Faith Family Friends

Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Monday 22 September 2014

An Autumn Tea


“Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they're falling like they're falling in love with the ground." ~ Andrea Gibson


Welcome to my Autumn Tea, dear friends!

The leaves are changing and many have already dried up and fallen to the ground thanks to Hurricane Arthur back in the summertime. 


The word is that the trees won't be as pretty this year because of the damage done. The photo above was taken last year on one of the trails not far from our home. 

I have set my Tea out on the dining room table and I have layered a pale peach tablecloth beneath a lace one. A few pumpkins decorate the table instead of the usual floral arrangement. 



These little pumpkins I have added some gold metallic paint to as well as some glitter and rhinestones. 



The table is set with a mix of patterns which is how I envision this new season. The teapot is made by Ganz called Bella Casa.



The plate on which the teapot rests is The Friendly Village made by Johnson Bros. of England.

My pretty peach teacup is Royal Chelsea bone china made in England.



This teacup is brown transferware made by J&G Meakin of England called Romantic England which I found at a second hand shop this summer. Have I ever told you how much I love transferware?? I adore the pastoral scenes found on transferware and china! It suits this old-fashioned girl to a T-ea as I find them simply charming.



The matching bowl is also Romantic England by J&G Meakin which I found years ago at a thrift shop. Now I have a set. I think the bowl cost me something like a dollar. It will hold the whipped cream today.



And this is a set of two bowls made by Johnson Bros. called The Road Home. They too were found at an antique shop.


Muted coloured leaves as well as golden hues mixed with a little frost because Jack Frost has been paying us a visit overnight more often now.



"It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life." ~ PD James {Victoria magazine}

Gingerbread cake is my tea treat today. It smelled so good coming out of the oven and filled my home with a spicy scent. There is a bowl of whipped cream and a jug of Vinegar Sauce to have with your cake if you wish. I don't have it on the table but a nice home made apple sauce would be lovely with your gingerbread too.



The vinegar sauce is my grandmother's recipe and this is her recipe book which she started in school when she was just a girl. It's almost 100 years old. 


I shared her recipe book once before here. It is very fragile having been used many times over the years and I am thankful to have it! You can see the pages are all soiled and very delicate from her many years of baking. She was a fabulous cook!  

This is my Granny's own handwriting.



This is the sauce my mother always served on her gingerbread when I was growing up. It may not sound very appealing, but believe me when I say, it really is delicious! It adds a sweet zip to your dessert. I hope you will try it and let me know what you think.

Here is the recipe:

Vinegar Sauce
1-1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
vinegar to taste; I use about 3 Tbsp.
1 Tbsp flour with 1 Tbsp melted butter mixed together.
Method
Boil 1-1/2 cups of water. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the flour to make a roux. Add the sugar and boiling water a little at a time while stirring constantly. Add the vinegar and then boil. Serve over hot gingerbread.

Cuppa tea anyone?



Whipped cream or Vinegar Sauce?




Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage. Okakura Kakuzō



It's always such a pleasure to have you join me for Tea Time. I would love to see your teacups or coffee cups, your teapots or coffee pots, tablescapes, visits to a tea room, or a new tea you may have discovered. I welcome recipes too. Please link up below and I will be happy to visit you. Have a beautiful day, dear friends.


You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! ~ Isaiah 26:3 


I am joining the following parties as well~

A Return to Loveliness
 Tea Cup Tuesday
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Share Your Cup Thursday
Home Sweet Home


Sharing from my heart~ Sandi