70TH BIRTHDAY TEA

Celebrating my 70th Birthday all month including this tea party which was prepared

by two teams!!  One team headed by my daughter with the two older girls and another headed by a friend with the two youngest girls.  I had prepped the sandwich fillings in advance and baked the blueberry scones plus lemon curd, but everyone pitched in to put all my favorites together.

SCONES

BLUEBERRY SCONES: Combine 2 c flour, 1/3 c sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda

and1/4 tsp salt in a mixing bowl.  Cut in 8Tbs butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1/2c fresh blueberries. Combine an egg and 1/2c yogurt until well blended, and then add to dry ingredients until they are moistened.  Knead on floured surface until dough holds together. Divide dough in half and pat out each into a 1/2 inch thick circle and cut into 6-8 wedges. Place on greased baking sheet, brush with yogurt and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 mins or until golden brown.

EASY LEMON CURD: Combine zest of 3 lemons and 1/2c fresh lemon juice in a 4-cup microwave safe bowl.  Whisk in 3 eggs, 1c sugar and 1/2c melted butter until well blended. Heat in microwave for 1 minute then whisk again and repeat 3 times so that it has cooked a total of 4 minutes.  The curd will thicken and puff as it cooks. Cover and chill in fridge where it will keep for 1-2 weeks.

SWEETS

The teams made the sweets first  - one team making the chocolate dipped fruit and the other making the banana balls.

BANANA BALLS:  Cut bananas into bite-sized pieces, then dip balls in vanilla yogurt and roll in shredded coconut.  Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED FRUIT SLICES

• green apple slices dipped in chocolate, rolled in crushed peanuts
• mandarin oranges, dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt

SAVORIES

Next was the assembling of the savories.  The teams made two alternatives with each filling - one on bread and one that was gluten free!

CHICKEN CHUTNEY SANDWICHES: Combine 8oz cream cheese, 1/4c chopped green onions & sweet red pepper in a food processor.  Add 1 tsp curry powder, 1tsp Worcestershire sauce, ½ of a 9oz jar Mango chutney, 1/4c toasted sliced almonds and 1 c cooked chicken.  Spread between slices of cinnamon raisin bread, trim crust and cut into 4 triangles or stuff mini peppers cut in half.

CUCUMBER TEA SANDWICHES: Core, peel and finely chop a cucumber then add salt and place in a strainer overnight to remove as much liquid as possible. Blend 8oz cream cheese, 1 chopped green onion and 1Tbs fresh dill. Add chopped cucumber, salt and pepper. Place on bread rounds or cucumber slices.  Garnish with fresh dill.

EGG-OLIVE TEA SANDWICHES: Hard boil 6 eggs, shell and cool.  Chop the eggs and combine with 1/4c mayonnaise, 1tsp Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.  Add 10 chopped stuffed green olives. Spread between slices of multi grain bread, trim crust and cut into 4 triangles, or place in hard boiled egg half.  Garnish with paprika.

Finally we all enjoyed the fruits of their labor served buffet style together with two caffeine free teas - Honey-Bos (50-50 blend of Honeybush and Rooibos) and Wild Maine Blueberry (an all-natural tea my daughter brought back from their 20th Anniversary Trip).

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, 

for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”

I Corinthians 10:31