There is a sense of excitement seeing the first sprouts of seedlings pop out from the soil that makes you feel like a parent. Every day I walk out to check on the progress and water especially if it’s been a dry day, except lately Mother Nature has been lending her helping hand. When it’s raining, I tend to stare down at the patio and sing, “Drink up me hearties yo ho!”
Have I become “that” person?
I’m horrible at creating recipes; I’m a, “little bit of this and a little bit of that,” cook that even changes things up while trying to be precise. I need help!
In moving forward with some food related projects this year, creating more recipes for the blog, e-books, and going back to school for holistic nutrition, I’m looking to create a little group of people willing to be recipe testers for Tea with Me. It’s nice having the hospital staff exuberant about taste testing when my Mum brings samples to work, but I’m in need of real people willing to actually cook the recipe with their mind and taste buds.
Recipe testing involves documenting your thoughts on taste, texture, and presentation; as well as making suggestions for retesting and the instructions.
Interested in helping out? Please fill out the following form and I’ll get back to you. Thanks in advance!
In a quaint little white heritage house in Abbotsford with Victorian decorations that are nicely balanced between whimsical and modern, is Serendipitea. Entering makes me feel like I’m walking into a neighbourhood secret, especially on days with the farmers market; the street also hosts a couple of unique stores and a cupcakery. This Monday was a perfect spring afternoon to share a Mother’s Day outing with my Mother and Grandma.
Not only a perfect outing for family, but a perfect day for herbal tea, we ordered Lavender Sunset and Pink Grapefruit; my grandma not being a tea person ordered hot water and lemon. The tea selection here is varied, but not too much to feel overwhelmed and not tiny to not find a choice. The one downside was our server, if you’re going to work at a tea place, please take time to know the tea menu so you can at least recommend a few teas; even it’s another person’s recommendation. I would hope that people coming in would know the difference between black and herbal teas already. For example, my Mother ordered the Lavender Sunset, a tea that primarily uses spearmint which was unknown to either of us, until another lady pointed it out.
The food is exquisite and right on par for an afternoon tea. After becoming primal I’ve eaten a couple of dry scones so I’m wary of them, but these were light and buttery piled high with Devonshire cream and jam. (They get extra bonus points in my book for having Devonshire cream instead of regular!) I’m a bit of a stickler for service though and because I love my food, I want to know what I’m eating. We’re all accustomed to knowing what an egg salad sandwich looks like, but walking us through the tiers gives that extra step of customer service that shows how attentive a place is and treats us like one of your friends. Unless I wanted to surprise someone, like giving a non-primal eater a bowl of mashed cauliflower in replacement of potatoes, I wouldn’t give a guest a plate of food without some explanation.
All in all, Serendipitea is a great place to come for afternoon tea – delicious food in a light and airy décor; perfect for a little drive under blue skies with windows down out to Abbotsford, unless you’re lucky enough to live out there already.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Sometimes I wonder what I got myself into when I’m already half way deep into the problem or in this case half way kneeling with dirt under my nails and weeds left right and center. You see somewhere in the middle of Vancouver’s winter full of grey skies and rain, I thought it would be cool to turn the backyard gardens into vegetable patches. Cue the moment where I can hear my Dad snicker at the idea when he reads this post. I remember the only real moment of “gardening” I had as a child, was when I was asked to pick out rocks and getting a penny for each one I collected. I’ve had no inclination to garden growing up and despite being able to pick up a worm; pill bugs freak the hell out of me. Don’t ask …
So somewhere I got it into my mind while reading hunting and building your own larder books I decided I needed to get down and dirty, taking the plunge to actually grow my own vegetable garden. I’ll keep everyone posted on my progress, turning these lovely pictures into a backyard of dreams. All I can do is cross my fingers in hope!
Do you have a green thumb and have tips or stories of your gardening adventures? I would love for you to share! My backyard is south facing and as you can guess that white wall and cement area gets ridiculous heat throughout the day. The south fence practically gets shade the entire day. Help!
