A ROSE THEME for "Tea In The Garden"

 This summer one side of my garden is 6 years old. I dug the left side out in 2008.   The right side is 5 years old and the middle where the sides join is 4 years old.  This is the fullest it has ever been and I am happy for that.  You know the fuller it is - the more it holds moisture in the ground.

  I am also seeing my rose bushes coming up after pruning off all the dead this spring.  There was a lot of dead but soon they will bloom. I have made some classic mistakes over pruning my clematis in the past but the one I left alone has really taken off with blooms.  Don't I sound silly.

  So many bloggers have glorious gardens and I have just a little one where I am learning by my mistakes but I do love it!  So I am celebrating my garden today!  For a working

woman it is just the right size.

 I have brought a bunch of teacups outside with a rose theme just so you could pick the one one you would like to use!  I have also baked some special Blueberry Muffins.  The muffins are hiding under a shoo fly cover I recently found.  Please help yourself and you can bake your own too.

  The recipe is HERE at the Food Librarian site.  They are easy to make. 

Those of you who are familiar with my blog know how I love vintage linens.  The table topper is just what was left from a bedspread out of which I made pillows.

What a lovely summer we are now having.

I hope your week is delightful.

APPLE TEA COFFEE CAKE

Last week while visiting my elderly parents, I came across a brochure my Mom had gotten in the 1980's.   It was from the Lipton Tea Company and included 6 recipes with tea in them.  Some of you will remember how we often wrote away for free recipes - before internet days!   If you go to the Lipton Website they have quite a few recipes - although many don't necessarily contain tea but are foods to accompany tea.

Here's one of the recipes from the brochure:

APPLE TEA COFFEE CAKE:

You will need:  2 cups boiling water, 4 teabags, 1 tart apple, peeled, cored and chopped, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 12 tablespoons butter, softened, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping: 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 3 Tb cold butter cut into pieces and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a med. bowl, pour boiling water over tea bags and brew 5 minutes.  Remove tea bags and stir in the chopped apple and 1/4 cup of the sugar.   Let stand for 1 hour and then remove the apples. Reserve 1/4 cup of the tea liquid.

In another med bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda, set aside.

In a larger bowl, mix butter and sugar until blended, adding eggs, sour cream and the 1/4 cup of tea liquid and vanilla.  Gradually beat in flour mixture and apples. Turn into a greased 9" spring form pan.  Top with crumb topping and bake for 1 hour.  Cool before removing from pan.    Serves 10