Tea With the Queen

Come along inside... We'll see if tea and
buns can make the world a better place.
~The Wind in the Willow~

Several weeks ago, my good friend, Kathy from Quebec, came for a visit. She is a children's television writer, and she was working on a play at the Banff Centre, a world reknown centre for the arts, which just happens to be up the road from my house. We had just gotten back from a visit to Minneapolis to see my family and since Kathy is like family, it was a joy to have her be in our area for two whole weeks! We had a blast eating, drinking, chatting, and reminiscing. A mutual friend of ours, Kate from Ottawa, who is a theater director, also came to Banff for one week to work with Kathy on her play. The three of us made a point to go to the Banff Springs for High Tea , something I LOVE to do. Who wouldn't love finger sandwiches, piping hot tea, fruit, scones, devonshire cream, chocolate covered strawberries, creme brulee... heaven! And to share it with two friends, priceless. Next to being a guest at a private reading of Kathy's play, which she started 10 years ago, takes place in Tibet, and is AMAZING, tea was the highlight of her visit for me.

Here is a link to some tea time recipes, as well as the complete recipe for rosemary scones from the same site. I plan to make these very soon...

Rosemary Scones

2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 egg
1/3 c. sour milk*

*(To make sour milk add 1 tsp. cider vinegar to 1/3 cup milk)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using two knives, cut in the butter until crumbly. 3. Add rosemary and lemon. Mix. 4. In a separate bowl, blend sour milk and egg until smooth. 5. Stir the two mixtures until dough holds together. 6. Create a ball with the dough and flatten into a circle on the baking sheet. Cut and separate into 8 wedges before baking. 7. Bake 13 minutes or until tops are light brown. Serve hot. Great with soup.