BREAKFAST TEAS

Have you ever had one of those nights when you’re laying in bed and your head becomes full of the most bizarre, unrelated thoughts.  As hard as you try to toss them aside, you can’t.  Those thoughts just keep coming back into your consciousness … rolling around and around and around.  Well, that’s exactly what happened to me last night.  And, for some reason, the subject was breakfast teas.  Yes, I know … bizarre!   English Breakfast and Scottish Breakfast to be exact.

What kept occurring to me was, “why do they exist?”  Although I’ve traveled through all the wonderful countries of Great Britain, never have I seen (except in grocery stores), been offered or served a “breakfast tea”.  I’ve been served PG Tips, Yorkshire Gold, Barry’s, Twining’s, A&P, Tetley and a variety of unknown bagged teas.  I’ve also been served, on one occasion, a very nice Ceylon.  But never anything for breakfast called “breakfast tea” whether it’s from England, Scotland, Ireland or Wales. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist or aren’t being sold in grocery stores.  Barry’s now has an English Breakfast and Taylor’s even has a Scottish Breakfast.

Here in the States, however, many tea drinkers think you need to start the day with a breakfast tea … most often, English Breakfast, but, of course, if you are a “real tea drinker” then it’s Irish Breakfast.  Why would all of this be running around in my head at 3am?  I don’t know.  But the more I tried to put it away, the more I tried to understand it.

As a tea retailer, my English Breakfast tea … a bright blend of assertive Ceylon and hearty Assam with a burgundy-like Keemun … was by far my most popular seller until that is, customers started asking for something stronger.  They needed a tea that packed the punch of a cuppa coffee … something that would stand up better to milk and sugar.   Knowing that Barry’s packed a punch, I created a tea much like it … a rich, dark blend of high-quality CTC (cut, torn and curled) malty Assams … Irish Breakfast it was!  And it was a huge hit.  But now other customers said it was too assertive, too rich, too dark.  You cannot please everyone, I guess, so back to the blending table.

I felt like Goldilocks and the Three Bears … if the Daddy Bear Irish Breakfast was too strong, and the Baby Bear English Breakfast was too weak, then we needed a Momma Bear.  How about … Scottish Breakfast!

Scottish Breakfast became an even bigger success than English or Irish.  Every customer loved it.  A blend of orthodox full-bodied Assams with just a hint of Ceylons, it struck the right balance between the two.  It held its own with milk and sugar, or dark right from the pot.  It was such a success that orders for 2, 3 and 5 lbs. were coming in continuously.  Customers didn’t want to run out.  Even today, although I’ve closed up shop, I still get requests for “Scottish Breakfast” tea.

But the question still remains unanswered.  With more than 3500 varieties of teas available including Assams, Keemuns, Ceylons, Yunnans, Darjeelings, white teas, green teas, pu-erhs and oolongs, teas from countries all over the world, China, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Nepal, Kenya, Japan, then why are breakfast teas still so much in demand here in the States?

And as I sit here this morning enjoying a delicate cup of fragrant, light  Silver Needles with its hint of sweetness, this question remains unanswered and still continues to run through my head.

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(MOCK) APPLE STRUDEL

I am continuing in what appears to be my “mock apple” series of desserts.  Yes, this uses zucchini and, yes, no one will ever know.  From all appearances this is a classic strudel, rich, fruity and delicious.  It just doesn’t have apples in it … which actually makes it more fool proof.  One of the problems I have with making apple desserts, such as strudels or turnovers, is that the apples can sometimes cook down too quickly and become mushy, making for ‘soggy bottoms’.  Zucchini stays firm for that right amount of crunch.

If you are still picking zucchini from your garden at the end of September, as I am, please give this recipe a try.  I know its a bit time consuming, but well worth it!   So, gather all your ingredients and prepare to make something your friends and family will be wow’d by!!

MOCK APPLE STRUDEL
6 cups zucchini – peeled and diced
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups fresh bread crumbs (not packaged seasoned)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg, separated (white only)
1 package frozen puff pastry dough, thawed

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 400°.  The strudel bakes for 30 minutes or til golden brown and cooked through.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add the peeled, chopped zucchini.  Add the lemon juice, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Cook til softened – about 15 minutes.  It will bubble up and appear very syrupy, add the cornstarch and continue cooking until very thick – about 5 more minutes.  Remove from the heat and add the raisins.  Set aside while you toast the bread crumbs.

Using old stale bread, toss it into your food processor or blender and shred it up.  You’ll need about 2 cups of bread crumbs.  In a saute pan, melt a half stick of butter (1/2 cup) and then add the bread crumbs.  Toast lightly til brown but not burnt.  Then set those aside.


From the frig, get a package of thawed puff pastry dough.  On a floured board, roll out one sheet of puff pastry until its  v-e-r-y  thin.  Yes, thinner than you think it can handle.  It won’t break apart.  Keep flouring and moving the pastry sheet around so that you can work with it.  I was able to get it 25″ long.  How about you?

Now working from about 3″ in from the long edge, spread the cooled, toasted bread crumbs, about 4″ or 5″ wide.   On top of the bread crumbs, sprinkle the chopped walnuts.  On top of the bread crumb/walnut mixture, drop spoonfuls of the thickened zucchini/raisin mixture.  Spread it out as smoothly and evenly as possible.

Now comes the fun part.  Pull the 3″ swath of pastry that you left without filling, up over the filling.  Press down.  Don’t be afraid.  It will work.  Fold each side in and over the filling – about 1″ or less.  Now put your hands under the filling (which has been rolled once) and roll that over onto the pastry.  Press down.  Now do it again.  You should be able to roll the pastry at least three times, resulting in a long, cylinder of filled pastry.

Lightly beat the egg white and brush it onto the open edge to seal everything.  Press it into the pastry roll tightly.  You don’t want anything leaking out.

Carefully pick up the strudel and lay it onto the parchment paper.  Don’t be alarmed if your strudel doesn’t fit onto your pan.  Forming a horseshoe shape is traditional.  Brush the top with the remaining egg white.  Put the strudel into the refrigerator to cool while you preheat the oven to 400°.

When the oven is ready, put the strudel into the center of the oven to bake – approximately 30 minutes.  Check it quickly at 20 minutes to make sure its baking evenly.  Turning the pan may be necessary for even baking.

When baked, cool the strudel on a baking rack.  It may be necessary to use two spatulas to lift it.  I know you’ll want to dive right in, but let it cool a bit.  Trim off the end pieces and then serve it up … warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!   Rich, fruity, flaky … this is delicious!!!

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HIGHLAND GAMES

The Highland Games and Festival has been taking place in New Hampshire for 42 years.  We’ve been in New Hampshire for 24 years … and this was our first visit.  Why we haven’t made it a point to attend before I’m really not quite sure.  Could have been the fact that I was working most weekends.  But, we finally made it.  And, it was fantastic!

One of the  countries largest Scottish festivals, this three-day event, held at the base of Loon Mountain in New Hampshire, attracted visitors from, not only all over the country, but from all over the world (well, the U.K. mostly).   From the sheep dog trials, the whisky tastings, Ceilidh (pronounced ‘kay-lee’) dancing, caber tossing and hammer throws, to the fiddle contests, traditional foods, crafts and music, it did not disappoint.

Tossing the Caber

The highlights for us were the ‘heavy lifting’ games.  These ‘games’ … caber tossing, hammer throws, dead lifts, shot put … are, after all, the reason for the festival.  And Hafthor* was there to participate and break world records.  Who is Hafthor* you are asking?  Honestly, I had no idea either, but he was impressive … not only throwing cabers and tossing hammers, but lifting a car – with four men in it!  This event gave new meaning to the image of “men in skirts”.

The Highland Games and Festival has been held in New Hampshire for 42 years, but the oldest of the Highland Games are believed to be the Ceres Games of Fife which began in Scotland in 1314.  Although competitive games can be traced back to Greece more than 1,000 years B.C., Scottish games are very specific.  They focus solely on strength and stamina, designed to test the endurance of Scottish warriors.  Clan leaders needed to keep their men sharp and ready for battle.  They would build their strength using simple, easily found objects.  A tree trunk would be made into a pole or wooden beam called a “caber”, to be thrown end over end as far as possible.  Heavy, smooth rocks would be gathered from river beds and would be used to lift and throw.  Lead weights would be tossed underhand over a bar more than twice as high as the athlete.  Each event would be assigned points and the competitor who accumulated the most points would, of course, be the Champion.

Highland Sword Dance

I don’t think anything captures the spirit of the Scottish culture more than Highland dancing though.  Dancing was not only enjoyed by men and women at celebrations and feasts, it was also a form of practice for battle.  Warriors needed to be fast and light on their feet.  Imagine the wailing cry of the bagpipes in the background on a cold, damp battlefield as the warriors quickly and silently pounced on their enemy.  Let’s also imagine that same cold, damp battlefield at night … dancing must have been a great way to keep warm around the fire.

As the men focused on competing in games of strength, women began participating in pipe and fiddling contests and the Highland dance competitions.  These ritualistic solo dances have, for so many Scottish migrants around the world, become an obsession.  Of the most famous of these competitive dances, such as the Highland Fling, the Sailors Hornpipe and the Reel of Tulloch, I believe, is the Highland Sword Dance, which depicts the defeat of the enemy with one sword crossed over the other.  If a dancer touches the sword, they are disqualified.

Photo credit to Pam Sullivan

Today, however, women can and do participate in the heavy lifting events.  Shannon Hartnett broke the gender barrier by convincing organizers to allow women to compete in the heavy lifting events, although only against other women.  Hartnett won every competition she entered.

As are shortbread,”Auld Lang Syne”, Scottish bagpipes, kilts and whisky, the Highland Games are a Scottish icon.  The event was great fun, but more than that, it showcased the strength, dignity and pride of a culture that celebrates traditions which transcends time.  You may never get the opportunity to visit Scotland (and I hope you do), but if possible, make the time to visit New Hampshire next September.

The Highland Games and Festival has been held at Loon Mountain for 42 years and you can be sure we won’t miss another one!  It was fantastic!

 

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References:  Wikipedia, Caber, Highland Sword Dance, Scotland Traditions, Historic UK 

* Hafthor … Hafþór Júlíus “Thor” Björnsson is an Icelandic professional strongman, actor, and former professional basketball player. He plays Ser Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane in the HBO series Game of Thrones.
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