I thought it was wonderful that the Queen Elizabeth II was game to do it, and apparently did it in one take. Another fun fact is that besides Daniel Craig as James Bond and 3 corgis are visible, the person that portrayed Queen Elizabeth crossing the lawn, entering and leaving the helicopter was Julie Mackenzie, known to many as Miss Marple of Masterpiece Mystery fame!  That was so fun!!!! I also loved seeing such London icons as the Pearly Kings, Chelsea Pensioners and others, and was pretty disappointed that we in the US  didn't get to see a dance section dedicated to the London terrorist bombing of 7/7 2005.  Ah well....








I am sharing a family recipe for peas salad, so I thought...why not a green teacup! I shared this once before a year ago, but it is one of my favorites. The cup and saucer is by Royal Grafton, England from the 1950s and is just beautiful. Besides the forest or hunter green bands, there is a heavy gold embossed gold pattern overlay and a lovely rose center. I just love it! For more info on the teacup at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.




As it's summer (finally if you live here in the Pacific Northwest), I have hauled out one of our family's favorite family recipes that we always have during the summer, and are asked to bring to potlucks.


Pea And Pecan Salad


1  10oz pkg, or 1 1/3 cup of thawed frozen peas
2 cups finely shredded green cabbage
3 green onions thinly sliced including greens
1/2 cup sliced radishes




1/4 cup each, mayonnaise AND sour cream (I use IMO non dairy sour cream)
1 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard (I never use this, but it was in my grandmother's recipe)
1/4 tsp curry powder (this is just a taste and not overpowering if you don't like curry)
1 cup roasted pecans...split into 2 sections






In a large bowl, combine peas, cabbage and onions and set aside. 
In a small bowl, blend mayo, sour cream, vinegar and spices. If made ahead, cover and chill vegetables separately up to 24 hours.




Mix vegetables and dressing and 1/2 of the pecans/ Salt to taste. Serve topped with the reserved pecans.
Makes 6 servings




Enjoy!

Here is the linky, and a list of some of the blogs I am joining. Have fun watching the games...we will watch as much as we can!
Cheers!
Monday Marketplace
Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday
Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/ 
Tea Party Tuesday
Teatime Tuesday
Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness
Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday 
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Tea With Friends
Celia ~ http://attitudeivlife.blogspot.com/  Afternoon Tea
 Tuesday Teatime 
Friends Sharing Tea Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday



Thursday, March 17, 2011

Teacup Thursday, Shelley Green Bands Teacup, Orange-Thyme Madeleines

Aye, begarra and 'tis the day! Happy St. Patrick's Day to ya...Top o' the mornin' 'n all! It's Teacup Thursday with Miss Spenser's Blog and I am looking forward to visiting everyone's teacup offerings. I am afraid I don't have Irish breakfast tea on hand so I'm sipping my boring Tetley English blend this morning....too much of a hurry to do my post to brew some more exciting loose tea. Later...there's always afternoon tea time!










This is an art deco era Shelley China, England teacup in a shape that isn't seen too often. The shape is called Oxford...many of Shelley shapes are named after English cities....and the design doesn't have a name. I call it Green Bands. Now isn't that imaginative???? The teacup has the British Registry Date (or RD#) for 1935 for the design, but the mark dates the teacup to slightly later. The cup was made from 1940 until the pottery closed in 1966. I love the clean lines and deco styling, which is a favorite period of mine. 


For more information about the Shelley art deco teacup at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.


To mix design metaphors...because this is the green tea cozy I could find, here is a green and white toile tea cozy with a matching trivet to keep your teapot warm.








You can imagine they are Irish instead of French on a day like St. Patrick's Day! For more info on the green toile tea cozy with trivet at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.


Okay, we have the teacup and the tea cozy...now we need something to have with our tea! This is a recipe courtesy of Hoffman Publications who publish 2 of my favorite magazines Victoria and TeaTime Magazine. I am a great fan of madeleines...even have a madeleine baking pan! The cookies ar dainty, delicate and perfect as part of a special tea time. Maybe I'll make these for tea this afternoon....

 

ORANGE-THYME MADELEINES
Makes 2 1/2 dozen madeleines

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/8 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2 madeleine pans with 2 tablespoons butter. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt remaining 3/4 cup butter until butter is brown and smells nutty, approximately 20 minutes. Strain butter through a mesh sieve lined with a paper towel. Discard solids. Cool brown butter to room temperature. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl and using an electric mixer at medium-high speed, combine eggs and salt, beating until thick and tripled in volume, approximately 4 minutes. Increase mixer speed to high. Add sugar in a slow, steady stream, beating until mixture is thick and ribbonlike, approximately 3 minutes.
4. Gently fold in thyme, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Fold in reserved brown butter. Sift flour over egg mixture. Gently fold flour into batter until just combined.
5. Spoon batter into prepared pans, filling each well two-thirds to three-quarters full. Bake until edges are golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from oven, and unmold immediately onto metal cooling racks. When cool, dust madeleines with confectioners' sugar.



I hope you have a great St. Patrick's Day. I started cooking my corned beef yesterday. Today I'll skim it and put it back to slowly simmer, adding the cabbage for the last 30 mins. We have potatoes...of course! and carrots as well. A favorite meal!

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