FIRESIDE LEMON MERINGUE PIE AND TEA

 Winter is a wonderful time to read,

watch old movies and learn something

new.  I have so many interests that getting 

bored doesn't seem to be a problem for me.

Every season has it's special delights.

I just "refreshed" my birdfeeders earlier

today since they were way down in seed.

  As I went out on the deck I heard masses

 of birds up in the trees.  There were 

hundreds of bluebirds but they just seemed

 to be resting way up and not coming

down at all.

BLUEBIRDS

There in the trees and up in the sky

Bluebirds on branches 

Hundreds rest,  waiting to fly

I tried to entice them

With birdseed and rye

But they seemed on a journey

So we bid them Goodbye!

Today I made a Lemon Meringue

Pie.  I wonder how many of these I've

baked over the years?

Let's take a seat over by the cozy fireplace

and enjoy our pie.

You might want to bake this pie too:

Prepare a pie shell and bake it! I use the old recipe of 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup Crisco and 3-4 Tb ice water) Bake 450 degrees about 8 min 

The ingredients for pie are as follows but

frankly I doubled this for a really deep

dish pie.

1 1/3 cups of sugar, 4 Tb cornstarch, 1 Tb flour, 1/2 cup cold water, 1 1/2 cups of separate water ready boil, 4 egg yolks slightly beaten, 2 Tb butter, 1 Tb grated lemon rind, 1/3 cup lemon juice

For the meringue you will need 4 egg whites, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and 1/2 cup sugar

Combine the 1 1/3 cups of sugar, the cornstarch, the flour and cold water in a medium size saucepan and blend them together until smooth.  Stir in the boiling water and cook stirring constantly until the mixture begins to bubble and is thick.  Simmer about 2 minutes and keeping stirring to keep from burning! Remove from heat

Now blend about 1/2 of this hot mixture into the egg yolks and return all to saucepan and cook about 2 minutes.  Remove again and add butter, lemon rind and juice and stir through well.  Set aside to cool slightly.  Stir to let out steam and help cooling.  I put the bowl in the refrigerator to cool.  Once cool I pour it into the baked pie shell and put it into the baked pie shell and I go ahead and refrigerate.  I find this works for me but I do see people do this step differently here.

Meanwhile, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar in a medium size bowl. Slowly add 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating still stiff. 

 When the pie is cold in the refrigerator, spread egg white meringue on top.  Put in the preheated oven of 400 degrees for about 6 to 8 minutes - watch for browning.  Cool on a rack - when cool refrigerate again for several hours.

A FIRESIDE TEA TIME AND TRUSTING THE LORD

Now that we are in the post election era it is time to move on here on my blog. 

 I have made a decision to stay steadfast praying that the crimes committed in this election will be dealt with.  I will continue to do what I believe the Lord is telling me to do which is to spend substantial time in prayer and the Word of God - my Bible.  

When I mention prayer this means not just some quick little prayer but calling out to the Lord for this country which under this President is quickly moving further from God.  Remember that liberal judges would not even listen to the many cases of voter fraud. I will continue to pray for justice.  I believe abortion is murder and the Democratic party wants to greatly increase abortion and President Biden wants to use our tax payer dollars to  help support it more around the world.

I also will continue to share my love for tea, baking,  garden and crafting along with sharing my faith.

Today I have set up a little fireside tea and will share the recipe for the Blueberry Lemon Muffins at the bottom of this page.

Which brings me to this question?  What is prayer? Is it repeating something over and over that we memorized? 

  The Bible refers to about "vain repetitions".  The King James Bible says "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do....." Matthew 6:7    It is easy for people to just imitate the way that they heard someone else putting the same words together.  You know, "thank you for this food and bless it to the nourishment of our bodies and bless the hands that prepared it", etc. I have done that myself over the years.   For followers of Jesus prayer should be so much more and needs to be more personal.  It is about talking to the Lord and sharing our personal concerns about our families, our country, etc. It is about expressing our thankful hearts and asking for his counsel.   A good way to pray is to find a scripture in the Bible that reflects your problem or need and pray it to the Lord.  Also, to declare in prayer what the word of the Lord says because the word is sharper than a two edged sword.  And then personalize the verse into your prayer.  We know that God is comprised of 3 facets:  The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit so knowing who it is that you should be praying to is very important!

 This winter instead of television (or the left mainstream media) you might enjoy watching some darling YouTube videos which inspire us with ideas for our homes and gardens.  Here is a link below to a home that is very calming and restful.  

I really enjoy Jeri Landers

at Hop a Long Hollow

 

I write this blog post fully knowing and understanding it won't be for everyone.  In November I felt led of the Lord to start a social media page about tea time, hospitality and Christian faith. If you are a person of Faith in the Lord and you support the Right to Life you are invited to join in with other ladies on MeWe at "Christian Tea Time & Hospitality".  It is a group where you can share about tea, hospitality and scriptures.

Last night I made some delicious Blueberry Lemon muffins and I am sharing the recipe: 

Ingredients for Blueberry Lemon Muffins - makes 18 muffins from May/June 2008 Victoria Magazine

375 degrees - Lightly grease muffin tins with butter- will bake for 25 minutes

Ingredients for muffin body:  3 cups plus 2 Tb flour, 6 Tb melted butter, 3 Tsp baking powder, 1 3/4  Cups blueberries, 1 1/4 C sugars, 1 1/4 C sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 large egg yolks, 3 Tb lemon juice, 2 Tsp lemon zest, 1 Tsp vanilla extract and 1 cup of milk

Ingredients for topping:  1/2 C flour, 1/2 C brown sugar, 1/2 cup sliced toasted almonds, 1/4 soft butter, 1/4 Tsp cinnamon, 1/4 Tsp salt

I don't do detailed instructions in sharing but simply mix the muffin body ingredients together with a mixer (I use a kitchen aid mixer with bowl) adding the dry ingredients first and then liquid items and blueberries last.   Pour into a muffin tray about 2/3 full and then put a heaping tablespoon of the topping on the muffin tops.  Leftover topping can be put in a plastic carton in your freezer but I always recommend marking it as you will later wonder "what is this"?

HAPPY NEW YEAR for "Friends Sharing Tea"

Considering the temperature outside,

we are having our tea by the fire today.

My first tea of the year is all about fun.

I used that free template from
 another site's link (that I put in

a post a few days back) and made

the banner myself.  I added

some Jane Austen type figures I 
purchased as an art download 
 on Etsy.

This fruitcake was taken back

 out of the freezer:

 here was the recipe

encase you missed it.

Needless to say there was a  little
glitter to deal with in the
kitchen area.

I would like to thank each one

 of you who visits this weekly event

and especially those who participate

 in these teatime linky parties.  

 We do love teatime!

I hope you enjoyed my whimsical

tea time today and can join the party.

I will be joining these parties too:
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Share Your Cup
Home Sweet Home

An InLinkz Link-up

PIMENTO-CHEESE TWICE BAKED POTATOES

You know how it is when a new magazine arrives and a recipe just jumps out at you.  Such was the case this week when my Southern Lady Magazine arrived and a recipe for Twice-Baked Potatoes was pictured with the recipe served with steak!  A win-win for Valentines Day. 

 As I scanned the recipe - I knew I already had everything except the actual potatoes so I stopped at the market on the way home for those and to pick up a couple steaks to grill.

  By the way, Southern Lady is produced by Hoffman Media who give us Tea Time, Victoria and many other wonderful magazines.

Recipe from Mar-Apr 2013 Southern Lady:

Here is what you need for 6 people:

6 large baking potatoes, washed and dried, 2 Tb olive oil, 1 Tb kosher coarse salt, 1/3 cup of soft butter, 3 oz of soft cream cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese - divided, 1 4 oz jar of diced pimentos drained, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground pepper 

Instructions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.  Rub the potatoes with olive oil to coat skins, sprinkle with kosher salt.

 Place on baking sheet in prepared oven for 55-65 minutes til they are fork tender.  Cool

Cut a thin slice off the top, being careful not to damage skins.  Using a melon scoop, take out potato pulp leaving a 1/4 " thick shell in tack.  In a medium bowl, mix potato pulp, butter and cream cheese and then stir in  cream, 2 cups cheese, pimento, salt and pepper stirring well.  Return filled shells to prepared oven and bake 20-25 minutes until lightly browned and bubbly.  You can remove and add last 1/2 cup of cheese and then rebrown top if you like!  Serve...

Since I am a "working girl"  I made all 6 potatoes I plan to reheat 2 of them  later 

for lunch and then freeze 2 of them for another dinner later!

CHEDDAR BAY BISCUITS

Last night, on our way home,  the usual discussion ensued about "what shall we have for dinner?"  We settled on something simple..... A nice bowl of tomato basil soup and Cheddar Bay Biscuits.  We sat at the table and gobbled them  up for dinner!

       

Cheddar Bay Biscuits:

You will need:   1 cup flour, 2 Tsp baking powder, 1/4 Tsp cream of tartar, 1/4 Tsp sugar, 1/4 Tsp salt, 1/3 cup milk, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold butter, cubed, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese and 1/4 Tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Mix dry ingredients together, cut in butter and add cheese,  Pour in milk a little at a time,  After you pat out the dough cut with a biscuit cutter - I cut 15 2" size which were smaller than Red Lobster's.

Brush this topping on biscuits before putting in oven:

1 Tbs melted butter, 1/4 Tsp dried parsley, 1/4 Tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 Tsp garlic powder, pinch of salt and pinch of OLD BAY SEASONING

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes

Credits:  originally seen here: http://www.astorybooklife.com/recipes/red-lobster-cheddar-bay-biscuits/

A STACK OF GARDEN BOOKS

Now that winter is here, we have time to slow down and for me that means pulling out old books and magazines to glean some inspiration.

  I have gone through all the old January Victoria Magazines. I am looking 24/7 for garden tips and ideas and new recipes.  I found a book in my own library on English Gardens produced in l990 by Victoria's Secret (yes, who can believe it???)  The pictures are incredible - like a dream really.

The pictures in this book are dreamy!

I also have a recipe to share for "FIRESIDE COFFEE" from the 1987 addition of Southern Living Recipes:

 FIRESIDE COFFEE

2 Cups of non dairy coffee creamer, 1 1/2 cups of hot cocoa mix, 1 1/2 cups instant coffee granules, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg.  Combine all and mix well.  Store in  airtight container - makes 6 1/2 cups     Spoon 2 Tbs and 1 Tsp in a mug - add 1 cup boiling water

Much inspiration can be gleaned from the books about the late gardener, Tasha Tudor

and yes I want foxgloves like this but I have

no goat to make the manure tea she is pouring

on these.

My favorite photo of Tasha is in the book above from 1994.  Tovah Martin wrote the text and said: "The secret garden will one day be dominated by the roses, no doubt.  But for now the foxgloves reign supreme, with a little help from frequent and generous applications of manure tea."

Happy dreaming!

WELCOME 2013 DINING FIRESIDE

Gather up your favorite china and set a tiny table by the fire.  While the snowflakes fall lightly outside, relax with a pot of hot cinnamon tea and a nice meal.  Refuse to hurry - winter is here!

We have several elements here for a lovely

fireside tea.  The first is a fire, the second is some delicious food and how about a

 bouquet to make things cheerful?

And of course, we need something

delicious to eat.

We are having some

Ham and Gruyere Quiche and a nice Raspberry

Pretzel Salad. 

As you can see we are still enjoying

some Holiday decorations on the

mantle.

I used my English Old Country Roses China for my Fireside Dining in my den!

The best part of it all is this:

Here are the recipes:

Raspberry Pretzel Salad:  This recipe came from the "Flavors For Fall" by Gooseberry Patch attributed to Kim Fox.

You will need:  2 cups crushed pretzels divided, 3/4 cup of melted butter, 1 cup plus 3 Tb sugar divided, 8 oz softened cream cheese, 8 oz of whipped cream (I added 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar to 1 cup whipping cream and beat them together) 3 oz pkg raspberry gelatin mix, 2 cups boiling water, 1 10 oz pkg of frozen raspberries thawed (recipe originally called for 2 of these but I only used 1)

For the base: Combine 1 3/4 cups of the pretzels, butter and sugar and press into the bottom of an ungreased 13 x 9 baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees 10 minutes and then cool. (I used 2 smaller dishes to make one to give away)

Blend cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and whipped cream together, spread over cooled crust.  Dissolve gelatin in 2 cups boiling water; stir in raspberries.  Refrigerate until partially set:  spread over cream cheese layer.  Refrigerate until firm and sprinkle with remaining pretzel crumbs before serving.

And some wonderful HAM AND GRUYERE QUICHE taken from the Menu's and Music Afternoon Tea Boxed Set.

You will need:  1 Tb olive oil, 1 small onion chopped, 1 cup of half and half, 2 large eggs and 1 egg yolk, 6 ozs of chopped ham, 1 partially baked tart shell, 4 handfuls of baby chopped spinach, freshly grated nutmeg, salt and pepper, 1 cup of shredded Gruyere Cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (original recipe was 325 but I found that not high enough.
In a small skillet, heat the oil and saute onion till golden.  

In a bowl whisk half and half and eggs

In the shell:  layer ham, onion mix, spinach, spices and finish with the cheese and cream mixture.
Bake 25-45 minutes till set.  Cool before slicing.