The Tealady Blog

” A Mother is a person who can take the place of all others. but

whose place no one else can take”

Author Unknown

Why not honor or remember your Mother with a nice cozy cup of tea and some French Madeleines or have an intimate tea party for a few friends in memory of those who have passed on.   Sharing a cup of your favorite tea and cookies is a nice gesture and you can bring all the makings to her.  Why not bring a bunch of flowers to complete the honor.

Here is the recipe for Strawberry French Madeleines from Tea Time Magazine.

Strawberry French Madeleines, Yield 48 cookies

     4 large eggs; 3/4 cup sugar; 2 tsp strawberry extract; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/8 tsp salt; 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled.  Garnish with confectioners’ sugar.

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray wells of 4 (12-well) madeleine pans with nonstick baking spray with flour.  Set aside.          In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar and strawberry extract.  Beat at high speed with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, 5 minutes.  Set aside.   In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.   Add half of flour mixture to egg mixture.  Beat at medium speed until incorporated.   Add remaining flour mixture.  Gradually add butter, beating until well blended.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Spoon 1 TBS batter into each prepared well of pans.   Bake until light golden, 5 minutes.   Remove madeleines from molds and cool completely on wire racks.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired. 

First there was the hoopla about potential health benefits of green tea.  But, for those of us who prefer the more common black and decaf teas, here’s great news:

     Recent research suggests that those kinds of tea may also protect against cancer.  In a study published in “Cancer Research”, mice that drank black tea developed 93% fewer cancers than their water-drinking cohorts (green-tea drinkers had 88% fewer cancers).  And those laid-back more mice drinking decaffeinated tea,  still had 77% fewer cancers than water-drinkers.  Common to these teas are substances called poly – phenols which act as antioxidants and could inhibit tumor growth.

“Come let us have tea and continue to talk about happy things” -  Chaim Potok

When Spring arrives, we think of a newness in all that we do.  We wash and clean and polish so that everything sparkles.  The darkness of winter has gone and the sunshine with its’ warmth is so welcomed.  I have polished my aunt’s tea set and my silverware.  Oh how it shines, bringing back such pleasant memories.    Go sit on the porch with a good friend, try a new tea , and make some of your favorite scones.  Welcome Spring, we are glad you are here.

You should brew your tea about 3 minutes – don’t boil it.  If you brew the tea too long, it will be bitter.    To remedy this, add a pinch of baking soda to correct.