In 2013
We welcomed Spring with this!
Eight inches or so of snow on that first day of Spring
In 2015
the week leading up to Spring was warm, unseasonably warm
but on Thursday -- the Eve of the Spring Equinox
it turned colder and rainy
But on March 20, the sun came out and it warmed up
And we celebrated!
With tea in the garden
The first garden tea of 2015!
A simple tea of strawberry madeleines
for to us Spring signifies strawberries
(although Prairie strawberries aren't ready till May)
the silver pot
and the best blue and white tea ware
(Spode Camilla)
because it was a celebratory tea!
Madeleines filled with strawberry puree
and sprinkled with powdered sugar
And a few strawberries on the plate
Just because!
Tea in the garden
On the prairie
On the first day of Spring!
The first of many garden teas this year!
The madeleines are good and simple!
STRAWBERRY MADELEINES
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1 t. lemon zest
1/2 c. strawberry puree (1 cup strawberries with 1 T. sugar whizzed in a blender)
9 T. butter, melted and cooled
red food color (optional)
1/2 t. strawberry flavor (optional)
Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 12 whole madeleine pans with butter or non stick spray. (Or you can use mini muffin pans or muffin tins)
Mix flour, baking powder and salt together and keep aside.
In a bowl of the mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar with the lemon zest. Once the sugar is fragrant, add the eggs and beat until light and ribbon like, about 5 to 8 minutes. Fold in the flour, a little bit at a time. Add the melted butter and mix until well combined. Add the strawberry puree, flavoring and coloring (if using) and mix gently until well combined.
Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Remove from the fridge after 30 minutes. Drop by spoonfuls into the madeleine pans. Place in the center of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until madeleines and risen and firm. Cool on a wire rack and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
It's Tuesday and I'm sharing my tea with Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea Time Tuesday and friend Bernideen for Friends Sharing Tea
7 comments:
Lucky you to have tea in the garden. I could have had tea on the balcony today if I had wanted to compete with road work. Just didn't seem like the right thing to do! Ha! Love your blue and white Spode and the strawberries ... yum! Happy Tea Day!
How lovely to have tea in the garden already. Our first day of Spring looked more like yours in 2013. You wouldn't believe the snow in my front yard! There are only a few inches between the bottom of the bird feeder {which hangs in our maple tree} and the top of the snow.
I do love your Spode Camilla. Yes, the teas and dinners at Downton are so much fun to watch. Even my hubby is noticing the china and he will say to me, "See, what you're doing to me?" I just laugh because he enjoys the show as much as I do. Thank you for joining me for tea today.
Blessings,
Sandi
How very lucky to be able to have tea in the garden. It is still too cold here though the snow finally left. Your blue and white Spode is so special!
Happy Spring, Martha! What a lovely garden tea setting. I'd love to sample one of your strawberry madelines.
Isn't that crazy how snow is literally here one day and gone the next?
Your garden is so wonderful looking, love all of those bricks and fencing. I'm so glad you always share your recipes with us, I'm always thinking "hmmm, I wonder how you make those" and then lo and behold there's the recipe!
Thanks for sharing!
Have a wonderful week!
Gina
Just love that blue plate with the strawberries and goodies on it. So beautiful. The colors just captured my attention. Happy you could do a tea outdoors.
What a lovely celebratory tea! Your garden looks enchanting even without blooms. I'm a sucker for brick pathways ;)
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