Tea by the Sea

Being here in Charleston, SC makes this a beautiful place to have a sea side tea OR have sea themed party in your house.

Whether you live in the mountains or in the Keys, this is a cute little party for a fun afternoon or a little treat for a group of children.
Hot dogs and lemonade, what more could you want for a beach party!
This menu is really easy and the kids can help you in the kitchen.

*M*E*N*U*

Bite-sized Hot Dogs in biscuit buns

Sand Bars

Assorted fruit

Teapot Lemonade

*Bite-sized Hot dogs in biscuit buns*

A package of little smokies or the small hot dogs.

1 can of biscuits with each slice cut into 4 pieces.

Take 1 piece of the biscuit and wrap it around 1 little smokie. Push the dough together around the meat with the ends of the doggie showing.

Preheat the oven according to the biscuit dough package and bake according to the package directions.

For serving, I make a mix of 1 tablespoon of brown mustard and 2 tablespoons of ketchup together for a quick dipping sauce. Serve the sauce ina cleaned out scallop seashell.

*Sand Bars*

Easy as can be!

1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream

1 package of Nilla wafers

Gummi or swedish fish

8x8 pan

Let the ice cream soften and and spread it out evenly in the pan.

Put the Nilla wafers in a bag and gently crush them until they are finely ground.

Sprinkle the cookie "sand" over the top of the ice cream and freeze for 2 hours.

Cut into squares and serve with Gummi fish on the side!

*Lemonade Tea*

This is really easy, for those you want a true tea, make a heavily lemon flavored tea.

For a decaffinated flair, make either iced or hot Lemon Zinger tea from Bigelow for a really refreshing lemonade tea.

Remember to decorate your table with gifts from the sea. Perhaps a trip down to the local walmart for some material that looks like fishing net for a table runner.

You can make coaster sized life savers by painting white circle on cork coasters and paint the red stripe running across 4 points on the white circle. Pencil on some lines to represent rope and you are done.

Hope you enjoy your tea at the sea!

Brightest Tea Blessings!

A blending of my beliefs and my loves

Yes, I am a Wiccan. Anyone who reads my main blog Sun and Moon Sorcery will know that.
Being as my birthday was last week, I have decided to put in a few parties on the old tea blog.
This first party is about my belief of honoring the moon.
At the time of this writing the moon is at 93% waning Gibbous of full.

A full moon is shining, so turn the lights down low, put a table by the window and have a moonlight tea party!
Get some dark blue placemats, a few silver or gold napkins for the party. Work moons in all phases through your party favors and decorations. It is really easy these days to find material with a celestrial theme to make up napkins, tablecloths or runners.
Blow a huge yellow or silver balloon all the way up and hang it above your tea table. A nice inexpensive representation of our Lady the Moon.

Full Moon Tea Party

What's the news of the day,
Good Neighbor, I pray?
They say a balloon
Has gone to the moon

*M*e*n*u*

Moon Scones
Cheese stars and apple crescents
Milky Way Tea

Moon Scones

1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 stick of sweet butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup golden raisins or sultanas

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Put the flour and butter ina big bowl. Cut the butter into pieces. Rub the butter and flour together until the mixture looks like crumbs. Mix in the sugar. Add the milk and mix well. Gently stir in the raisins.
3. Chill the dough for 1 hour or more. Shape it into 2" balls. Put them on a greased cookie sheet, flatten them, and bake 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm with Jam or honey.
Makes 12 scones.

Cheese stars and apple crescents

Cheese slices
Apples
a star shaped cookie cutter.

Cut the stars out of the cheese slices with the cookie cutter.
Cut the apples into wedges or slices. Make sure you cut out the core to make the slices or wedges into crescents.
Arrange your stars and apple crescents on a pretty plate.

Milky Way Tea

Stir together 1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk mixed with 1/2 cup of brewed black tea.

This tea could be easily a bedtime tea treat for a child by taking the black tea out of the Milky Way Tea and just double the milk.

I hope you enjoy this foray into stars.

Enjoy!

A new bottled tea!

Yesterday as the heat soared into the 90's, I was at my local Bi-Lo picking up a few things for the weekend's festivities.
As usual I was hot from running errands and had a terrible thirst!

I was looking in the static displays they have of all of the single bottles of drinks. Nothing caught my attention. It was too hot for a Pepsi, a bottled Frappaccino wasn't going to work and the juices there just wasn't rousing my attention enough to pick one.
I was walking by the deli on my way to the water fountain and saw these bottles.

I have heard of the Beacon Drive In. Anyone worth their rebel flag knows where Spartanburg and the home of the best hash plate is.

I picked up a bottle and read the contents, tea concentrate, lemon, sugar, a few other things to help with shelf life. So I bought one and then I saw they had the tea in plain, lemon and peach. It also came in quart sizex and believe me I thought about getting one of those instead of the 16oz bottle!
I have been disappointed before by bottled tea, so I took a chance on a small one.

MAN! I should have bought the quart!
It was great! Just enough of the lemon to give the tea the kick it needed to get by the sometimes aftertaste you get from tea concentrates!
I had it gone by the time I got home. I don't live but 3 miles away from the Bi-Lo.

I do not know if this will be sold nationally or just in the South...but it SHOULD BE!

To all of my Palmetto State readers, if you get the chance this weekend to stop by a Bi-Lo, do yourself a favor and pick up a bottle of this tea.

If you live in the Spartanburg area and are reading my blog, do me a favor and eat a hash plate for me! Beacon has their menu online...just in case y'all want to make your mouth water!

Sorry I haven't been around a while. I have been attempting to get a relief effort down to my friend and sister witch, Wyllow. She lives just 40 north of the "disaster area" of NOLA.
Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Brightest tea blessings to y'all!