Simply relax ...

The Silver Needle Murder is a solid addition to the tea shop mystery series by Laura Childs. Although I figured out who did it fairly early into it, I did not find guessing distracted from my enjoyment. I read this series more for the descriptions of Charleston and the wonderful food served at the Indigo Tea Shop as well as the interaction between Theo, Drayton, and Haley. You sometimes wonder how they manage to run that tea shop and have a finger in every pot of Charleston activities!

Here's more books from the series :-)









ENJOY!! I always do :-)

Pumpkin and Prune Tea Bread

makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 scant tsp ground clove
1 generous tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg (freshly ground if you can)
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
zest of 1/2 orange
16 ounces pumpkin puree
12 prunes steeped in Mighty Leaf Orange Dulce tea (or any other orange-black tea)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour two loaf pans.
Sift flour, baking soda, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Combine sugar and oil and beat with a handmixer or in a stand mixer for about 2 minutes, until well combined and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating all the while, 3 to 5 minutes in total. Add pumpkin, and orange zest and beat one minute more.
Add flour mixture in 3 additions. Once mixed, divide batter between the two loaf pans.
Drain prunes. Without drying, add the prunes to the top of the breads. Make sure to bruise them up a little (without pulling them to pieces) so the juice runs out and into the batter.
Bake for 60-70 minutes, checking that a toothpick comes out clean when done.

Butterscotch Breakfast Buns

A sweet yet savoury bun, perfect for a quick breakfast.

Ingredients:
3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of rolled oats
2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 cups of Pu Erh tea, lukewarm
1 tbsp yeast
1 oz of honey
1 oz of olive oil
1 oz of dried milk powder
Zest of 3 lemons
1 cup of sugar
1 cup water
1 stick of butter, in chunks

Directions:
Brew tea and allow to cool to a slightly warm temperature, then add yeast and let sit for 10 minutes (if the tea is too hot it will kill the yeast!).
Mix flour, oats, and salt.
Add the tea/yeast mixture, honey, olive oil, milk powder and zest. Work into a dough and knead until it is smooth.
Place the dough in a well oiled bowl and cover for one hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In an oven proof skillet, add the water and sugar and bring to a boil without stirring.
When the sugar reaches a golden brown colour, whisk in the butter until smooth.
Roll the dough into a log and cut into 12 buns. Place the buns into the butterscotch sauce in the pan.
Place the skillet into the oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
Enjoy!