♥If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies♥

After spotting these little lovelies from littlecottonrabbits, I am totally positive that I should convince my husband to pursue his childhood dream of becoming an Olympic Knitting Champion. He says that at that stage a “Crochet King” would have worked for him too, but knitting was his THING!

Enough of all this macho woodworking & cooking & baking & fixing things, I say. It’s time to lay down the drill & pick up some needles!

Just until he finished a dozen or so of these cupcake darlings for me

& maybe a little tea cosy or two....

Images:Flickr/ littecottonrabbits

"Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world." - T'ien Yiheng

Although this is perhaps his best known quote & one of the most often used in relation to tea, there is very little known about the man that gave us this wisdom

Different sources give his date of birth circa 1570 to an exact date in 1766

However – whether this was written in the 1600’s or around 1750, his gems on tea was surely born out of the high regard for these leaves, that by all accounts was discovered by his ancestors in 2737 B.C.

• According to legend the second emperor of China, Shen Nung, discovered the swig when tea leaves wafted into his cup of hot water & he savoured the remarkable taste of the amber liquid

(Tea was cited in a Chinese dictionary for the first time as Erh Ya in 350 A.D. )

Admiration for the delicates leaves is almost tangible in this charming quote by Lu Yu, the great Chinese scholar and writer :

“The best quality tea must have creases like the leathern boot of Tartar horsemen,
curl like the dewlap of a mighty bullock,
unfold like a mist rising out of a ravine,
gleam like a lake touched by a zephyr,
and be wet and soft like a fine earth newly swept by rain “

All this has me quite craving a cup of horseman’s’ boot myself now.....

All of us at Three For Tea has our own favourite cuppa.

Earl Gray, green, red cappuccino

But the one we all agree on is Spicy Chai

The word “chai” actually means “tea” in Hindi & Punjabi

The spicy brew that Westeners call Chai tea is actually Masala chai or Spice tea

This milky tea is made by combining loose leaf tea with ½ hot water, ½ hot milk, spices & a sweetener, brought to a near-boil, strained & served

Traditionally black tea & sweeteners such as jaggery / honey was used. Condensed milk sometimes substitutes both the milk & sweetener (works for us!)

The traditional Masala Chai is a strongly spiced beverage brewed with "warm" spices. It mostly incorporates one or more of the following: cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, peppercorns & cloves

The Kashmiri version of chai is brewed with green tea instead of black tea and has a more subtle blend of flavourings: almonds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, sometimes saffron and a pinch of salt

With the wide range of Masala Chai teabags available these days it is really easy (though not quite the same) to quickly brew yourself a cup anytime – there is even a local Rooibos version on the shelves!

It is not quite the same as when made from scratch, but will still give you that fiery milkyness that is just the thing for this bleak July weather

Image: www.tea.co.uk

These pops are essentially cake truffles on a stick and are very simple to prepare: Bake a cake, mush it up with frosting, roll it into balls, insert a stick, and dip it in chocolate! These things really are a hit with kids because they are so fun, but adults seem to enjoy the delicious truffle-like confections equally well.

Want to make some? Go to http://reciperhapsody.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/cake-pops-2/

I Found this delightful idea on www.southafricanfoodies.co.za


"Apple Candles: The next time you have a dinner party, instead of using your normal candles to achieve a cosy atmosphere, try apple candles. Core the apple and place a tea light candle into the hollow opening, the metal around the tea light will prevent the apple from burning and best of all, apples float, which means you can create your very own homemade floating candles."

With South Africa producing wonderful apple varieties such as Fuji, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Royal Gala, Starkimson, Sundower and Red Chief, we should make much more of this bounty
How about baking a Tarte Tatin to celebrate the woody winter smells? Traditionally served warm with double cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, I find the tangy yummy-ness of crème fraîche the perfect partner
The only tricky part is getting the pastry just right – but oh, the fulfilment of slicing through the crunchy top, spooning through the soft, vanilla-baked apples & seeing the caramel making a pond of heavenly liquid gold is worth the effort in 70 fold (& worth the wait while it bakes & your husband stands, spoon-tapping on the kitchen counter, staring at you as if YOU decided on the baking time!)
Come on, try it – you will not be disappointed. And maybe get a surprising gesture from the spoon-tapping loved one...just for trying

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/tartetatin_80584

*Apples makes out 43% of SA’s soft fruit export