Quillts at the State Fair

There were many beautiful quilts at the fair.

I always love the ones made with vintage or reproduction fabrics.

The Fall/Autumn theme was prevelent

and inspired me to think of the changing of the seasons.

Soon my Fall/Autumn quilt will be hanging over my fireplace.

In the meantime I am just enjoying the last touches

of summer with this beautiful visit to the Oregon State Fair.

Quilt exhibits are a wonderful tradition at the fair.

Do you love a quilt show?

I find the colors and designs a quilt designer chooses enchanting.

Enjoy!

Imagine wrapped in the comfort of a quilt with a cup of tea and a good book.

Yummmmm!

Things Learned

My live-in gardener is very sensitive to caffeine.
He can't have any because it causes him to be dizzy.
We have learned much by watching him react to tea.
Here are the things we have learned.

1. Decaf tea still has caffeine.

2. Eventhough white tea looks pale it has a high content of caffeine.
We went to an afternoon tea this past year and the server insisted he could drink
white tea, she called it a herbal tea.  Frustrating!

3. Chai made from scratch has caffeine.  Chai served from a mix, such as

Starbucks, has been processed to the point that the caffeine has dissipated.
He loves that he can cheat a bit with the boxed chai's,
but he misses a good cup of tea immensely.

How I love a good cup of tea with caffeine,
but also being aware of the caffeine side effects for some people.

Monday's Quotes

We may encounter many defeats,

but we must not be defeated.

~Maya Angelou

Rest and prepare for the week ahead on this Labor Day in the US.

For those of you that go to work each day, blessings be on you.

Photo taken from the car near the Portland Airport as evening sun was setting.

Take a Hike

 Making a plan.

 Do you see the bunny?

 What do you see?

 We found the turtle.

Hiking on a September day, enjoying the outdoors is truly a delight.

Labor Day weekend is the perfect time to go for a hike.

Have a great weekend, dear friends!

Notice what you notice~

State Fair

 The Oregon State Fair is up and running.

Have you been to a state fair recently?

It is still about flowers and home canned food, but on a smaller

scale than I remember as a young girl.

 There were tablescapes too, which many of my tea friends would have enjoyed.

 There was judging for the best from the orchards and gardens.

 Quilts made an appearance in all their beauty.

 I was there as a judge for scones.

A contest sponsored by King Arthur Flour.

If you remember from previous years I have done this along with a couple friends.

Well there ended up being just the two of us judges and 36 entrants.

We have never had so many enter or so many good scones to taste.

We had to read each recipe, taste, and score, not a particularly easy job.

It took us 2 full hours to do this as those that entered waited nearby.

There were two categories:  adult and professional.

We would have loved having children enter, but there were none entered.

In the bottom photo, the shiny scone on the plate was the adult category winner.

It was a wonderful sharp cheddar cheese with a honey glaze.

It was quite delicious and I actually took a second bite just to enjoy.

It was a fun morning, but certainly no lunch was needed after

enjoying scones at the State Fair.

Delicious Plum Conserve

For the month of August plums were everywhere in my world.

I made plum chutney, plum jam, plum cake, plum tart,

a pile of dried plums, but the surprise was plum conserve.

It turned out to be quite delicious.

There was one batch with pecans and another without nuts,

both were good.

So if you ever find yourself with a plethora of plums, here is the recipe.

Plum Conserve from www.food.com

5 cups plums, packed chopped and pitted

3 cups sugar

1 cup orange, peeled seeded and chopped

1 cup raisins

orange rind, from one orange finely sliced

1 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large pot except for pecans.

Bring to a boil stirring till sugar is dissolved.

Cook rapidly almost to the gelling point.

About 15 minutes of a rolling boil while being stirred.

Add pecans cook and stir for 5 more minutes.

Pour into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch head space.

Remove air bubbles.

Adjust the caps.

Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Make sure tops of jars are covered by an inch of water.

Cool at room temperature and store in your cabinet.

Chill after opening and enjoy!

This morning I had it on a toasted English muffin and it was yummy!

It went perfectly with a cup of tea.

Moonlight Becomes Me

When springtime arrives and I begin hearing of the new Darjeeling teas

being picked and processed my mind dreams of moonlight in my cup.

I can hardly wait to receive the new year's pleasures from Darjeeling, India.

This year I ordered three different Moonlights.

I have thoroughly delighted in the tasting of each one.

Today there was a side by side tasting just to see what the differences could be.

Just to let you know the first word in the name is the name of the farm or plantation.

The second word is the name of the tea.

Then there is either a first flush, which is the first picking, or

second flush, which, yes you guessed it, the second picking.

Thurbo Moonlight, 2nd flush 2015, Darjeeling, from Lochan Tea Limited

Maybe I have plums still on my mind, but each of the three

teas did taste a bit plummy to me and the fragrance of each of the

three was just amazing.

This particular tea was darker than the other two and a bit more

carmelly or burnt, my guess is that it was oxidized a bit longer.

Still it was just wonderful and I could highly recommend it.

Castleton Moonlight, 1st flush 2015, Darjeeling, from Thunderbolt Tea.

Of the three teas I am reviewing I felt this tea was a bit more lively,

but the same plummy flavor.  A nice smooth tea and if I had to choose

this was probably my favorite; though I loved them all.

Castleton Moonlight, 2nd flush 2015, Imperial, Darjeeling from Thunderbolt Tea.

Again a delightful plummy flavor, so unique to Darjeeling teas.

I have read that one of the things that makes Darjeeling teas a bit different

is their varietal, it has a smaller leaf and comes originally from China.

A bit longer post, but just wanted to recommend any of these teas to a tea lover,

you really can't go wrong.

If you are interested in buying some for yourself just click on the name of the

companies listed above.
Enjoying Moonlight in my cup this morning.