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May 2022 - Is It Time to Travel?

4/17/2022

Calling

In early May, the innocent evening sky
Can turn dark and prophetic
If you wander out at twilight
Thinking of feeding the birds
And inadvertently glance up
At fast-moving clouds,
Deep violet against the pale, watery sunset.
Suddenly you think of Druids,
Dark oaks dripping with ancient mosses,
Dank with May moisture.
You hear the call of long-ago spirits,
The clack of thrown diving stones.
The iris at your feet,
Ordinary in the afternoon,
Take on cloud shapes in the wind’s riffle,
Their color the dark mauve
Of a northern gloaming.
Suddenly,
You hope for something more.

After more than two years of self-quarantine, vaccinations, booster shots and masks, many of us are longing for a little adventure. For a very long time, Wayne and I stayed home every day, never going anywhere, but eagerly looking forward to our cruise to Japan just in time to see the cherry blossoms at the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto once again. After this trip was repeatedly re-scheduled and finally canceled for the fourth time, we gave up on that dream.

The ants climb up a
Ginger stalk and congregate
On the red blossom.

A lone egret joins
A plover on the sea wall
In the warm wet wind.

A fisherman plants
His poles along the sea wall
And rests in his truck.

While we have nothing but gratitude for our life here on the beach in rural Hawaii, like so many others, our love for life-long learning propels us forward and we imagine other opportunities for artistic and cultural experiences and growth.

Wings

May’s evening breeze,
Too soft to move the strong lilies,
Touches the wisteria’s new lavender blooms,
Clustered like graceful fingers
Pointing down at the sacred ground.
A dove in silence feeds on scattered seeds,
And the air’s light currents
Suddenly gust through the deep green rose leaves
And up to the eucalyptus’ tangled top.
My heart stops there;
Then as the dove lifts up
On the wind-breath,
My heart flies with her wings.

When I first started writing this blog in 2016, I titled it “Tea and Travels.” Back then, Wayne and I traveled every year to some place we had never been before, eager to experience the history, art, culture, food, and of course tea and coffee customs of each new destination. I thought this pattern would continue. Then covid arrived, and my expectations had to change. Change is a natural aspect of human experience and can be good. And a curious mind can learn plenty without leaving home. You are welcome to review my earlier blogs, chronologically listed, right on this website, to share our food and fun adventures in lots of exciting places throughout the world. But when the covid crisis started to wane, and we accepted the fact that we would not be visiting Japan, a country we both love, any time in the near future, Wayne and I talked about the places we have visited and the experiences we might still want to pursue.

We agreed that London would be worth visiting again, since “Tea” is the first word in the title of my blog, and Kathleen’s wonderful April 2022 blog featured the delightful art show “Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature” at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Once we made the decision, Wayne secured tickets to the Beatrix Potter Show and made reservations for Afternoon Tea at the Savoy Hotel and Claridge’s, two of the classic venues for traditional tea in London. Our thoughts raced on to the fact that we have never traveled through the “Chunnel,” and that there were several places in France that we had never visited. We found an excellent history and art tour that would take us to London, for two days of museums and Afternoon Tea, then through the Channel Tunnel and on to Paris by train, followed by a river boat cruise down the Seine.

A yellow rose in
Warm sunlight bends as a bee
Hovers in the breeze

I am hoping in future blogs to share our adventures at the Palace of Versailles, the Gardens of Giverny, where Monet, one of our favorite artists, created his magnificent waterlily paintings, the glorious Rouen Cathedral, Bayeux, home to the famous, almost one thousand-year-old tapestry, and the beaches of Normandy of World War II fame, among other moments still unimagined. We realize that not everyone feels ready or able to travel during these unpredictable times, but we look forward to this adventure with joyful expectation, and we promise to be good sports if these plans also fail to materialize due to circumstances beyond our control.

A peacock struts down
The road, a turquoise feather
Drooping behind him.

Meanwhile, we need to think about Mother’s Day, one of the most important days in the month of May. Since Wayne and I are elders, our mothers, Misae and Betty, are no longer living, both having been born in 1918 and died in 2010, but they will never be forgotten. Our long journey from Honolulu to London will begin the day after Mother’s Day with a stopover in Los Angeles to visit the last living family member of our parents’ generation, Wayne’s precious auntie, also named Rose Higashi, who celebrated her one-hundredth birthday in January. Every mother is precious, and I hope that all will be honored on this special day.

A hen and five chicks
Walk across the empty school
Playground in the rain.

I continue to believe that Afternoon Tea is the best way to celebrate our mothers. What could be better than being the Guest of Honor at a special tea party? Your mother will not have to cook or clean up or participate in any of the planning. She can just get dressed up, if she wants to, and bask in the pure joy of being genuinely appreciated by all of the other guests. Obviously, this is not the time to remember any of your mother’s mistakes or character flaws. This is your moment to get on the high road and create the loveliest springtime setting you can imagine with your best dishes, linens and teapot and fresh, tasty and festive food.

Beside the grape vines,
Silvery olive trees sway
In the scented breeze.

Our website can help you. Our Mother’s Day Tea, in the May Calendar section of the Tea Book remains a classic, created with meticulous attention to every detail by my co-author, Kathleen. This lovely menu includes The Queen’s Shortbread, delicate little Apricot Cream Tartlets and a Splendid Pink Champagne Cake, among other delights. If your mother happens to be a chocolate lover who doesn’t mind going over the top a bit on special occasions, you might want to add Chocolate Bounty Cake to your Mothers’ Day menu. This outrageous chocolate extravaganza is like a giant nine-inch round three-layer Almond Joy Bar, bringing your mother’s childhood memories to a whole new level.

Chocolate Bounty Cake

I admit that I have only made Chocolate Bounty Cake once, for a “family bubble” dinner during the pandemic. All of us loved it, and our agreement was unanimous that it was also the richest, most decadent dessert we had ever enjoyed. Serve this enormous dark chocolate, coconut and almond creation in thin slices and be prepared to send everyone home with a little gift package of leftovers to appreciate later. Chocolate Bounty Cake is essentially a Chocolate Brownie layer topped by a filling of Coconut Cream covered in Toasted Almonds and topped with a shiny Dark Chocolate Glaze. The good news is, although there are several steps in making this grand dessert, it’s a pretty simple process, and you will not even need an electric mixer. This is old school cooking with a wooden spoon, a nine-inch springform pan and a saucepan. It will take you a couple of hours to get this masterpiece assembled, but no worries. You can make it the day before Mother’s Day if you wish and refrigerate it overnight, adding the shiny glaze shortly before serving time.

Brownie Layer:

½ cup butter (1 cube), melted
¾ cup sugar
2 large lightly beaten eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
½ cup flour
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Cooking spray for the pan

Coconut Cream Layer:

2 tablespoons butter
2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut (such as Angel Flake)
½ cup sugar
5 tablespoons flour
2 ¼ cups whole milk or half and half, at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole toasted almonds

For the Dark Chocolate Glaze:

6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
½ cup (1 cube) butter

Special equipment: 9-inch springform pan, parchment, glass measuring cup, large mixing bowl, wooden spoon, 2 wire cooling racks, foil, cookie sheet, medium saucepan, rubber spatula, attractive serving platter, plastic wrap

Makes: 12-16 small servings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Make the Brownie Layer. Cut 2 rounds of parchment to fit the bottom of the 9-inch springform pan and 3 strips of parchment to fit the interior sides of the pan. Spray the bottom and sides of the pan with cooking spray and fit the two parchment rounds into the bottom and the strips around the inside. Spray again with cooking spray. Set aside.
Cut the butter into chunks into a glass measuring cup. Microwave at 30-second intervals until the better is melted, about 1 ½ minutes total. Pour the butter into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and beat lightly with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs and beat lightly again. Add all the remaining Brownie ingredients: vanilla, cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon, and beat with a wooden spoon until well incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, and bake in the 350-degree pre-heated oven for 25 minutes. Do not over-bake. Place on a wire rack to cool. Do not turn off the oven.
Make the Coconut Cream Layer. If the almonds are not already toasted, cover a large baking sheet with foil and scatter 1 cup of almonds over the sheet. Place the sheet in the hot oven and toast the almonds for about 10 minutes, stirring them with a rubber spatula a few times to make sure they brown evenly. Remove the almonds to a wire rack to cool when they are lightly toasted and fragrant. Turn off the oven.
Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients for the Coconut Cream except the vanilla: coconut, sugar, flour and milk. Cook and stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture is bubbly and very thick, about 10 minutes or longer. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Cool to room temperature; then refrigerate for about 1 hour until the mixture is set.
Assembly and Glaze: While the Brownie Layer is still in the springform pan, remove the parchment strips around the sides and spoon the Coconut Cream over the Brownie Layer as evenly as possible. Gently press the toasted almonds into the coconut cream to make the top of the cake as smooth and even as possible, but don’t worry about it. The top of this cake does not have to be perfectly smooth. Either cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or continue.
Carefully remove the cake from the springform pan, removing the parchment on the bottom, and place the cake on an attractive serving platter. Break the dark chocolate into chunks into a glass measuring cup and add the butter, cut into chunks. Microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring, until the mixture is perfectly smooth. Set the glaze aside for a few minutes to firm up a little. Pour the glaze over the cake and allow it to drip down the sides. Let the cake stand at room temperature for about half an hour. To serve, cut into small slices with a sharp knife. Enjoy!

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Eggs and Herbs, Easter's Best Friends

4/1/2022

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A Week After Easter

A week after Easter, rosebuds crown every bush
And pigeons grow plump in the yard.
Dogs spy a squirrel high in the live oak
And spring’s chatter begins

Even the jay’s shriek is vital
After a winter deader than most
When we journeyed down a stymied road
With little horrors at every turn,

And big horrors too.
It seemed that the very earth
Let out a long sigh,
Dust blew into every eye,
And tears turned to mud.
No one could discern a direction,
So we stumbled on,
Welcoming at least
The quail deep in shadows
And the throaty call of the dove
Unseen amid at least warm leaves.

No matter how sad the news may be, April always brings cherry blossoms, peonies, tulips and bluebells, and Easter is forever a time of renewal and rebirth.

On Easter morning,
The white hibiscus opens
To the high green tide.

New leaves appear on
The old avocado tree,
Orchids in its boughs.

Newly blooming flowers and nesting birds lift our hearts when April arrives and appear in every form of spring-inspired art throughout the world, as birds and flowers are eternal symbols of spring. The egg, long associated with Easter, is also an archetype for new birth. In the Middle Ages, when serious fasting and abstinence took place during the season of Lent when the faithful embraced acts of penance, even eggs were prohibited from the Lenten diet. When Easter arrived at last, not only did Christians celebrate resurrection and renewal, but they were overjoyed to be able to eat eggs again!

Lilacs scent the air;
Wind chimes mingle the fragrance
From dogwood to pine.

Our website and blogs are filled with all sorts of delicious egg dishes. One of my favorites is the Artichoke Cheese Frittata, loaded with eggs and cheese and featured in my January 2020 blog. I have been making this easy to prepare classic for years, as it is my guests’ favorite savory at Afternoon Tea and is also a perfect appetizer in any season. For an elegant and special occasion, you might want to make Arpege Farm Eggs, inspired by Alain Passard, chef of the three Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris, L’Arpege. We enjoyed this astounding sweet and savory poached egg at Manresa in Los Gatos, California, founded by David Kinch, who was mentored by Passard and has now earned a Michelin star of his own. You can find the recipe, which combines, sea salt, chives, spices, cream and maple syrup with a subtlety that will take your breath away, in my October 2017 blog. Another timeless egg preparation is Tea Smoked Eggs, a Chinese classic, in which boiled eggs are gently cracked and simmered, still in their shells, in a lightly sweetened broth of Lapsang Souchong Tea and soy sauce. When the eggs are peeled, the dark broth which seeped into the cracks, leaves a unique, wispy brown pattern on each egg along with an enchanting smoky tea flavor. My February 2020 blog shows you the easy steps for making Tea Smoked eggs at home. My family loves them!

Honking high over
The new oak leaf canopy,
Wild geese, flying north.

Easter also brings the delightful challenge of figuring out what to do with all those beautifully decorated boiled eggs after the morning hunt is over. The answer is Deviled Eggs! Anyone who has looked at our website carefully has noticed that this treat, loved by young and old, appears on many of our Afternoon Tea menus. Who doesn’t love this pretty finger food, sprinkled with festive paprika, or even curry powder? And even a person who has no idea how to cook can peel some boiled eggs, cut them in two and mash up the yolks with salt and pepper, mayonnaise, a little mustard and perhaps a dollop of sweet pickle relish to taste. Some lovely fresh spring herbs, finely chopped and sprinkled on top, can turn this American icon into a work of art.

Spring morning light falls
On a crystal plate of eggs,
Sprinkled with basil.

In our family, it isn’t a party if there are no Deviled Eggs. My niece and co-author Kathleen carries this philosophy forward by offering some easy adaptations to add extra spring charm to Deviled Eggs in two of her April blogs. Her beautifully photographed April 2021 blog highlights Deviled Eggs garnished with bright green asparagus tips. And her April 2018 blog includes the recipe for Lightened Up Deviled Eggs, a lower-fat version with clever ideas for springtime garnishes such as dill or pickled okra. My mother, Dr. Betty Murdock, also had some quirky and quite delicious ways of introducing boiled eggs into both our everyday and holiday meals. When she made meatloaf, she would put half of the ground beef mixture into the baking dish and place a row of three or four boiled eggs, end to end, down the center, and then cover them with the remaining meat mixture, patting it carefully into place to hide the eggs. The result was a delightful surprise of meatloaf with well-seasoned slices of boiled egg in each serving. Dear Betty was also famous for adding boiled eggs to the gravy on every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter family dinner. I loved to make a little dent in my serving of mashed potatoes, plop a boiled egg in the center, and pour my mother’s home-made gravy over this pretty little edible volcano.

Wild roosters wander
Under the bougainvillea
After Easter rain.

As you may have guessed, eggs are one of my favorite foods, and although they should be eaten in moderation, they are an excellent source of protein. And like so many of our other favorites, they can be enjoyed in either savory or sweet preparations. Also, like fish, nuts and cheese, eggs harmonize beautifully with one of April’s other precious gifts—spring herbs. When I was a child, eating my grandmother’s excellent Ozark cooking, herbs were never included in daily meals; in fact, salt, butter and pepper, and perhaps a bottle of Worcestershire sauce in the cupboard, were the only flavorings used to enhance the natural tastes of our daily diet, which consisted primarily of potatoes, corn, beans, chicken and eggs. An occasional green onion or tomato pulled out of the back yard garden was about all we ever did to perk up the subtle flavors of these food staples.

Sunset turns the old
Madrone crimson; a peacock
Calls from the green hills.

When my family moved to California, a whole new world of flavors entered our lives. California is indeed a paradise of multi-cultural cooking, influenced by the cuisines of Mexico, Italy, Japan, South-East Asia and all the Mediterranean areas, each of which is loaded with fresh herbs. And California cuisine, inspired by these and other cultures, is itself characterized by the inclusion of fresh, local and natural herbs. In fact, many restaurants in California today, have their own herb gardens. The first fresh herbs I remember eating were bright green chopped chives sprinkled over baked potatoes with sour cream. So simple, but so delicious and still popular today.

Fresh herbs, which pop up in grocery stores and home gardens every April, include not just the four favorites from the song “Scarborough Fair,” parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, but also mint, cilantro, basil, dill, bay leaf, chervil, coriander, marjoram, oregano, savory and tarragon. As the ever-reliable Fanny Farmer Cookbook points out, “Herbs should never overwhelm a dish. The purpose of any seasoning is to provide an accent that enhances natural flavors.” I have found that cooking with these lovely little edible green plants can add a special note of fresh and cheery zest and indeed enhance the flavor of even to the most ordinary dish. Try stirring a little chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil into the scrambled eggs for breakfast, and voila! Gourmet eggs! Parsley can also be added to melted butter to pour over lightly boiled tiny red potatoes and fresh spring peas or as a bright, edible garnish to soups, stews, any roasted vegetables or spring salads.

The air turns humid
As snails slide through the twilight
Under the lilacs.

Fresh herbs are not very fussy about whether you add a lot or a little, and many herbs bring delightful color as well as subtle flavor enhancement. Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs, as it blooms in the spring with beautiful, fragrant blue flowers and has an enchanting aroma. I like to add a few whole sprigs of rosemary to oven-roasted vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, onions and whole heads of garlic, lightly sprinkled with sea salt and coarse pepper and drizzled with olive oil. After roasting the vegetables for about an hour at 350 degrees, the rosemary sprigs will have shriveled up, but the fragrance will remain. Before serving, I simply remove the cooked rosemary sprigs from the roasting pan and replace them with fresh, bright green uncooked sprigs for a beautiful and enticing presentation. Indeed, sprigs of rosemary look beautiful as a garnish on any spring vegetable, meat, egg or cheese dish, gently placed on top of a quiche, a pan of macaroni and cheese, beside a plate of warm, buttery mashed potatoes, or on a platter of spring lamb.

After April rain,
The night sky glitters with stars;
Cherry blossoms fall.

You can cook with either dried or fresh herbs, although fresh herbs are preferable. Just remember that dried herbs, which have been dehydrated, provide a more condensed flavor and should be used sparingly. At least double the quantity of fresh herbs can be used to enhance the same dish. A well-known dried herb combination used in French cuisine is Herbes de Provence, a mixture of rosemary, marjoram, thyme, savory and sage. Usually no more than one half teaspoon to one teaspoon of dried Herbes de Provence is needed to flavor a vegetable soup, roasted chicken or fish dish. A few sprigs of the fresh versions of these herbs can be tied together with kitchen twine in a small piece of cheesecloth to form a bouquet garni, a little bundle of herbs which can be tossed into the cooking pot or casserole dish to flavor sauces, soups, stocks and broths.

Bay leaves are also often included in bouquet garni, or simply added to the roasting pan when cooking meat dishes, especially pot roast. Bay leaves impart a fragrant and pungent flavor, but they should be removed before serving the meat to your guests. Basil is another beautiful herb, which is easy to grow in a home garden and is an essential element in Thai and Italian recipes. Basil pairs perfectly with tomatoes and is one of the key ingredients in the world famous Italian Caprese Salad, a simple combination of slices of fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, chopped fresh basil, salt and drizzles of olive oil. And what would lunch at a Vietnamese Pho restaurant be without fresh basil? With every serving of this delicious noodle soup, enhanced with thin slices of beef or other ingredients of the diner’s choice, a plate of fresh basil, still on the stem, beans sprouts, sliced jalapenos and fresh lime wedges is brought to the table so each guest can tear off some basil leaves and add them, along with the other offered fresh ingredients, right into their bowl of Pho. All of us can learn, through experimentation, to make our home cooking even more delicious by adding fresh herbs. Nothing bad will happen if you use too many or not enough, and many herbs are happy to be combined with other herbs that flourish in the spring.

I hope you will enjoy including eggs and herbs in your Passover, Easter and other spring family celebrations. And let’s not forget that most of our favorite cakes, custards and desserts include eggs. This year, for our Easter family meal, I plan to bake Ellen’s Fabulous Coconut Cake, featured on our website in the American Southern Tea menu in the “A World of Tea Parties” section of “The Tea Book.” I have baked this beautiful cake, shared by Kathleen’s dear friend Ellen, (see Kathleen’s March 2017 blog) many times, and it always makes any special occasion even more special.

The dusk turns violet;
A flock of egrets returns
To the green mountain.

Ellen’s Fabulous Coconut Cake

This beautiful white cake is loaded with coconut, coconut extract and five extra-large eggs. If you have a cake pedestal, use it, and as this regal creation deserves to be elevated and celebrated. It is elegant in every season, including Christmas, but since I will be serving it this year at Easter, I plan to surround it with pretty pastel chocolate covered almonds. Fresh roses or other spring flowers circling or topping the cake would also be nice, perhaps even a few sprigs of rosemary in bloom.

For the Cake:

2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
5 large or extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 cup very lightly toasted sweetened angel-flake coconut
1 ½ teaspoons coconut extract
Cooking spray with flour for the pan

For the syrup and décor:

1 cup sugar
½ cup hot water
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup very lightly toasted sweetened angel-flake coconut
Fresh flowers, fresh strawberries or raspberries or small pastel chocolate Easter eggs

Special equipment: 12-cup Bundt pan, large mixing bowl, foil-lined cookie sheet, two small bowls, heat-proof spatula, wire cooling rack, hand-held electric mixer, medium sized mixing bowl, flour sifter or sieve, large (1 quart) glass measuring cup, wooden skewer, attractive serving platter or cake pedestal

Makes: 12-16 generous servings

Preheat over to 350° F

Spray the Bundt pan with cooking spray with flour and set aside. Spread 2 cups of coconut evenly on a foil-lined cookie sheet and toast very lightly in the pre-heated oven, stirring every couple of minutes with a heat-proof spatula just until the edges are very lightly browned, about 5 minutes, total. Be careful, as coconut can burn easily and must be stirred to prevent the outer edges from turning too dark. Remove the coconut from the oven and cool on a wire cooling rack. Divide the coconut evenly into two small bowls, one cup each. Set aside.
Place the softened butter and 2 cups sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until well combined. Stir in 1 cup of reserved toasted coconut and 1 ½ teaspoon of coconut extract.
Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. As the cake bakes, prepare the coconut syrup. In a large glass measuring cup, combine 1 cup of sugar and ½ cup of hot water, stir briefly and microwave for 2-4 minutes, until the mixture comes to a boil, stirring twice. Stir in 1 teaspoon of coconut extract. Set aside.
When the cake tests done, place the pan on a wire cooling rack for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out onto the serving platter or cake pedestal. Poke holes in the warm cake with the wooden skewer and slowly pour the coconut syrup over the cake until it is completely absorbed. Sprinkle the remaining cup of toasted coconut over the cake. Don’t worry if some of it falls into the center tube or around the edges of the platter.
Garnish this glorious cake to your liking with fresh flowers or flowering herbs, fresh berries, small chocolate Easter eggs or pastel chocolate covered almonds. Serve with freshly whipped cream or ice cream if you wish.

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Tea and Travels

May 2022 - Is It Time to Travel?

Eggs and Herbs, Easter's Best Friends

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