Ha hah! This golden gem I only came across today, it’s so beautifully British that it almost made me stand up in and sing “God Save the Queen”! The tea scientist/advisor in the video has such impressive eyebrows, leafy shrubbery eyebrows (what a hottie,pah!) :)
Hmmm what to bake, what to bake? FLAPJACKS! I love the sweet oaten mix and with some spare time on my Saturday night I rummaged around my kitchen for the ingredients. I ended up pulling this recipe off the internet http://www.flapjackrecipe.com/chewy/index.html for a chewy flapjack, weirdly adding a mushed up banana (I can now spell banana thanks to Gwen Stefani… thank you Gwen… thank you) which gives it a really fabadaba taste and texture. I gave in on the whole unhealthy butter and treacle scheme and dropped in some finely chopped apricots which really works. I am definitely serving up flapjacks at the Tea-Totalled Launch Party http://www.wegottickets.com/event/91175 for the gluten free guests. May I also recommend that you check out other yummy recipes from Becca Rothwell (fellow food lover and blogger) http://howtomakeamess.wordpress.com/
May the silliness commence, yes darling Saturday was a lovely day even though I had only £20 to my name. What best way to spend it? Easy pesy lemon squeeze, go to Shoreditch High Street where the paupers of London town are comforted & loved by the area. First me and my bargain princess friend ploughed over to the !!GIANT SCLATER STREET OUTDOOR JUMBLE SALE!! Hosted by East End Thrift Store, a huge car park filled with piles of clothes 85% unorganised but it was 100% thrift jumble sale.
Thank Cathula we were the first in the queue cause the clothes were a variety of dead people hand me downs. HOWEVER I did find a lovely white/blue jumper for winter gear also a super nice rain coat from vogue ELLE! Me and bargain princess friend shared a £10 plastic bag so it only cost £5 each, we could easily fit in 4 jumpers and a heavy raincoat into the bag so it is fair pricing. I did get rather terrifying when attacking the clothes and apologised to the customers of my frantic “raggamungering”, maybe next time could there be less surprise wasps stuck in-between the clothes?
Mildly exhausted we went round the corner to the “Vintage Emporium” cafe www.vintageemporiumcafe.com/.
Opened the door to a great assortment of items and furniture which had been placed incredibly well.
Even the downstairs clothes section was made to feel like Madame Debiour’s bedroom, filled with amazing pill box hats and leather suitcases. But back to tea time, we sat at the front of the cafe in rather happily snug chairs were we shared our tea moment with a rather exhausted dog named “Pan” who lived in the shop. He wasn’t very sociable but when our banana and carrot cake slices came to the table he become more interested in us (cheeky bugger).
We sipped on earl grey whilst listening to the “American” 1940’s countryish tunes, the cafe keeper was chatty and told us that the cake had been homemade on a different site since sadly they didn’t have a kitchen so I recommend if you want to go the Vintage Emporium go earlier than later to get a wider selection of cakes cause they can run out of them. My carrot cake was a bit dry and the water mixture icing was a bad idea for the cake but otherwise the ginger flavouring was a nice touch but the whole cost of tea and cake was only £3.80. Look underneath to view the very many poses of Pan (UK’s American Top Model)
We wandered around and came across a wooden hut in the middle of the street with a tea tray roof! WHAT!
Alrighty it was a clever promotion stunt for “Ella Doran” http://www.elladoran.co.uk/ a design collaborated product shop, in celebration of the London Design week they held a free street party mainly promoting “Family Style Living” book Paumes of Japanese inspired living styles. We munched on delicious rice and seaweed sweet crackers and lemon cake slices, sipped on green tea. I adore Saturdays.
I have consumed a whole pig nearly today and my stomach wants to compete with the sizing of Obelix’s. This eve’s stew knock up of pork cheeks needed to be accompanied with a hefty amount of veg BLURK turn up my little nose at steamed or boiled veg. Right, vegetable draw in the fridge was kind enough to provide me 5 cherry tomatoes, an avocado and a red onion (voilaaaaaa). Then I dragged away from my cupboard a small baby tin of tin puree which I had not touched in the past half year because the miniatureness of the grocery item amuses me so! I have been sipping on passion fruit juice and vodka, by the way it is a innie night and I don’t dare venture into the autumn freeze in my high heels and clutch handbags. NOW you lucky humans of the lazy kitchen I give you my smashed up veggie vegan dish, it is incredibly filling so don’t make too much when you have a spot of meat with it.
Frying pan, chopping board, sharp knife (yes a sharp one since red onions prove to be real tough cookies), bowl, fork (to squish and scope things), wooden spatula you need to arm yourself with.
NEXT approach kitchen and start chopping the whole of the red onion into chunks (balls to chop finely), put the frying pan on the hob at a low heat and put in some cooking oil. Next whish together 1/3 of vinegar and 2/3 of olive oil, one spoon of honey (brown cane sugar for vegans) and one spoon of French mustard; that’s the dressing. Once the oil in the pan sounds like it is making small spitting noises plop in the red onions and occasionally toss them around for 5 minutes, then add half a can of tomato puree. Chop up the cherry tomatoes into quarters, slice open the avocado and scoop and moosh it all into a lumpy puree. Pop in the cherry tomatoes into the frying pan and let the whole thing cook together for another 3 minutes, put in 3 small spoons into the avocado puree. Take the frying pan off the heat and pour the tomatoey contents onto the avocado mush and there’s your bob uncle whatever A MEAL!
Only takes 10 minutes to make you lazy kitcheners so start cooking whenever.
Tea-Totalled loves prizes, winning prizes for sports, winning prizes based on intellectual reflection BUT best we love raffle draw prizes because it don’t depend on anything but chance (destiny to win goodies!). At our party on the Saturday 16th October 2010 we encourage you to take part in our raucous raffle draw in the main dance room and WIN INSTANTLY ON THE SPOT! Nice thing too that it’s a 1 in 5 chance win, and it ONLY costs 50p per pop J CRACK-A-TOE-AAAAAHHHHH
Listing of prizes underneath that you can WIN: (list isn’t complete since a lovely sponsor is sending in some bits and bobs)
Packet of moustaches for all cunning disguises
Large bulb bike horn UBER NOISE
Miniature boules set
Head massager
“The Space Odyssey” DVD
“Deshi” samurai novel
Female and male back scratcher
1950’s rubber washing up gloves
Tuneful Harmonica
Two colourful glass atomizer (why not)
Crazy 1940’s pill box hat beautifully presented in a decorated wooden box
Sea inspired fabric brooch
Wooden travelling mini chess set
“Love” loo paper
Cute tea box filled with Redbush tea
CHE revolution candle
Peruvian women hair clip
Professional Cocktail shaker
Assortment of rubber duckies
Hawaiian celebratory flower necklace
Pretty picture frame
Box of nice smelly stuff
Swiss horn (for calling avalanches)
Pick-a-stick game
Outrageous tartan brooch
Bible gum (for the holy sweet experience)
A baby holding kit… practice makes perfect
Sparkly purple box with unusual Indian women earrings
Wooden chopsticks
A grass man
Shiny pocket mirror
Brush-your-teeth hourglass
Box of aromatic therapy… incense sticks
Rainbow Brighton rock sticks
That enough wins for you? Cause I don’t think I haven’t even listed all of it yet, just need to look properly through the pile soon :) Want to win some of these goodies THEN remember drop in for our tea-inspired club night/party http://www.wegottickets.com/event/91175
You likey Kew Gardens? Pfttt forget about their in house cafes or restaurants (but REALLY enjoy the Eden side gardens). Instead prance off in a Catherine of Argon style to the “Maids of Honour” cafe.
http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/directory/1150/55930.php
I’ve been there for a delicious proper Sunday roast (beef consistent) and was sorely tempted by the afternoon tea but had the historical cake “Maid’s Honour”. The cake is almost like a Tudor cheesecake and nice in a chalky cake way, it can be added with fruit but I would love to test it with an expensive coco melted on the top!
ALERT HISTORICAL FACT: Henry the fatty King of Roses & killer/divorcer was the man who so loved the dish he named it in honour of his maid (wenchy queen) Anne Boleyn after watching her and her ladies munch on some of the tarts… Actually… YUCK! Maid’s honour? This is soundly suspiciously like a women’s maidenhead aka her virginity or the downstairs department! HENRY THE 8TH YOU ARE FLITHY! Oh well at least the cakes taste damn good. Look underneath for recipe and historical blogs on the “Maid’s Honour” tart topic.
http://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/2010/08/24/maid-of-honour-cakes-named-for-anne-boleyn/
http://felicekitchen.blogspot.com/2009/09/maids-of-honour-tarts.html
Ladies never seem to have a problem on dressing up ideas, gents on the other hand… Okay boys, I think it’s time that Tea-Totalled gives you a little helping hand on the topic since recently many of you have been questioning how to dress at the Tea-Totalled launch party. WE WANT TO SEE YOU DRESSED DANDYILY, no trainers or jeans and none of those t-shirts with silly logos like “Johnny just farted in my face” smeared over your chest. What we would love ADORE to see (as well as the other lady guests) is tails, tweeds, crisp shirts, high collars, 1910’s-1940’s inspired male clothing, Sherlock Holmes induced, crazy glasses, fascinating walking canes, bowler & top hats, moustaches, colourful blazers, cravats (preferably red or salmon pink ones), monocles, smoking jackets, flower and feather accessories, Jeeves and Wooster, magnifying glass, white or leather gloves, driving goggles, white scarves, Frank Sinatra (aka the Ratpack), visible stripy socks, trilby hats & straw boater hats, ties and bow ties, waistcoats, golfing knickerbockers, pocket watches, masks… I really REALLY could keep hording out my list now but I am stupid tired, I leave you in the capable hands of my links and photos. Keep it dandy lads 
http://www.costumegallery.com/men.htm
http://www.newsheridanclub.co.uk/about.htm
http://sherlock-holmes-movie.warnerbros.com/dvd/index.html
YES! Thames Festival has come round again to make me devote my weekend to the oddly coloured waters of the ye old river of London. Sprinting down from Canterbury to St Katherine Waters I was taken in by family friends, Greg and Kate, onto their recently London moored ex-customs, Dunkirk warrior narrow tug boat named “The Stork”. A floating wooden construction of my dreams, no really! I want to live in it for the rest of my days! My mother (dressed in the leather jacket) oppted to be the ship’s cat
My mother “da mommy” kindly told me that actually we were attending the festival 1920’s themed opening party… I was garbed in my jeans and grubby converses… most horrified when I realised for once I would be out costumed at a party.
Pah, well got over it and jumped onto a crazy Dutch man’s boat made out of cardboard (YES IT WAS MADE OUT OF CARDBOARD!!!). Filip Jonker this man of attainable possibilities talked to me about his sea worthy cardboard boat which just made him sound more wonderfully crazy. He built his boat to defeat impossibility and so made a waterproofed cardboard boat, then he sailed it over the channel with 5 of his friends on board (you must remember this boat is as big as my bathroom) but due to some necessary air holes which had created for the boat had made the cardboard go soft!
I jumped off the boat to join my mother on the pontoon to attack the bar, drinks sadly were one per person but my floater glass of champs did enough to make me feel all art decoish J After meeting many nice people wearing beautiful orientated 1920’s dinner and sailor outfits we all wandered over to the marquee onshore by the Dickens Inn. A jazz band played in the background whilst my starter stared up at me, a yummy wee crayfish with crab pate and a quaver of bread.
Oysters were added to the centre piece, I quickly offered those up to the others on the table (I am not a big fan of glugging expensive lumpy sea water). Followed by a main of fried sea bass with garlic/pesto mashed potato and a roasted juicy tomato hidden under the fish, I loved the sea bass because it was properly filleted! Pudding consisted of broken biscuit crumbs, whipped cream and strawberries which was lacked in flavour, it needed a wee bit of fruit syrup but rounded off the evening very well. After many gin and cranberry juice mixes me and mum staggered back onto the tube. I did miss out on the SS Atlantic party the next night but my humble evening in St Katherine’s Dock made the Thames Festival into a fantastical weekend.
I was Canterbury bound the other day for work for children’s theatre show, after carting round mountains of cable and other expensive electrical equipment and had only munched on a pathetic marmite sandwich I ventured into the city to find a cupcake before my train left to London town. Canterbury is choked up with tea rooms and millions of charity shops on the weddling old streets, but I found my cupcake central right by the station. In the “Good Shed” a deli barn filled with so many savoury and sweet delights that my brain was slightly comatosed from choice.
http://www.thegoodsshed.net/
I swished over to a lonely table which held only two boxes of cupcakes; one was quickly bought up by an eager mother with her two hungry little monsters. Looked into the box of colours which held 4 little cupcake treasures, beautifully presented for a small price of £4. The cakes brand was “Scoff Cakes” www.scoffcupcakes.com home baked cupcakes from Claire Cumberbirch, the cupcakes are as pretty as Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. Caught my train home on time and settled down on the high speed journey to munch and savour these mini baked delights…. Yes well…. hmmm munch a little more…. I am not really a fan of these cupcakes, the cake was so stodgy and the butter cream on top had hardly any flavour?! The chocolate cupcake one was rather blergh and after one bite pushed it to the side. The lemon cupcake justified itself a bit more by having a inner juicy lemon jam heart in the cupcake. But overall the cupcakes were too filling; cupcakes are to be eaten in a moderate quantity but I could barely even eat one. The cupcakes are presented with charm but taste of disappointment… final verdict.
