Life is filled with occasions that call for a Tea Party. Some of these occasions have little to do with the calendar or traditional holidays. Nature herself can inspire us to set an afternoon aside for the pure joy of creativity. And if we look carefully, a single element, such as a honeybee, can free our imaginations to soar. Here we might pause for a moment and reflect on the Philosophy of Tea, a way of sharing the simple beauties of life through harmony, humility, respect and creativity. These are the building blocks of a civilized life, and even a humble honeybee or a single rose can point the way.
When the weather is warm and your garden is in bloom, it is time to celebrate our garden ally, the honey bee. A motif both classical and cute, the bee inspires creativity in invitations and menu alike. Invite other gardener friends over to enjoy the outdoor season while partaking in the fruit of the honey bee’s labor. Almond trees are 100% pollinated by bees so make sure there are plenty of almond treats. Of course, honey is the star of the menu and it makes an appearance in every course. Nectar-giving flowers would be lovely decorations, such as lavender, sage, rosemary. All these are edible and may garnish platters also. |
Like a Low Sweet Flute
Like a low sweet flute The dove calls from the warm oak at midday; The geraniums gather sunlight, Their red petals reminding us Of the lava, fire colored, In secret volcano crevices. 
In each of us, there are reeds
Waiting for the summer wind To make music. There is a flower, Powered by fire, Waiting to bloom. 
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Menu
Beverages:
Darjeeling Tea
Chamomile Tea
Beekeeper’s Punch (white tea, clover honey, fresh lemon juice, pineapple juice, and ginger ale or champagne)
Savories:
Chicken-Almond Salad in Butter Lettuce Cups with Honey Dijon Dressing
Lemon Cucumber and Watercress Sandwiches
Mushroom and Marmite Toasts garnished with Chive Blossoms
Crudités Platter: Baby Carrots, Baby Radishes, and Cherry Tomatoes with Avocado Dip
Breads and Scones:
Zucchini Loaf with Honey Butter
Citrus Scones with Lemon Curd
Sweets:
Beehive Shaped Wholemeal Cookies with Marzipan Bees
Lavender Shortbread Fingers
Almond Baklava
Bee Sting Cake with Cream Filling (on the cake pedestal)
Beverages:
Darjeeling Tea
Chamomile Tea
Beekeeper’s Punch (white tea, clover honey, fresh lemon juice, pineapple juice, and ginger ale or champagne)
Savories:
Chicken-Almond Salad in Butter Lettuce Cups with Honey Dijon Dressing
Lemon Cucumber and Watercress Sandwiches
Mushroom and Marmite Toasts garnished with Chive Blossoms
Crudités Platter: Baby Carrots, Baby Radishes, and Cherry Tomatoes with Avocado Dip
Breads and Scones:
Zucchini Loaf with Honey Butter
Citrus Scones with Lemon Curd
Sweets:
Beehive Shaped Wholemeal Cookies with Marzipan Bees
Lavender Shortbread Fingers
Almond Baklava
Bee Sting Cake with Cream Filling (on the cake pedestal)
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Recipes Included:
Bee Keeper’s Punch Bee Keepers are blessed with a steady supply of the world’s sweetest elixir, and it is fitting at this tea party to celebrate our friends the bees, who generously share their honey and bring the gardens and orchards to life. We begin our gathering by sharing glasses of this fresh, herbal beverage, sweetened with clover honey and brightened with fruit juices and fresh berries. Greet each guest with a glass of Bee Keeper’s Pinch as they arrive. Put a long handled spoon in each glass so guests can enjoy the berries on the bottom. Chicken-Almond Salad in Butter Lettuce Cups with Honey Dijon Dressing This satisfying Chicken Salad is right at home at our Honey Bee Tea in the Garden. It is served in garden-fresh butter lettuce cups and dressed with a flavorful mixture of mustard and—what else? Honey! Lemon Cucumber and Watercress Sandwiches These fresh, subtle sandwiches may provide your guests with a learning opportunity in addition to a pleasant taste. Some of your guests may not know that there is a vegetable called a Lemon Cucumber that looks like a lemon and tastes like a cucumber and is highly prized for cucumber sandwiches. If you can get Lemon Cucumbers from a friend’s garden, that would be ideal, as freshly picked cucumbers make the best sandwiches. If you cannot locate Lemon Cucumbers in a home garden, looks at farmers’ markets and green grocers. If these very special cucumbers a nowhere to be found, you can substitute a large English cucumber. Mushroom and Marmite Toasts Garnished with Chive Blossoms Marmite is the brand name for a dark, sticky and very salty food spread popular in Britain since 1902. Its principal ingredient is brewer’s yeast, a by-product of beer making. Devotees of Marmite love it, spread on sandwiches right out of its little glass jar; others may find the taste of Marmite deeply disturbing. As a polite hostess or host, you will not take offense if your guests wrinkle up their noses at their first taste of these addictive little Mushroom and Marmite Toasts. We recommend offering them on a two-tiered server along with the Lemon Cucumber and Watercress Sandwiches, as some guests may prefer the milder flavor of these latter, more traditional tea sandwiches. If you have chive in the garden, sprinkle a few Chive Blossoms over the Mushroom and Marmite Toasts just before placing them on the server. Avocado Dip Avocados are gorgeous creamy fruits that are almost always eaten raw in savory dishes. We find them chopped or sliced in salads, added to burritos or sandwiches or mashed into Guacamole, that ubiquitous spicy Mexican party dip. The Avocado Dip for our Honey Bee Tea in the Garden is a milder, herbal version of Guacamole, with just a touch of honey and crushed red peppers for a sweet and spicy undertone. Serve it with a platter of fresh garden vegetables—baby carrots, baby radishes and cherry tomatoes. Crudité is the French word for an appetizer of vegetables served raw, often with a dip. We think your guests will love this garden fresh presentation. Zucchini Loaf Zucchini Bread is very similar to Carrot Bread, and the two vegetables can be combined or interchanged in the recipes for these moist and flavorful quick breads. This recipe makes 2 large (9” x 5” x 3”) loaves or 3 smaller (8 ½” x 4 ½” x 2 ½”) loaves.) This sweet loaf will keep well, tightly wrapped at room temperature, for 2 or 3 days. Serve this bread at any summer tea gathering along with Honey Butter. Honey Butter Butter's taste can be enlivened with many types of flavorings, from cirtus zest, to honey, to vanilla, to ginger, to brandy or any other flavor that enhances the foods with which the butter will be served. Always add flavorings to very soft butter. Citrus Scones These brightly flavored scones contain both lemon zest and lemon extract, and they make perfect companions for Lemon Curd. You can also create multi-citrus scones by using 1 teaspoon each of lemon, orange and tangerine zest and substituting orange extract for the lemon. Lemon Curd Lemon Curd is a sweet, tart and creamy custard-like creation that has been a staple of British Afternoon tea for decades. Commercial versions are readily available, but making your own is easy and satisfying. The most traditional use for Lemon Curd is to spread it on the middle of a scone that has been gently pulled apart by hand. Devonshire Cream can then be piled on top of the Lemon Curd and the top of the scone replaced over the fillings. Lemon Curd can also be used to fill thumbprint or sandwich cookies, or to serve as a layer cake filling. It can also be added to a Trifle. Beehive Shaped Whole Meal Cookies with Marzipan Bees These delightfully rough textured cookies in the shape of an old-fashioned beehive are a charming cross between a cookie and an English “digestive biscuit.” They are both slightly sweet and slightly savory and will be a rustic companion to the more elegant foods served with your tea party. Lavender Shortbread Fingers These delicately flavored Shortbread Fingers remind us of the simple joy of a warm afternoon in the garden. If you have fresh lavender flowers, use them, but dried lavender flowers will also work to flavor these elegant little cookies. This recipe can be doubled if you would like an extra supply for future tea gatherings in the garden, even if you and the bees are the only guests. Almond Baklava Baklava, a combination of spiced ground nuts, flaky pastry and citrus flavored honey creates a culinary experience like no other. One never forgets his or her first bite of baklava! This iconic pastry, with a variety of regional spellings, is part of the cuisine of every country in the Middle East, countries where honey has been consumed for millennia. Baklava is usually made with finely chopped walnuts, but you should feel free to use any type or combination of nuts that you prefer. Rose likes to make her baklava with almonds, and you can make Almond Baklava by using the easy Almond Baklava variation at the end of this recipe. To facilitate preparations for your Honey Bee Tea in the Garden, baklava can be made a day or two before the event and stored covered at room temperature. Bee Sting Cake with Cream Filling This gorgeous German pastry originated in Munich, where it is called Bienenstich. It is composed of a yeast “cake” made of Brioche dough baked with a luscious topping made of honey, butter, sugar and sliced almonds; the cake is then filled with vanilla pastry cream. Those of us who love honey love this cake. However, this little masterpiece takes a long time to make because the dough needs to rise three times. We recommend making both the dough and the pastry cream the day before your Honey Bee Tea in the Garden and baking and filling the cake the day of the gathering. |
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