Backyard Stories, Beverages, Ingredients

A Virtual Afternoon Tea – More Fresh Herbs

by Irene

As the weather is turning cooler by the day in Southern Ontario, I am getting ready to go through the labyrinth of overgrown crops and weeds to pull, as well as pruning perennials and mulching the garden beds, in preparation for the adversity of the winter months.  I am also harvesting as much of my herbs as I can, because even the perennials will eventually shed all their tops and go dormant.  I will share my techniques for preserving herbs down the line in another post, but for this one, it was time to prep some tea and treats, as pictured above, for another Su’s Virtual Afternoon Tea. 

I used some fresh trimmings from my Scarborough Fair themed garden patch, inspired by the traditional English ballad lyrics: “Are you going to Scarborough fair?  Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme” (pictured below, from left to right), and a few bright red nasturtium flowers:

First, I washed all herbs and flowers; then, I chopped parsley leaves and nasturtium petals, plucked a few leaves of rosemary and thyme, and mixed them all with a quarter cup of cream cheese (photo below, left). This herbed cream cheese served as a spread on crust-less slices of bread (homemade), which were closed and cut into bite-size sandwiches (photo below, right):

I placed them in a plate and decorated with more nasturtiums:

Sage (Salvia officinalis) first arrived in Mexico during Spanish colonial times, and was readily adopted for cleansing rituals and medicinal uses, often present in Mexican gardens.  The name in Spanish is salvia, the same as in Latin, from the form salvare – to save or cure.  True to its name, sage has a range of anti-inflammatory and-antioxidant properties, to soothe mouth, throat and stomach soreness, as well as to protect against neurological disorders; also, burning sage is apparently not only good for spiritual healing, since the smoke may actually purify the air, and has been anecdotally reported as a remedy for asthma.  I had always used sage as the star herb with poultry and stuffing, never in an infusion, but my husband told me that his mom used to prepare it for him when he was young, and loved it, so now I frequently prepare a nice pot of sage infusion by simply seeping sage leaves in freshly boiled water for about five minutes:

The sandwiches were the perfect treat for this infusion, with the mild flavours of the cheese and bread still being discerned, and complementing the peppery sage with a punch of flavour from the other herbs in the spread:

Finally, for a sweet addition, the jam treats were store-bought British Garibaldi biscuits:

I saw them recently at the supermarket, and thought it would be fun to include them since I had mentioned these “golden crispy biscuits filled with currants” (photo below, left) in one of my previous posts, to contrast them with their Mexican namesake, the Garibaldi cupcake (photo below, right):

British Garibaldi biscuits, with currant filling
Mexican Garibaldi upside-down cupcake, with apricot glazing (click here for full story and recipe)

I am linking to Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD) Challenge for October 15, 2020.

For your convenience, click on the images below for products available on Amazon™.  DISCLAIMER: Any reviews included in this post are my own, for items I have purchased, not provided by any company; as an Amazon Associates Program affiliate, I might receive a commission for any purchases originated from the links below, at no extra cost to you:

Crawford’s Garibaldi Biscuits 100g (Pack of 2)
100% USDA Certified Organic Culinary Herb Seeds Collection – 5 Variety – Non GMO Basil, Cilantro, Parsley, Sage, Thyme – Indoor Outdoor
iDOO Hydroponics Growing System, Indoor Herb Garden Starter Kit with LED Grow Light
AeroGarden 45w LED Grow Light Panel, Black

I am bringing my tea and sandwich recipes to What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link-Up #285 with Helen @ The Lazy Gastronome.

44 thoughts on “A Virtual Afternoon Tea – More Fresh Herbs”

  5. Great utilization of the bounty in your garden, Irene. Never considered brewing sage tea but you’ve convinced me to give it a try. Teas/infusions are something I experiment with since the discovery that tea needn’t be confined to a sealed bag.

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    1. Yeah, I would not have thought of sage tea, either; it might need a little growing used to its strong flavour, but I am telling you, it is nice, especially if you have a stuffy nose.

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    1. I love thyme as well; I find that if I hold thyme stems from the tip with one hand, and slide my thumb and index finger with the other from the tip down, it is not too bad.

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      1. You’re welcome. Meeting you here has been one of the real joys. I was talking to my partner about your chorizo recipes and he’s really excited to find the ingredients and give them a try.

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      2. I feel very fortunate meeting you, too, thank you, Su! Awesome about the chorizo recipes, please let me know if you and your partner get a chance to try them!

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      2. I would say five large ones per cup of water; let it seep for about five minutes, and of course, after serving, a second cup (the best, according to my dad) may be prepared with the same leaves.

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  15. Irene, how lovely! I normally go out for afternoon tea at least once a month, as well as giving afternoon teas at home, but since Covid I haven’t been able to do that. So A Virtual Afternoon Tea is just what I needed today. If you’d like to make your own Garibaldi Biscuits, check out my post from 2018–fun! I’m not currently growing nasturtiums, but I have in the past and found them delicious, so I will try your tea sandwiches when I get the flowers going again. #WhatsForDinner

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  16. I love this!! Pinned – I love using herbs and edible flowers in dishes. Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Hope you have a cozy week.

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    1. I was also surprised to find Garibaldi buscuits at the supermarket, maybe I just wasn’t looking for them until I posted about the Mexican cupcakes with the same name. Glad you liked the Scarborough fair herbs.

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