Herbal Blessing: TEA TIME BOOK CLUB

Today is Read A Book Day and if you love to read plus enjoy a good cup of tea, why not combine the two and form a club with others.

You may be asking what is a Tea Time Book Club?? Basically it’s a group of people who read the same book and get together over tea to discuss it – a great way to fellowship with others! These groups can meet on a regular basis at a local tea bar or in someone’s home and choose to have just a cup of tea, tea & scones or a full afternoon tea.

I am currently in a group that is reading some fabulous books and I have developed a real love of reading for pleasure in the last several months. We primarily read Christian novels and started by reading The Sister Circle – a 4 book series by Moser & Bright, have read another 4 book series by Blackstock & LaHaye, the first of which is titled Seasons Under Heaven, Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury and The Reluctant Prophet by Nancy Rue to name a few and just finished reading Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo.

The tea time portion can be very proper or quite informal and can even be themed based on the location in the book the group is reading. The actual tea and other refreshments could also be a refection of the book each month. It’s all up to the hostess. You can even decorate with teacups which are transformed into candles or flower arrangements! When I host the group, it is casual and we have tea, 2 kinds of scones and fresh fruit.

Here’s my basic scone recipe with a few variations just to get you started:

BASIC SIMPLE SCONES
2c flour
1/3c sugar
1tsp baking powder
1/4tsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt
8Tbs butter
1/2c plain yogurt
1 beaten egg
Place mix in a mixing bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Combine egg and yogurt until well blended, then add to dry ingredients until they are moistened. Knead on floured surface until dough holds together. Divide dough in half, pat each half into a 6” circle ½ inch thick and cut into 6 wedges. Place on greased baking sheet, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 mins or until golden brown.

VARIATIONS: Add the additional ingredients to the course crumb mixture before adding egg and yogurt.

CRANBERRY-ORANGE-PECAN SCONES
1/2c dried cranberries
1/2c chopped pecans
2 tsp grated orange peel

CINNAMON-APPLE-RAISIN SCONES
1/2c raisins
1/2 c shredded apple
1tsp cinnamon

BLUEBERRY CRUMB SCONES
1/2c fresh or dried blueberries
Mix together ¾ c flour, ¼ c brown sugar and 1/8 tsp each cinnamon & nutmeg, then cut in ¼ c butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dough circles and lightly press before cutting into wedges.