September 2024 – A is for Apple
Apples hold a place deep in my heart. Autumn in Apple City (Watsonville‘s nickname from the early part of the late 1800s to the 1970s) isn’t the riot of flame-toned umbers and scarlets of the archetypal autumn of New England. We knew autumn had arrived when we saw the farmworkers in the apple orchards, picking. […]
August 2024 – Cheesecake
Above: lemon cheesecake, garnished with lemon slices, blossoms, and leaves, with edible nigella flowers Two of my oldest friends, separately, in the last month, asked me if I baked cheesecake. This stung me to the very heart as I consider myself to be an excellent cheesecake baker, from way, way back. As a kid, I […]
July 2024 – Early Morning Tea in the Gazebo with a Side of Thoughts on Pretty Things
Working in historic bed and breakfast inns left deep impressions on both Suzi and me. We had always loved pretty things, white lace, gardens, silver, and china, but working in the charming Victorians, moving among the antiques and using the traditional table settings and linens firmly fixed the love of pretties in our hearts. […]
June 2024 – Apricot Afternoon Tea Menu: In Celebration of the Brief, Delicious Apricot Season and Fathers
Fruit lovers, we must seize the day: apricot season is so very short and so very easy to miss. This year, let it not happen to you by planning a summer trip to an apricot orchard near you. Luckily, as I mentioned in my apricot teaser last December, I found For the Love of Apricots website. The […]
May 2024 – Breakfast Bliss Part II: Hidden Gems of Honolulu
On a May morning, The brown birds are loud in the pines And the first cool breath of summer Touches the rose petals. Just for a moment, All together, the planets sing. As summertime arrives, Hawaii is a favorite tourist destination for vacationers from throughout the Americas and Asia. Now that the Covid […]
April 2024 – Breakfast Bliss
TreechangeAt this second, The oak is as still As an emerald, undiscovered Deep in dark pockets of rocks. Not a leaf moves, Though the woodpeckers, ruby headed, Call at dawn, And the clock chimes seven times. But the clouds have shifted in the distance, Slipping from the gray Of dark water pearls To the flicker […]
April 2024 – Early Spring Tearoom Roundup Adventures, Part Two
As longtime readers may suspect, Suzi and I have not always been so occupied by traditional pursuits such as baking, historic preservation, and tea parties. At sixteen, our lives forever changed with the acquisition of the driver’s license, truly the golden ticket to the big, exciting world. For a good twenty-year span, these interests took […]
March 2024 – Bread and Life
The Dream of Spring I look through a keyhole in a dream, And there is my father, eyes closed In meditation. Is he listening to the river, To an owl’s call in the tall pine? Thirty years have passed Since we laid him in the ground In a gentle winter rain, And not a single […]
March 2024 – Early Spring Tearoom Roundup Adventures, Part One
Classic British and Asian afternoon tea traditions are a delight for the eyes, making them a natural for visual social media like Facebook and Instagram. Young media-savvy users are seen enjoying themselves with the tea table as a beautiful backdrop. They may have come for the look, but they seem to be staying for the […]
February 2024 – A Festive Filipino Afternoon Tea
February’s full Moon rules the sea; golden light Animates each wave. Readers who wander through “The Tea Book” on this website, myteaplanner.com, will notice that our menus for tea parties offer a wide variety of food traditions and cultural perspectives. My co-author, Kathleen and I are both life-long learners and travel enthusiasts who are […]
