Celebrate Mothers Day with Afternoon Tea

It's Mothers Day or Mothering Sunday on 15th March, that's next Sunday!  It's a great opportunity to treat your Mum, but when you are a busy Mum too, it's sometimes nice to let someone else spoil you both.


The good news is that you can treat your mother and/or mother-in-law and yourself to an afternoon tea with these lovely treats from Marks and Spencer.

Daffodil Madeira Cake, all butter sponge filled with buttercream and raspberry jam with soft icing and royal icing flowers - £12.00
*The Daffodil Madeira Cake is soft and moist with a nice layer of buttercream and jam, the icing is very sweet.  The daffodil decoration is delightful and very effective, overall it is a good cake.

A selection of Sweet Treats, milk chocolate coated honeycomb, white chocolate covered strawberries and milk chocolate discs - £9.00
*It is nice to have a slightly different take on a box of chocolates.  I enjoyed the honeycomb covered in chocolate and the white chocolate strawberries have a bit of a zing to them, you can definitely taste the fruit.  The milk chocolate discs are smooth and shiny and the chocolate has a good taste.

All Butter Lemon Shortbread Thins, scrummy lemon shortbread baked in the Scottish Highlands - £3.00
*The shortbread thins have a nice snap to them , the flavour of lemon does not overwhelm the delicate buttery taste.

Mini  Scottish Shortbread Tea Cup, all butter Scottish Shortbread mini rounds in a beautifully decorated cup and saucer - £12.00
* This pretty cup is a good size for tea or coffee and the buttery mini shortbreads are ideal for a little nibble to go along with it.

Simply add a pot of tea, some pretty linen and china and a bunch of flowers and you have everything you need for a relaxed afternoon tea.

Thanks to Marks and Spencer for providing me with these sweet treats for Mothers Day, I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: cake, honeycomb, Marks and Spencer, Mother's Day, shortbread, tea

posted by Janice @ 05:30 16 Comments

Hot Chocolate and Comfort Foods

As autumn becomes winter, a walk on a cold bright day is a real treat.  I'm treating you to a few photographs from my weekend walk as well as some ideas for to warm you up when you get home,


A nice bowl of porridge will do the trick and this Hot and Steamy Porridge from Nature's Path hits the spot.  It's organic and gluten free and comes in three different flavours: original; maple syrup and Spiced Apple.  Add milk or water and either cook on the hob or 70 seconds in the microwave and enjoy a very tasty bowl of porridge. The porridge has a lovely texture and the flavoured sachets don't taste in any way artificial, we enjoyed them all, however the portions are quite small (hubby said he would need two!) but ideal for a healthy snack.



Chilly water, running fast after all the rain we had recently.  Brrr, that does make me feel cold, the ground was muddy and wet too and if I hadn't had my walking boots on my feet might have got cold and wet.
A lovely cup of hot chocolate to warm me right down to the toes! Hans Sloane Drinking Chocolate comes as pure chocolate beads, it melts easily and tastes of real chocolate, because that's what it is.  A packet of Hans Sloane Drinking Chocolate would be a perfect stocking filler or treat yourself to a Hans Sloane Cocoa Pod, a chocolate shell full of drinking chocolate beans, watch the video below to see how much fun it is to make hot chocolate this way.



It's even more fun if you add some mini marshmallows and candy canes to dress up your hot chocolate.


Maybe you would prefer a nice cup of tea.  I've reviewed Tea Vivre teas before (All the tea from China) they are very high quality teas sent direct from China. This time I was invited to an Oolong tasting and have the following teas to tell you about:
Anxi Monkey King (Ma Liu Mie) Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea

• Grown and produced in Anxi, Fujian
• Hand made into small, rolled up, jade colored leaves.
• Pale yellow-green colored tea when brewed
• Delightfully fresh floral taste and aroma

Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong Tea (Flavored)

• Grown and produced in Alishan, Nantou, Taiwan
• Evenly and tightly rolled tea leaves
• Pale yellow-gold tea liquor
• Strong milk fragrance

Taiwan Monkey Picked (Ma Liu Mie) Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea
There is a baked flavor when brewed Monkey Picked Oolong tea, which was ever named Maliumie in China. It is come from Li Mountain, Taizhong, Taiwan, which belongs to the top 10 of Taiwan teas.

Labels: Carolyn Caldicott, China, chocolate, Comfort, Drinking Chocolate, Frances Lincoln, Hans Sloane, Hot Chocolate, Nature's Path, Oolong, review, tea, Tea Vivre

posted by Janice @ 20:36 7 Comments

Peach and Bramble Meringue Slice

At the end of the summer, peaches, nectarines and foraged berries, like blackberries, are sweet and full of flavour.  I'm lucky living on the farm, that I can simply step out of my back door and down our lane to pick some 'brambles'.  Here in Scotland there are not quite enough ready to make jam or jelly, but there were just the right amount to add to a tray baked cake.

It all started with the two egg whites I had left over from another recipe.  I didn't want to make a pavlova or meringues, much though I love them.  I could have frozen the egg whites for another day, but there was no cake in the tin so my thought was to make a cake and top it with meringue.  This recipe is adapted from a plain vanilla tray bake sponge, but I didn't add any milk to the mix as I knew the fruit would add moisture.

Peach and Bramble Meringue Slice
For the cake
2 peaches or nectarines
approximately 75g of blackberries (brambles)
175g butter or soft margarine
225g self-raising flour
1 1/2 level teaspoons baking powder
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the meringue
2 egg whites
100g caster sugar

1. Heat the oven to 180 C, Gas 4.  Grease and line a roasting tin 30 x 22.5 cm.
2. Skin and chop the peaches or nectarines.
3. Place the butter or margarine, flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs and milk together in a large roomy bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes until well blended. Gently fold in the chopped peach or nectarine pieces.
4. Turn the mixture into the tin and smooth the top, press the brambles into the mixture, distributing them evenly across the mixture.
5. Bake for about 35 minutes until the cake has shrunk from the sides of the tin and springs back when pressed in the centre with you fingertips. Don't let it get too dark as you will be returning it to the oven.
6. Turn the oven down to 160C, Gas 3.
7. Place the egg whites in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until they form soft peaks.  Add the sugar a spoon at a time whisking well until all the sugar has been used.
8. Spread the meringue over the cake and bake for 10 minutes until the meringue is firm to the touch and pale golden brown.
9. Leave to cool in the tin and when cold, cut into squares.

The cake is moist and delicious with the sweet fruit pieces adding a soft lusciousness and the meringue a light crispy texture.  You can make the cake without the meringue and it would be almost as good, but the meringue really enhances it. 

I submitted this recipe to The Guardian Cook - Reader's Recipe Swap and was thrilled when it was accepted and published.




I'm entering my Peach and Bramble Meringue Slice for this month's Alpha Bakes which is asking for bakes which include the letter P.  Alphabakes is a monthly challenge run by Caroline Makes and The More than Occasional Baker 

Labels: AlphaBakes, Blackberry, Bramble, cake, meringue, Peach, slice, tea

posted by Janice @ 21:53 18 Comments

Tea and Toast with style!

There are some pieces of kitchen equipment that we simply take for granted.  How often do you boil the kettle?  I know that mine is on many times every day, not just for tea and coffee, but to boil water for vegetables or stock as well.  This Morphy Richards Chroma is a sleek, modern jug kettle in shiny black and silver.  It's fast boil and surprisingly light.

I really loved the lid which isn't the usual hinged type but lifts right out with a ring handle and a good seal around the top.  The cup measurements are really clear on the side too.


The Morphy Richards Chroma 2 slice toaster has good clear controls with a range of heat settings.  It toasted evenly and quickly, great for breakfast toast or a quick snack with cheese.

Both items did the job you expect with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of style and get a big thumbs up from me!

Morphy Richards Chroma Jug Kettle RRP £39.99 (currently with 15% off at Morphy Richards £33.99)
Morphy Richards Chroma 2 slice toaster RRP £39.99

I have a Chroma kettle and toaster to give away (UK only), to enter the competition please answer the questions on the Rafflecopter widget below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Morphy Richards for the kettle and toaster to review, I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.

Many thanks too, to my friend Avril for the use of her kitchen and beautiful Portmerion Pamona crockery as I have major building work going on in my house!

Labels: giveaway, kettle, Morphy Richards, portmerion pamona, review, tea, toast, toaster

posted by Janice @ 09:30 362 Comments

The Cheltenham Five: Part 1 where we eat CAKE!

The best cake plate is an empty one!

The internet is a wonderful place to meet like-minded people and even within the food blogging community you find yourself drawn towards certain people's blogs and certain conversations on Twitter. Some of those conversations were verging on the smutty and so our hashtag #smuts was born.

There are eight of food bloggers who make up the #smuts, Karen of Lavender and Lovage, Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes, Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog, Fiona from London Unattached, Ros of The more than occasional baker, Sue from Heaven on a Plate, Dom from Belleau Kitchen and me!  After many false start discussions and meetings of two or three at various events, we felt it was time we all met together.  As we are flung to the far corners of the UK and France,  we settled on Cheltenham as a reasonable place that was easily accessible by rail.

Early on in our planning we lost one #smut,  as Jac was off to the sun for a well earned holiday.  Then more unavoidable events meant that Dom and Sue both had to call off almost at the last minute. And then there were five...not of all of those present will be featured in this post, Karen and I don't give a damn so you will see a lot of the two of us!  Fiona also features as long as her hair is okay ;-)

Fiona and Karen came up from London on the train together and I met them at Cheltenham Spa station.    After checking into our hotel, we had a bit of a scout around the sales in Cheltenham including Cath Kidston, Radley and Toast. 

We then headed for our rendez-vous with Choclette and Ros at the Well Walk Tea Room,
It's located in  one of Cheltenham's oldest shops and is a real delight, in terms of decor, customer service and the tea itself.



We couldn't resist some scones with jam and cream as they were straight out of the oven!

Bloggers do it with pictures!

Labels: afternoon tea, cake, Cheltenham, cream, jam, Scones, tea, vintage china, Well Walk Tea Room

posted by Janice @ 20:11 9 Comments

What's on Farmersgirl Kitchen Table?

I don't really have a 'kitchen table' as such, I have a light oak counter/breakfast bar in the kitchen and a big dark oak table in the dining room, you will have seen both in my food photos.  However, what I want to share with you today are some products I've been sent to review over the last couple of weeks.

First up are a couple of new additions to the Elizabeth Shaw premium bar range with the introduction of their Connoisseur Bars - Blackberry and Ginger,  Pear and Almond.  There was a bit of a debate between me and my husband about which of these flavours we liked best.  I enjoyed the Blackberry and Ginger which, I felt, captured the earthy flavour of blackberries although I would have preferred more of a ginger taste.  Brian preferred the Pear and Almond which was big on almonds and had a definite pear taste which I found a little too reminiscent of pear drops, but he disagreed.
 The chocolate is 57% cocoa solids so if you are a 70% type of person you might find it a little mild, however it didn't detract from our enjoyment of the chocolate bars though.


After the chocolate, I think it's time for a nice cup of tea and fortunately Whittards asked me to try some of their Green and White teas.

The Whittards story began in 1886 when Walter Whittard opened his first tea and coffee store on London’s Fleet Street.
His philosophy was to always ‘Buy The Best’, sourcing the highest quality teas and coffees from around the world and blending them to his customers’ specifications.
Today – over 125 years later – they still remain true to Walter’s founding philosophy. From one little shop on Fleet Street they continue to grow, sharing their innovative range and specialist knowledge across their UK stores, overseas and online. They are still the blending and tasting experts, offering you something truly unique.
• Whittartds have 130 varieties of tea, and still blend their own teas and infusions, just as Walter did.
• Whittards are one of the few places that will grind freshly roasted coffee beans to your individual tastes.
• Whittards have over 18 varieties of luxurious hot chocolate, tempting chocolate lovers with everything from White Chocolate and Strawberry to Chilli.
• Whittards believe that preparation and serving are all part of the enjoyment. So they sell specialist china, equipment and glassware alongside their drinks.

This is the delightfully pretty Pomegranate White Leaf Tea, (125g for £6.50) it looks like pot pourri and smells a bit like it too!  I was a bit concerned that the flavour would be too sweet, but it is light, fresh and fruity.  A lovely afternoon tea for a pick me up, I think it would also make a great iced tea for a summer day.

The Organic Green Leaf Tea,  (125g, £6.50) has a smaller leaf, a stronger green tea flavour, but none of the harshness that I find you get with green tea bags.

While we enjoyed both the Pomegranate White Tea and the Organic Green Tea, we really fell in love with the River of Clouds Green Tea  (50g, £6.25) the most expensive one, of course!
This is 'proper' green tea, large leaves with a delicate flavour, a drink to be savoured and enjoyed.  Perfect with food or as a refeshing drink at any time.  If you love green or white tea, this is one you should really try.
We have been drinking our tea without milk since we were poor students with no fridge to keep the milk fresh overnight.  I think that has added to our enjoyment of different teas as you really taste only the tea.  Soft Scottish water is also perfect for making tea, although I think coffee probably benefits from harder water.
We were impressed by the quality of these teas and  will certainly be popping into Whittards again to stock up.

Next up I'd like to tell you about Red Candy  a website dedicated to the celebration of red home furnishings and modern interior accessories.  Whether you use red as a subtle accent, or your love of this passionate colour sees it spread throughout your life, RedCandy.co.uk provides for all by stocking the latest, most fantastic and innovative red products & designs from across the world.

With such a large choice of modern red accessories covering collage photo frames, clocks to colanders, mugs to magazine racks, you need not venture any further in your quest to find a complement for your red themed interior, or discover the perfect gift for another that adores this colour.

There are many fun items on the Red Candy website, but I fell in love with this delightful Guzzini Latina resin storage jar with a tight-fitting push on lid (£16.00).  It's designed to sit inside the fridge door, but it won't be seeing the inside of my fridge, it's far too attractive.


The storage jar is perfect for storing anything you want to see, the Pomegranate tea looks great with it's pretty pieces of pink fruit, and the lid keeps it fresh and keeps the fruity smell inside.

Last weekend I used it to store some of the Glamour Cherries featured in my previous blog post, I love the look of the cherries in the jar although they were a nightmare to photograph!

I was rather torn between the clear resin version of the Guzzini Latina  and this all red version (£15.00), which is sold as a coffee jar. Both have the same lovely curvy shape, but in the end I wanted to see what was inside the jar.  I think it may well become a cookie jar, next time I'm making some pretty cookies.

Labels: Blackberry and Ginger, Connoisseur Bars, Elizabeth Shaw, geen tea, Guzzini, Pear and Almond, Red Candy, review, tea, What's on Farmersgirl Kitchen Table?, Whittards

posted by Janice @ 21:52 1 Comments

All the Tea from China

 I can remember drinking Earl Grey with my Mum when I was in my teens and also asking for a pot of chinese tea to drink with a chinese meal we ate on holiday in Torquay.  The first gift my husband gave me was a tin of Gunpowder Green Chinese Tea, so you can see that tea is something I am quite passionate about.


TeaVivre is a company run by a group of tea lovers and aficionados from China, Canada and France, who all share a passion for drinking great tea and appreciate the healthy life style it brings.  They all live in China, and frequently travel through the country visiting China's tea plantations so they can track down only truly exceptional teas.  As a result TeaVivre are able to bring to us the absolute highest quality Chinese teas that are, wherever possible, 100% organically grown and produced.

 I chose to review the green tea sample pack and the black tea sample pack

The green tea sample pack contains two of each of the following teas, beautifully packaged in individual foil sachets inside a larger sealed foil package:

Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea
Organic Tian Mu Mao Feng Green Tea
Organic Hangzhou Tian Mu Qing Ding Green Tea
Superfine Pre-Ming Dragon Well Long Jing Tea
Premium Jasmine Dragon Pearls Green Tea

I tasted the Premium Jasmine Dragon Pearls Green Tea, it had a light clean flavour with just a hint of jasmine, no overpowering floral taste that you can get with some jasmine teas.  I drink my tea black and not strongly brewed, so really enjoyed this delicately flavoured tea.  Here is how TeaVivre describe the tea:

Jasmine “Dragon Pearls” is a deliciously sweet green tea that combines the absolute highest quality green tea with a jasmine aroma and taste. Made from one unopened bud and one small leaf, this tea hand rolled into small balls, which slowly unfurl during brewing, releasing an amazing taste and aroma combination of green tea and sweet jasmine. Brewing a cup of this sweet, fragrant tea only requires a few tiny pearls!


The Black Tea sample pack contains the following teas:

Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea – Golden Tip
Fengqing Dragon Pearl Black Tea
Bailin Gongfu Black Tea
Organic Superfine Keemun Fragrant Black Tea
Lapsang Souchong Smoky Black Tea (Yan Xun Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong)

I am not a huge fan of Lapsang Souchong tea as I usually find it rather overpowering but, after enjoying the Jasmine tea, I thought I would see what the TeaVivre Lapsang Souchong Smoky Black Tea was like. It was a nice surprise to find that the smoky flavour was subtle and the tea had a clean taste, without any real bitterness.  Here is what is said about this tea on the website:

Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong (Lapsang Souchong) used pine wood or pine charcoal from Tongmu kuan in Wuyi mountain as materials. Because black tea has a strong capability of absorption, while pine charcoal will release plenty of smoke when burning. So the Lapsang Souchong, produced by hands and machines, has a heavy flavor of smoked and pine, which is suitable for people who prefer strong flavor.

I'm looking forward to trying more of the tea samples and reviving my taste for exotic tea.  TeaVivre ships to the UK, be sure to change the currency indicator, in the top right of the web page, to GBP to see the prices in sterling.   The Green Tea Assortment costs £7.40 and the Black Tea Assortment is £6.50, shipping costs depend on the weight of the parcel, but start at £2.70.  This might seem expensive but given the outstanding quality of the tea and the fact that you could easily pay that for a bottle of wine, it is really not such a high price to pay. I think any of these teas would be the ideal gift for a tea connoisseur. 

Labels: Black Tea, Chinese Tea, Green Tea, Jasmine Tea, Lapsang Souchong, tea, TeaVivre

posted by Janice @ 22:08 5 Comments

Victory Tea

I brewed up a pot of Victory Tea this afternoon and put it to the test.  I would say it is a good everyday tea, it has a pleasant taste and no bitter aftertaste.  It certainly compared well with our usual Assam and it passed the acid test - the remaining bags went into the tea caddy!

You can get a trial pack of 16 teabags direct from Victory Tea for £1.50; the Superior Box contains 640 teabags and costs £16 and the Victorious Box contains 1600 teabags and costs £30 which works out at £1.50 per 80 teabags.  The more teabags you buy the better value you get.  There's a 'cuppa calculator' which helps you work out how much you can save.  Victory Tea is not a budget brand, the price comparisons are with premium brands, they can make these savings because they sell direct.
And if you want to buy British, Victory Tea is blended and packed in the UK.

Would I buy Victory Tea?  Probably not, and my reasoning is that while we enjoy tea,  we simply don't drink enough  to make it worthwhile.  There is also the issue of storing the tea, however have a look at the website and make up your own mind.

 Disclosure Statement: I received atrial packet of Victory Tea  for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. The prices are correct at time of posting.

Labels: Ringtons, tea, teabags, Victory Tea

posted by Janice @ 10:00 1 Comments