Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea! I am so enjoying summer! Fruit is everywhere, and is present always at 2 of 3 meals these days...if not 3! Peaches, Cherries, Apricots, Blueberries, Strawberries...oh my! It's wonderful! I LOVE summer!
We are heading into a heat wave...it's supposed to break records and hit 100 in Seattle this week...amazing!
So an afternoon tea in the sun room on a morning when the marine layer was in to start the day was perfect, because it is hot in there in the afternoon!
I have a butler's tray I set up by my grandmother's Victorian rocker at times for tea, and I decided to use that today with one of my Edwardian English hand made tray cloths I have from her as well.
I am using some pretty blue tansferware teacups by Tuscan China, England that date from 1907-1929...
I love the pretty pattern with the roses and swags...
Tuscan descended from a pottery family of Plants, who entered the trade in the 1782 in various areas around Stoke-on-Trent. The name added a Royal in fron to f Tuscan in the late 1960s, but by 1970 had ceased to operate, over by the Wedgwood Group and operated under Royal Tuscan for a few years in the early 1970s, then ceased again.
If you have followed this blog long, you know that Wedgwood subsequently was acquired/became WWRD or Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton in the great pottery slice and dice as I call it.
Next...in 2015 Fiskars acquired them, and is currently reinventing Wedgwood at least...Tuscan doesn't seem to be in their plans at this point.
I am using some pretty blue tansferware teacups by Tuscan China, England that date from 1907-1929...
I love the pretty pattern with the roses and swags...
Tuscan descended from a pottery family of Plants, who entered the trade in the 1782 in various areas around Stoke-on-Trent. The name added a Royal in fron to f Tuscan in the late 1960s, but by 1970 had ceased to operate, over by the Wedgwood Group and operated under Royal Tuscan for a few years in the early 1970s, then ceased again.
If you have followed this blog long, you know that Wedgwood subsequently was acquired/became WWRD or Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton in the great pottery slice and dice as I call it.
Next...in 2015 Fiskars acquired them, and is currently reinventing Wedgwood at least...Tuscan doesn't seem to be in their plans at this point.
I have my white teapot under the padded hand made tea cozy, I liked the color it added on the gloomy grey morning...it has a matching trivet or mug mat...
The tea cozy made me think of this sugar and creamer, so I added it to my tea tray...
The bone china set was made in the 1950s by Royal Standard, England and the pattern is Englisg Rose. Love the lush red rose!
Royal Standard was a trade name of Chapmans Pottery of Longton, a district of Stoke who operated from 1916 until it was absorbed by Royal Doulton in 1969...then it ceased operations, just before the great Slice & Dice happened, so it technically could be revived by Fiskars, but I doubt it.
I added a favorite English sterling silver pair of sugar tongs so you can drop a cube of Demarara sugar ito your cup...
The sugar tongs are hallmarked for Sheffield, England in 1915 and were made by Henry Atkins, The Atkin Brothers. So cute!
And some spoons to stir your tea...European Alpaka or German silver spoons with a cut out rose pattern handle and gold washed bowl...so pretty! Goes
with the cozy and sugar and creamer!
And of course, our treat for this teatime...Blueberry Crumb Bars....
The Blueberry Crumb Bars recipe is from Angela McRae ...her blog is Tea With Friends
The recipe was in the weekly column she writes in the Coweta Shopper...and it is delicious!!!
The bone china set was made in the 1950s by Royal Standard, England and the pattern is Englisg Rose. Love the lush red rose!
Royal Standard was a trade name of Chapmans Pottery of Longton, a district of Stoke who operated from 1916 until it was absorbed by Royal Doulton in 1969...then it ceased operations, just before the great Slice & Dice happened, so it technically could be revived by Fiskars, but I doubt it.
I added a favorite English sterling silver pair of sugar tongs so you can drop a cube of Demarara sugar ito your cup...
The sugar tongs are hallmarked for Sheffield, England in 1915 and were made by Henry Atkins, The Atkin Brothers. So cute!
And some spoons to stir your tea...European Alpaka or German silver spoons with a cut out rose pattern handle and gold washed bowl...so pretty! Goes
with the cozy and sugar and creamer!
And of course, our treat for this teatime...Blueberry Crumb Bars....
The Blueberry Crumb Bars recipe is from Angela McRae ...her blog is Tea With Friends
The recipe was in the weekly column she writes in the Coweta Shopper...and it is delicious!!!
Blueberry Crumb Bars
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided use
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon water
4 teaspoons cornstarch
4 cups fresh blueberries
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided use
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon water
4 teaspoons cornstarch
4 cups fresh blueberries
Preheat
oven to 375 degrees and prepare a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In
large bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, baking powder, flour and salt. Using a
pastry blender, cut in the butter and egg. Make sure dough has pea-sized crumbs
because you don’t want it to be too smooth. Pour half of dough into pan and pat
down.
In
another large bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, water and
cornstarch. Add blueberries and stir just until the sugar mixture has covered
the berries. Spread blueberry mixture over crust, then top with remaining dough
and smooth. Bake 45 minutes or until top begins to brown. Cool on wire rack and
then cut into squares. Drooling is completely optional
So thanks for joining me for tea! I hope it won't be record breaking heat where you are...we will be hibernating a bit during the heat...it doesn't agree with my husband's Parkinson's Disease!
I will be joining:
Here is the Tuesday Cuppa Tea linky for your tea related
posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are
patient...it's there! I am so looking
forward to visiting you!
I guess we both had blueberries on our minds, Ruth! I so love your Tuscan teacup. It's so a dreamy, romantic pattern. Your blueberry crumble bars look positively scrumptious. Thank you for hosting and hope you stay cool.
ReplyDeleteThe heat is on! I also go into hibernation during hot weather. I like the interior design of your pretty Tuscan teacup, as well as the lovely teapot cozy. Thank you for hosting and enjoy the first week of August!
ReplyDeleteThose Blueberry Crumb Bars look wonderful so I must try them. Even with the Missouri heat, I have baked a lot lately - in fact, I just took brownies from the oven. My son and family drove their travel trailor clear to Seattle all during July and just arrived home. They loved the Puget Sound area. My 11th grade Grandson checked out the University of Washington. This is a very pretty post and a lovely setting - now I must copy your recipe! I am watching Tasha Tudor's Take Joy Christmas DVD to feel cooler!
ReplyDeleteRuth, I hate hot weather! Give me fog and rain any day of the week! Everything is beautiful, but I really like those spoons. My tart, sliced into 16 wedges, is a great afternoon tea savoury, no fork needed. I'll come back Thursday with a banana cake that works well for tea as well. Take care in that heat!
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning post!Gorgeous porcelain,I love the tuscan teacup so dainty and romantic,but also love the red rose pieces!Breath taking!Your dessert looks delicious.Thanks for hosting and have a lovely week!
ReplyDeleteRuth, I like to cut this sheet cake into 1.25- to 1.5-inch squares for afternoon tea - makes several dozen for a large event. They take the place of petits fours.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruth,
ReplyDeleteI like the hot weather but I wish our skies weren't so smokey. Your tea setting today is so lovely. Your Tuscan teacups are gorgeous and your tea cozy and cream and sugar are very pretty. I must try the blueberry crumb bars. They look fantastic! Thank you for hosting Tuesday Cuppa Tea! Have a great weekend! Karen
Ruth, A lovely tea tray. Thanks for sharing the blueberry crumb bar recipe. The perfect time of year for it. Have a great day! Sylvia D.
ReplyDeleteRuth, I love that beautiful blue transferware teacup and saucer! The tray is so pretty as well. I have blueberries in the fridge I need to use and that crumb cake looks so delicious!! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann
What a lovely post! I love blue and white and your recipe looks delightful. We've had lots of rain out this way - not very summery but perfect to cozy up with a cuppa :) Thanks for hosting your Tuesday parties!
ReplyDeleteGreat to read when it's so cold outside right now!
ReplyDelete