I don't get a chance to check out tea rooms very often, and back home, it's not like they're on every other block like a McDonald's, so I've had to search for loose teas online. My favorite tea at Ferguson's Tea Room in Hurricane is their strawberry kiwi, and I finally found a delicious one that tastes just like it from Harney & Sons Master Tea Blenders. I'm extremely impressed with their great prices on loose teas and the wide variety of products they offer, including different flavored teas and various tea accessories, as well. I have a little mesh ball tea infuser and it's the perfect way to strain loose teas.
I'm a big fan of all the dainty little tea sandwiches you can make, too. I cut the crusts off the bread of all my tea sandwiches, but you don't have to, I just happen to think they look nicer without them. A while back, I gave told you how I like to make my cucumber sandwiches so I'll skip those and give you my recipe for tomato tea sandwiches.
Ingredients
2 lbs roma tomatoes
sea salt
3/4 cup softened vegan cream cheese
2 tsp fresh minced garlic
10 slices bread of your choice (these are good with white, wheat, rye, whatever you like), crusts removed
1tbsp olive oil
black pepper
1tbsp dried basil
Directions
Cut the 10 slices of bread diagonally so you have 4 triangles out of each slice and set aside. Slice the tomatoes thinly (you'll need 40 slices), remove the seeds (they make the bread soggy), and sprinkle lightly with salt. Combine the cream cheese, basil, and garlic and spread on each piece of bread all the way to the outer edge.
In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil and add as much black pepper as you would like. Brush the tomatoes with this mixture.
Arrange the tomatoes on 40 slices of the bread and top with a second slice. Refrigerate if you don't plan to serve immediately. Makes 40 sandwiches, and I could easily eat all 40 of them if you let me. If you're not a vegan, you might want to add fresh mozzarella since it just goes hand-in-hand with tomatoes, but that's purely optional.
The sweet treats that come with high tea at most tea rooms are my favorite part of the meal. I've found some really delicious recipes for scones, mini cakes, and cookies you can add to your own high tea. First off is the recipe for Maple Syrup Scones, which are super yummy and easy to make.
Ingredients
1/4 cup real maple syrup (don't buy cheap shit that's maple-flavored syrup - spend some money and buy the real thing)
6 tbsp almond milk
2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
11 tbsp unsalted vegan butter (or real butter if you want), cold and cut into cubes
Ener-G Egg Replacer for 1 egg
turbinado (which is just large-grain sugar)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and have the top rack in the top slats. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together the maple syrup and almond milk in a small bowl and set aside. Combine the flour, quinoa flakes, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Using a food processor (or your Ninja), cut the butter cubes into the flour mixture until it resembles little pebbles in a sandy mixture. Now add the maple syrup/almond milk mixture. Mix in the Ninja until the dough just comes together. If the mixture is too dry, you can add a tiny amount of almond milk, mixing it as you go. You want the dough to hold together without being crumbly.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead once or twice. Arrange the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle and slice into 9 equal squares. Arrange the dough squares on the baking sheet about 1/4-inch apart. Brush lightly with a little bit of extra almond milk and sprinkle with the turbinado. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden along the bottom and top. You can add other things to these, also. If you wanted to add some chopped pecans or raisins, that would add some extra texture and flavor, but I personally like them just as they are.
Next up is my recipe for Lemon Cream Mini-Cupcakes. I love mini-cupcakes anyway, and I love the tangy, refreshing taste of lemon, so the mix of the two is perfect. These are easy to make and even easier to eat.
Ingredients for Mini-Cupcakes
1 cup margarine, softened (margarine is naturally vegan)
2 cups organic, unbleached sugar
1/2 cup soy yogurt
1/4 cup apple sauce
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups vegan sour cream (1 lb soft/silken tofu, 4 tbsp lemon juice, 6 tbsp canola oil, 4 tsp brown rice vinegar, 1 1/2 tsp salt)
Ingredients for Lemon Cream Frosting
3 tbsp margarine, softened
2 1/4 cup organic, unbleached flour
2 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp grated lemon rind
1-2 tbsp plain unsweetened soymilk (make sure soybeans and water are the only ingredients)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, cream margarine and sugar together. Mix in the soy yogurt and applesauce. Add the lemon peel and vanilla, and then add the sour cream last - the batter will be thick. Fill greased or paper-lined mini-muffin tins about 3/4 of the way and bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
While the mini-cupcakes are cooking, make the lemon cream frosting. Cream the margarine and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients until smooth and frost the cupcakes when they're completely cooled. You can top with extra lemon zest, a tiny lemon wedge, or even candied lemon.
The final recipe I'm sharing with you is for Lavender Scones, and it's the actual recipe from Ferguson's Tea Room. They're so delicious and relatively easy to make. This is one recipe I'm just leaving non-vegan because A) I've never tried making them vegan, and B) I just don't feel like messing with a perfect thing.
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cut up
1 lg egg yolk (save the white)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup lavender sugar*
Filling
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4-1 cup heavy cream
blackberry jelly**
*To make lavender sugar, you need regular granulated sugar and culinary lavender. Mix 1 1/4 cups culinary lavender with 4 cups granulated sugar in a storage bag and store for 2 weeks before using. You can even replace the sugar in the lemon cream frosting recipe for lavender sugar; lemon and lavender go incredibly well together.
**I'll also provide a super easy recipe for blackberry jelly.
Directions
Preheat oven to 425. In a mixer, combine flour, baking powder, sea salt, and lavender sugar. Add cold butter and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine with a whisk the egg yolk, milk, and heavy cream. Pour into the mixer while it's on medium. Mix just to incorporate. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead slightly. Roll to 1-inch thickness. Cut with desired cutter (round, triangle, star, whatever your happy heart desires). Whisk egg white and brush onto scones and sprinkle with extra lavender sugar.
Bake for 7 minutes, then turn the sheet and bake for another 7 minutes. Cool on rack.
For the blackberry jelly:
Crush 2 quarts ripe blackberries in a cloth or jelly bag. Squeeze out the juice and measure 3 cups into a bowl. Add 6 cups of sugar, stirring to mix well. Mix 3/4 cups water and 1 box powdered fruit pectin in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add to sweetened blackberry juice and stir for 3 minutes. Pour into sterilized jar and cover with tightly-closed lids. Let stand at room temperature until set. If you plan on using it within 3 weeks, refrigerate. If not, freeze the jars.
For the filling:
Slowly add cream to cream cheese, mixing well until it's thick. Once the scones have completely cooled, cut 1/3 off the top. In the bottom 2/3, put a tablespoon of the filling and make a reservoir. Then, fill the reservoir with a tablespoon of the homemade blackberry jelly and top with the other piece of the scone and serve. You don't have to use the cream and jelly filling, but trust me, it's damn good and totally worth it to go out of your way to make them.
Just because foods are dainty and ladylike doesn't mean that can't be damn good. These are all tried and true recipes that I love and hope that you'll try and fall in love with, too.
