Tea time in the blogosphere

Image: Su Leslie 2020

Welcome. Pull up a chair and I’ll put the kettle on.

It’s Day 22 of NZ’s Covid 19 rahui, and even I’m getting a bit fed up being at home all the time. While we have plenty of food, and I’m getting used to the long queues at the supermarket, flour has become an almost mythical commodity, and most of the projects The Big T and I planned are stalled due to a lack of materials (pretty much all NZ businesses are closed unless they’re selling food or medicine).

But we’re well, and so far our families and friends remain healthy too, so there is much to be grateful for.

And that’s enough about me.

How are you coping with these strange times we find ourselves in?

My baking for our tea party has been a bit constrained by both the flour shortage and the new reality of infrequent, time-consuming trips to buy ingredients. So my savory this month uses the same type of pastry (dumpling wrappers) as last time round, and both my sweet dishes contain rolled oats and coconut (sorry Jude).

Image: Su Leslie 2020

Our fig tree has begun fruiting and we’re harvesting a dozen or so luscious fruit each day. Rather than use them in a sweet dish, I’ve opted for a little tartlet with blue cheese and thyme. The figs have been caramelised a little bit in butter and balsamic vinegar. It turns out that blue cheeses are short supply at the moment, and the only one I could get is quite sharp, so I’ve softened the impact by mixing it with a little cream cheese.

I’m serving it with English breakfast tea, though I suspect an Earl Grey might work better with the flavours.

Caramelised fig and blue cheese tartlets. Image: Su Leslie 2020

And in the same spirit of making do, both my sweet dishes are variations on a theme.

Anzac biscuits and English Breakfast tea. Image; Su Leslie 2020

With just over a week until Anzac Day, it was inevitable that I’d make some Anzac biscuits. The story goes that women in New Zealand baked these to send to their menfolk serving in WWI. With relatively few ingredients (and quite a lot of sugar) they were supposed to survive the long journey to the battlefields of Europe and the Middle East. You can find a recipe here.

Recipes for ginger crunch have appeared in Kiwi cookbooks since at least the 1950s. Traditionally, it’s a ginger-flavoured shortbread base topped with a liberal spread of ginger icing, but in recent years it’s not uncommon to see a variation that uses the same ingredients and method as Anzac biscuits to form the base. The icing; butter, golden syrup, icing sugar and ginger remains the same.

Ginger-oat slice. Image: Su Leslie 2020

I like the oat version, though it doesn’t have the crunch of the original. It works well with coffee — either espresso or a flat white. And I can conserve my flour supplies for bread-making.

With luck, by next month we will have more freedom of movement and a wider range of shops will be open. I may have to celebrate by baking something really decadent!

Why a virtual tea party?

When Del (at CurlsnSkirls) and I started talking about a virtual tea party, we saw it as a fun way to share our love of food and conversation. It is that of course, but for me at least, it’s also an affirmation of how important you — my blogging whanau — are to me. Over the years you’ve shared your thoughts, stories, advice and support and I really would like to invite you all round to mine and cook for you.

But since that’s not going to happen any time soon, I hope this will do instead.

The invitation

I’d love to hear from you. What are you doing/reading/making? Your thoughts on the food, the drinks, and whatever I’m rambling about. What’s making you happy or pissing you off?  Your comments make blogging so much more interesting.

And if you’d like to contribute a post of your own — even better. Maybe a shot of your cuppa and/or whatever you’re having with it. A recipe if you like.

I’ll update each of my posts with a ping-back to everyone’s in the same way as I do with The Changing Seasons.

#virtualteaparty2020 for anyone on Instagram who wants to post images (or video?)

An update

Wow. So many people have joined in with the tea party and I couldn’t be happier. Thank you all for sharing kai (food) and aroha (love); it means a lot to me and I think reflects how many of us believe that food really does bring people together.

After our conversation about fairy bread last month, Brian at Bushboy’s Worldhas made the real thing. Now I really have to make good on my promise of chocolate crackles next month.

Tracy at Reflections of an Untidy Mind has set a beautiful table — complete with a dahlia in a vase — and made Anzac biscuits, (proper) crunchy ginger nuts and a chocolatey slice containing all the things that good, grown-up chocolate crackles should have. Inspired!

Ladyleemanilahas made some dalgona coffee and dalgona matcha latte. Am I the only person who had never heard of dalgona coffee until about a week ago?

Dawn at A Shared Spacehas made a gorgeous-looking chocolate cake with ganache and Ferrero Rocher crumble. Yum.

I don’t know where to start with the array of delicious treats from Jo at Restless Jo.

Ju-Lyn has baked a lovely Wholemeal & Oat Soda Bread — and shared the recipe. She has also shared a link to a really lovely performance by the Singapore Virtual Choir which Ju-Lyn and one of her daughters took part in. You really have to watch this.

Sarah at Art Expedition has baked a delicious blueberry cheesecake (using her last egg), and has served it, with tea, on beautiful crockery.

A Wonderful Sheep has shared my ultimate comfort food — tea, toast and marmalade.

Lois at On Pets and Prisonersis tantalising us with her collection of recipe books. Surely poring over the books is one of the best parts of cooking?

Janet at This, That and the Other Thing really knows her teas — and has paired a yummy pain au chocolat with Mao Feng black tea. I’ve just Googled it and it sounds really interesting.

Punam at Paeansunpluggedblog has made some yummy dried mixed fruit muffins to serve with savoury banana chips and a roasted orange pekoe Darjeeling tea.

Irene at My Slice of Mexico has not only brought the most delicious-looking chocoflan, but also shared the recipe and the science behind how it works. This is such an interesting read.

Aggie at Nomad has made us “a proper brew” — Yorkshire tea. Apparently a controversial choice if you’re Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK.

Amanda at A Home by the Sea has baked a delicious walnut streusel cake.