Red, White, and Blueberry

Welcome Friends! Did you know that June is National Iced Tea Month? I decided to take this week's tea party outside on the front porch. There are no fine bone china teacups and tea pots, no three tiered tray, and not even a lace tablecloth. To celebrate summer, I have a large pitcher of freshly steeped and iced blueberry green tea served in a Kerr's canning jar.

I recently purchased this color bowl from one of my favorite nurseries. I'll have to remember to take my camera with me the next time I visit.

To go along with our refreshing iced tea, I made some fresh blueberry streusel muffins. My kids could hardly wait for me to finish my photo shoot and sink their teeth into these wonderful treats. I will have the recipes for the muffins and the iced tea at the end of this post. I hope you give them a try.

And here's this week's tea trivia. Ice tea was invented in America by an Englishman who lived in Calcutta, India. Richard Blechynden was selling hot tea at the St. Louis 1904 World's Fair. No one was interested in drinking hot tea on a hot day, so he poured the tea over ice and served it in tall glasses. The rest is history. Now you know!

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

1/2 C sugar

1/4 C softened butter

1 egg beatened

2-1/3 C flour

4 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 C milk

1 t vanilla extract

1-1/2 C fresh or frozen blueberries

Streusel:

1/2 C brown sugar

1/3 C flour

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 C butter

Directions

In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well. In another bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, alternating with milk. You may add more milk if the batter is too thick. Add vanilla extract, then fold in blueberries.

For streusel, cut butter into sugar, flour, and cinnamon until it becomes coarse crumbs.

Fill 12 muffin cups with batter. Top with streusel mixture.

Bake in preheated 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 1 dozen muffins

Iced Blueberry Green Tea

1 C fresh or frozen blueberries

1 C sugar

1 C water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

8 C steeped green tea. You may use black tea or white tea.

In saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool. Strain syrup in a strainer, crushing the blueberries with a spoon. Squeeze lemon through strainer to catch seeds.

To steep tea, boil 8 cups of water and steep 8 bags of tea for 10 minutes. Remove bags and let tea cool.

In a large pitcher, combine blueberry syrup with tea and refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice.

I'll be joing a week's full of blog parties with the following hostesses

A Stroll Through Life

Lady Katherine Tea Parlor

The Plumed Pen

Artful Affirmations

Rose Chintz Cottage and Inspiration

Martha's Favorites

Between Naps on the Porch

Designs by Gollum

Thanks for visiting the Lace and Ivy Cottage.

Till next time,

German Pancakes

Hello, Fellow Foodies! Do you ever crave a special dish or dessert at a favorite restaurant, but can't always satisfy it without breaking the bank or gaining an extra 20 pounds? We all do! My weakness was the German pancake at the Original Pancake House. It's a puffy, souffle-like pancake baked in the oven. It's served overflowing on a platter, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and accompanied by butter and lemon wedges. Oh, my mouth is watering as I type this! It's a massive, impressive, breakfast masterpiece that measures 14-16 inches in diameter. But at about $10 for just this pancake plus another $3 for a cup of coffee, it wasn't something I could enjoy frequently...until now.

I've tested this recipe a couple of times now, and am satisfied that it's just like the one at the pancake house. Now I can make about 4 of these for my hungry crowd without the $40 check!

I can't believe how simple, inexpensive, and fun it is to make.

I hope you try it, and maybe you could serve this to MOM on Mother's Day! And of course, I'm linking with Michael Lee @ Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.

Till next time,

German Pancake

Ingredients

• 1/4 C butter
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1 C milk
• 6 eggs
• 1/8 t salt
• Powdered sugar
• Lemon wedges

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Melt butter into a cast iron skillet (I divided the batter between a large 12 inch and a small 8 inch) or a large casserole dish ( swirl the butter evenly in the dish).
  
• Blend flour, milk eggs, and salt in a blender just until evenly blended. Do not whip too long.
• Pour into prepared skillets or baking dish.
• Bake in center of rack for about 16-18 minutes, until golden brown and fluffy. Do not overcook, or it will be a bit dry.
• Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar and serve with lemon wedges to be squeezed on top.
  

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake

Are you ready for a gastronomical adventure? It's Foodie Friday again hosted by Designs by Gollum, where cooks all over blogland share their culinary skills.

Today, I'm sharing with you a Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake. It's a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens that I've personally tested for you. Since everyone is celebrating fall, I though it befitting to offer some comfort food to go with the changing weather.

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake

• 1 - 8oz dried bow tie pasta
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 T butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 C milk
• 1 t dried Italian seasoning
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper (optional)
• 2 C chopped cooked chicken
• 2 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 - 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
• 1 - 10 oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 1/2 C oil packed sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 C soft bread crumbs
• 1/2 t paprika
• 1 T melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to pkg. directions; drain. In med. skillet, cook onion in 1 T butter until tender. Remove from heat and set aside
2. In bowl,whisk together eggs, milk, seasoning, 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper, and crushed red pepper. Stir in chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, artichokes, spinach, tomatoes, half of the parmesan, pasta, and onion.
3. Bake, covered, 20 min. In small bowl, combine remaining Parmesan, bread crumbs, paprika, andmelted butter. Sprinkle mixture over pasta. Bake, uncovered, 10 min or until golden. Makes 6-8 servings.

Bon Appetit, everyone!!

Till next time,