A Valentine Tea...

Dearest Dear Friends of The Tearoom,

Welcome!

Today, it is only you and I having our special Valentine tea in front of the fire.




My mind returns again and again to the theme of today's party...
Fruit, beautiful, sun-ripened, sweet, luscious fruit...
The purples and reds of fruit juice,
the pleasure of the sweet,
the pucker of tart,
the intoxicating madness of that first bite of fully-ripened summer fruit.

Some people get this rush from the first sip of their favorite alcoholic tipple or a drag from their first cigarette of the day. (I myself do not understand this, but I have seen the unguarded look of pleasure on the faces of people indulging in these things, so I know it is true.) But for me, the miracle of my first bite of the fresh produce of the season provides that momentary dizzying high. This one living object, devoting its whole life to being the most perfect version of itself that it can be. What lies sleeping in seeds, in dormant plants, in the Earth at this very moment, just waiting to bring us pleasure?

I dare you to sit on the purple couch in The Tearoom, under the enormous wall decoration of fruit I have placed there for our party today, and not feel just a fleeting moment of this singular pleasure....

Welcome, Dear Friend, to a Valentine's Tea, fairly bursting with life!


Can't you just smell the fragrance coming to us from the ornate tea pot?
It is a tea that I am still just dying to try: Charlotte au Chocolat, from Dammann Frères of Paris
with flavors of sugared almond and chocolate,
with sunflower petals for brightness!
Can't you just taste it as we speak of it?
Can you imagine how really decadent
a cup of this would be with a dabble of cream
and (if you wish), a bit of sugar?
I could drink it all day!

Oh, but My Dear, we have some catching up to do!
It has been such a long time since we have
taken a tour around Paris to see what is new
and just with us for Valentine's Day only!
The House of Dalloyau has a luscious-looking pair of religieuses named Valentine et Valentin (sold only as a pair, not to be separated until shared with you and your love!) A description of them: "My Pulpy Raspberry delicately scented with violet reveals a tender and luscious raspberry heart. My Soft Caramel is sure to thrill with its cream flavored with rum ..."

Here is another of Dalloyau's Valentine treats: the Duo de Macarons Coeur, in raspberry and chocolate/duja (chocolate and hazelnut) flavors!

The House of Laduée surprises us with a tangy, creamy combination in their newest macaron flavor: grapefruit and vanilla!

"From The House of Pierre Hermé, exclusively for Valentine's Day, the Envie macaron, which he describes this way: "Macaron biscuit, vanilla-violet cream and blackcurrants. The "Envie" combination featuring blackcurrant, vanilla and violet was created by Pierre Hermé in 1992. The intense floral note of the violet, tempered by the vanilla, softens the tart bitterness of the blackcurrant."

And a macaron not specifically with Valentine's Day in mind, but only available until the 27th of this month, his new "Jardin Enchanté" with the flavors of rose, lime and touched with the tingle of Espelette pepper! It is the first of his new collection for spring, which I will be following closely. For more information, please click here.

And of course, returning like the dearest of old friends, some of the most lovely things:

A pair of Ispahan heart macarons filled with luscious fresh raspberries, with notes of rose and litchi. If you just can't get enough of this most romantic of flavor combinations, please take a glimpse here for the dizzying array of other forms this one of his Fetish flavors comes in.

Our old friend the Coeur Infiniment Vanille,
made even more complex and beautiful with Monsieur Hermé's signature combination of vanillas grown in
Madagascar, Tahiti and Mexico, looking just as elegant and beautiful as ever...


Because we just can't have enough today, couldn't we just go for something luscious and chocolate? How could we forget when
The House of Fauchon graced us with their Joconde eclairs?


Have had enough sweets today? Here's a visually arresting, beautiful and nutritious salad recipe from Etsy, especially for Valentine's Day! What a great example of the miracles of nature that are available to us each day that are delicious, fascinating and so good for you.

Thank you, Dear Ones, for celebrating Valentine's Day with me today and indulging in some of the most beautiful and delicious that Paris has to offer.



We now look forward to spring and the birth of yet another new shop on Etsy....

(Thank you, as always to Asunder Ephemera, The Picture Palace and The Graphics Fairy for some of the graphics used in the collages.)

Get out the paper doilies...

(No...really, it is!!!)

Valentine Cream Tea Deluxe

Welcome, Dear Friends of The Tearoom,
It is so very nice to spend time with you again!! A Most Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Won't you please have a seat? For a lot of us, it is still cold and for some of us, there's a lot of snow where you are (for others like me, a lot more!!). I have hung tapestries around the room to make it cozier for us!



And to remind us that spring is only around the corner, I have placed a fountain with a profusion of violets growing around it, in the middle of The Tearoom!


Today, we are having a traditional British cream tea (with just a few revisions of my own)!

Of course we start with lovely Devonshire scones,with clotted cream and jam. Traditionally, scones are served with either strawberry (or occasionally, raspberry) jam or lemon curd. But who can say no to a bit of Pierre Hermé's Ispahan Confiture instead, his beautifully passionate red jam made of two layers, rose-scented litchi and raspberry, which you mix upon opening the jar? What a romantic combination and entirely appropriate for our Valentine Tea, don't you think?


And we must not have a Valentine's tea that does not include some sort of macarons! Here are some very interesting ones from a patisserie in Paris called Acide. These are fraise/poivre (strawberry/pepper)! Just imagine that sweet, yet slightly hot flavor! I would definitely try these, should we find ourselves in the 17th Arr. in Paris!

From the House of Ladurée comes a religieuse griotte (sour cherry religieuse).

And you must try the Black Forest Cheesecake from the blog Tastes of Mine!

To pair with all of these beautiful red flavors of raspberry, rose, strawberry and cherry, I thought it best to have a black tea, which should also go well with the pepper in the macaron and the chocolate in the cheesecake, perhaps a Ceylon from Kusmi or an Earl Grey with Blue Flower Petals from Monsieur Hermé. Do you take yours with cream?



To end our lovely party, won't you please have some beautiful chocolates from Rococo Chocolates in London? They must be as yummy as they look. One of these must be the favorite you didn't know you had yet...

...Jasmine tea, Manjari Madagascar, lychee rose and raspberry, Irish coffee, sour cherry with dark chocolate, and Jivara marc de champagne, passionfruit and mango, crushed lemon praline with milk chocolate and these four very special flavors, invented just for this collection:

And, because I can never spoil you enough, I have added Acide in Paris and The Cake Opera of Toronto to the ever-growing list of beautiful sweets and teas to peruse in the "Tea and Sweets" links to the right!

Please keep checking back as I have many new projects coming up including the opening of my new vintage shop just down the rue d'Etsy from The Gossamer Tearoom, called Mirabella Morello and new collections of silk brooches just for spring!!


I wish you all A Most Happy Valentine's Day

For a really beautiful description of a proper cream tea, please read Nigel Slater's excellent description in The Guardian, complete with recipes for scones and plum jam.

Because Everyday of Your Life is Valentine's Day...

Dearest Friends of The Tearoom,
I try very hard to keep our little tearoom as our imaginary salon of escapism, but sometimes I have to come back to real life. I am posting a new collection of my silk brooches in my Etsy shop this weekend, and I have created two brooches in honor of "Wear Red Day", which is February 4th. Starting today and throughout all of February, I will be donating 50% of the proceeds of the sale of my red and black anatomical heart brooches to The American Heart Association.

If you aren't aware of it, "Wear Red Day" brings more attention to the issue of heart disease in women. Contributions assist with continuing public education. Many people do not know that heart disease is the number one killer of women and you do not have to be older for heart disease to affect you. I had my first heart attack at 38. On Christmas Eve, I quietly celebrated my 10th year of survival. My most recent incident happened this past May (I blogged about it here.) At that time, they implanted a stent into my heart and they do not expect me to have any other problems.

Because so many women miss their symptoms, and they are often different in women than they are in men, here are some of the ones you might not expect:

-Shortness of breath
-Dizziness or lightheadedness
-Sudden pain in your jaw, back, arms or stomach (mine starts in my jaw, but quickly moves to a heavy, painful pressure in my chest, followed by severe pain and tingling in my arms and hands.)
-Nausea and/or cold sweats (one of my hospital room-mates thought she had the flu)
-Depression, anxiety and very often, an impeding sense of dread (Is this our intuition speaking to us?)
-Sudden and unexplained fatigue
-Increasing or worsening bouts of heartburn.
-Sleeping difficulties (many middle aged women experience this, but when it occurs when other symptoms, you should take it as a warning.)

You do not have to be overweight, you do not have to have a high cholesterol reading, you do not have to have any sort of sugar problem, you do not have to be older and you do not have to have previous family history.

If you experience these symptoms, call 911 IMMEDIATELY. I felt terrible in a way I had never felt before, but it can be much quieter than that. DO NOT drive yourself to the hospital and do not let someone else take you. The EMTs have treatment they can administer even before you reach the ambulance.

Stay alert. Stay alive.

(There's great information at the Livestrong site too.)

And what will I be wearing on February 4th? I will be wearing this t-shirt. I got it in Paris when Mr. V and I were there for our first anniversary. If doctors hadn't known how to help me 10 years ago, so many things in my life wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have been married. And I wouldn't have gone to Paris at all.



Everyday with my love Mr. V is Valentine's Day for me.

Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

Very Dear Blogging Friends,
I would like to wish you a most happy Saint Valentine's Days and invite you to my virtual tea party! Won't you please have a seat? As you can see, The Tearoom is decorated just for the holiday!



Won't you please have a piece of something delicious to celebrate? I have scoured the Houses of Haute Patisserie for lovely things for us for today!

Of course, our very favorites have out-done themselves again! Pierre Hermé has an Ispahan creation for us, in his ever-romantic combination of rose, litchi and raspberry.



Dalloyau has brought us "Petit Chou", which is a large Saint-Honoré decorated with cream Chantilly and raspberries ("petit chou" is a term of endearment in French).



Also, from Dalloyau (for all the chocolate-lovers here with us!), "Mon Macaron d'Amour", a heart-shaped chocolate macaron filled with creme praliné!



And what is waiting for you in the samovar? After all the beautiful teas from everywhere, today I hope you will allow me to serve you my very favorite black tea that I have for everyday, Tazo's Earl Grey.



As for that question I asked you...what person would you bring to this celebration? Of course, my first answer would be the love of my life, My Most Beloved Mr. V! But if you will indulge me, I would also love to invite two ladies that I have always wanted to have tea with! First, I would love to invite Sade. I have been listening to her newest CD "Soldier of Love" non-stop since we received it and would have to say that her music perfectly sums up the mood of the day. My second special guest would be another great lady of British music, Tracey Thorn. For many years, she and her partner Ben Watt created the amazing music of Everything But the Girl. In 2007, she released an amazing solo album "Out of the Woods" and this spring, she will release her next solo album, this time on Ben's label Strange Feeling Records. We cannot wait! Please welcome our two very special guests to the party!

Sade


Tracey Thorn


I wish you a very happy rest of your day. May you be spending it with your very dearest ones.

Valentine hugs to you all,

Betty

Very Happy Day of Love and Valentines!

(Images: Lisa Kettell of Moonfaires, Majik Design and Asunder Ephemera)

Also, thank you so much to Soul Journal for allowing me to participate in my first-ever blog party!


Dearest Friends,
Wishing you a very most happy day! May you have a day surrounded by beautiful valentines, wrapped in yards of organza and silk ribbons, wreathed in roses and indulging in delicious chocolates, pastries and of course, your favorite cup of tea!  Don't forget that if you are alone today, please treat yourself.  YOU are your Best Valentine Friend!

This is my playlist for the morning:
La Vie en Rose- Louis Armstrong, I'm In the Mood for Love - Bryan Ferry (I love all the violins in this!), Si Tu N'Es Pas La and Guilty - from the Amelie soundtrack, Les Barricades Mysterious and K. 213 - from the Marie Antoinette soundtrack (oooh, harpsichords!), and for the rest of the day, all four disks of Lullabies to Violaine by the Cocteau Twins!

So, in honor of this special day, here is my fantasy French pastry indulgence for our Heureux Saint-Valentin!:

The Rose Religieuse from Ladurée:

This is composed of a small and a large cream puff, the small is filled with pastry cream scented with rose water and the large is filled with the same rose cream and a small layer of raspberry puree.  The whole thing is covered in royal icing, also scented with rose and joined with buttercream.  

The next is on my wish list for our next trip to Paris.  This is the Coeur Infiniment Vanille (Infinite Vanilla Heart):

This is one of Pierre Hermé's beautiful cakes, made in a heart shape for this special day. Every part of this cake is made with vanilla from three sources: Mexico, Madagascar and Tahiti.

And finally, heart-shaped pâtes de fruits from Hediard:
Mr. V and I fell in love with pâtes de fruits from Pierre Hermé (his variety called "Celeste" made of layers of passionfruit, strawberry and rhubarb), but these were so beautiful we would have to try them too! Pâtes de fruits are made by cooking down large amounts of fresh fruit until it is a thick jelly consistancy (much more concentrated than jam or jelly) and then cutting into squares (or in this case hearts). They are the most perfect essence of the fruit captured for enjoyment long after the fruit has left the trees, bushes and brambles.

Wishing you a beautiful day!

Betty