Literary Tea Party

[omly]

Tab's class had a tea party friday, to which both my mom and I went. The kids read their autobiographies, at least through the ~7 years they have had so far. I was slightly concerned as I had had no questions about when she was a baby; it was fine though. I was really impressed by what a diverse class she has. Some are adopted. They are of different ethnicities and religions. There is even one child of a same sex couple. Although I didn't realize the extent of the diversity in her class before, I find it interesting that she takes it so in stride that it isn't something that would occur to her to mention.

Blueberry Lemon Scones

• 2 c flour, plus some for counter
  
• 3 tbsp sugar
  
• 1 tbsp baking powder
  
• 0.5 tsp salt
  
• 5 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into 0.25" cubes
  
• 1 c blueberries
  
• 1 c heavy cream
  
• zest of a small lemon

1. Preheat to 450*F. Cut the butter, sugar, flour, lemon, salt and baking powder until grains are small like coarse cornmeal with the occasional larger lump. (This lat step can also be done by pulsing in a food processor.)
   
2. Add blueberries and mix by hand to distribute. Stir in cream just until dough starts to form, ~30 seconds.
   
3. Turn contents of bowl out onto a floured counter and knead until it forms a rough slightly sticky ball, <30 seconds.
4. Squish into a a circle (or 2 smaller ones for mini scones) ~1" thick. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Place on a cookie sheet. (I also use parchment paper for easy clean up.)
   
5. Bake 12-15 minutes (10-12 minutes for the mini scones) until scone tops rae light brown. Cool at least 10 minutes, resisting the temptation to eat hot out of the oven. They are really have a better texture that way.

Sweet Tea (makes 2.5 quarts)

• 8 tea bags
  
• 1.5 quarts cool water
  
• 1.5 quarts ice, measured as cubes in a measuring cup (more will be needed to serve if desired)
  
• juice of half a lemon
  
• 1.5 c sugar
  
• 1 c hot water

1. Simmer hot water and sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar has completely dissolved and mixture has slightly thickened, ~ 5 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator until cool. (If you do this as stated it will take slightly less than 20 minutes if you put it where the cold air comes down in your fridge. Think about the milk in Cryptonomicon. However this will also decrease the efficiency of your refrigerator, perhaps allowing somethings to get warmer than you would like for a while. You can compromise and let cool on the counter then move to fridge after it gets to about room temperature.)
   
2. Combine tea bags and cool water in a nonreactive saucepan and allow to heat until the tea is very steamy and bubbles begin to form along sides of pan. (I also use a thermometer to make sure it stays at about 190*F/90*C, but not higher as it will make the tea bitter.) Keep on heat for 10-15 minutes.
   
3. Remove from heat and let steep 3 minutes more. Remove and discard tea bags (great for composting) and pour into a pitcher.
   
4. Stir in sugar syrup (you can add it slowly if you want to control sweetness, I just dump it in) and then ice, stirring until melted. Depending on to your taste, you may want to dilute down further. With crappy/cheap tea I sometimes brew stronger and dilute to 3 quarts final.