Best-Ever Banana Bread

This is truly one of the best recipes for banana bread I have ever found. I’ve tried a ton of other recipes online, and in my cook books that claim to be moist, and delicious but they weren’t!

So the other day I got a ton of brown bananas, and the last thing I wanted was another dry batch of bread. Then I remembered my grandmother saying she had a great banana bread recipe that she has been using forever. So I went for a visit to her house to get the recipe, and now I’m sharing this wonderful recipe with you!

Best-Ever Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Butter

1/2 cup White Sugar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

2 cups Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

3 Medium Bananas

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Nuts(Optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Then add your dry ingredients. Beat in mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla. Fold in nuts. Pour into greased loaf pan. Let stand for 10 minutes. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Insert tooth pick when it comes out clean your bread is done.

Makes one large loaf. ( I made this recipe in 2 small loaf pans. )

Let cool and enjoy!

~Ashley, 

teacupsandtiddlywinks.blogspot.com

Original recipe by Sharon Lundeen 

St. Bridget of Sweden church cook book, Crescent Publishing Inc.

A Hight Hatter Tea - Bridal Shower

I put on a Bridal Shower Tea Party for my sister last year. We set up a large white tent in my backyard, and under it we added 2 long tables with a round in the middle. Then we added the linen, and the fine china. It was beautiful when we were all done. The guests all came wearing hats, and bearing gifts. We had a salad buffet, and beautiful bite size deserts were served at each table. Everyone told me how well it had turned out, and how much they had enjoyed coming.

I hope you can get a few idea’s form my little story board below.

~ Ashley

Sprout Baby Blanket

Check out my new Sprout Baby Blanket Pattern!



I designed this blanket once I found out my baby on the way, is another girl. I wanted something special to dress up the nursery, and I was looking for something with a modern and stylish look. I was unable to find the pattern I was hoping for, so I decided to create my own.

You cant buy my pattern at:

www.etsy.com/shop/TeacupsandTiddlywink

~Ashley

The Perfect Scone

Good Evening!!!

Technically, I believe it is the morning since I'm typing this at 12:30 am. I do apologize to all of our readers since it has been more than a week since we've posted! However, here I am to give you what I consider to be one of the best scone recipes out there. I hope you enjoy the simplicity of this recipe as much as I have. The beautiful thing is, you can make it as complicated as you want to accommodate a simple breakfast or a fancy tea party. 

~~~~~~

Basic Scones

2 cups of flour 

{whole wheat gives this scone more of a biscuits or breakfast texture, but is still delightful}

1 Tablespoon of baking powder

2 Tablespoons of sugar

{my family enjoys this recipe with some brown sugar to add a nice spicy/sweet flavor}

1/2 teaspoon of salt

 6 Tablespoons of butter

1/2 cup of milk, buttermilk, or cream

{I have found at times, it helps to add a little more milk than called for in the recipe, but if you are added fresh or frozen fruit, do not do this as it will make your scones too moist}

Be sure to mix all the dry ingredients together and add in the butter (in small chunks) and mix until the ingredients represent coarse cornmeal. Create a depression in the center of the mixture and pour in you milk, buttermilk, or cream. 

Mix this together until the dough clings together, but be sure to not over mix. The secret to that wonderful scone texture that keeps it from being a cookie or muffin is to not over mix. 

Once mixed, put the dough out onto a non-stick or greased pan and make a circle, keeping the round about 1 - 1.5 inches thick. Pre cut this into the pie wedges with a spatula or knife. This will keep the scones from crumbling to pieces as they would if you baked them and then cut them.

Bake at 425 F for 10-20 minutes. Yield approximately 8 scones.

*taken from If Teacups Could Talk by Emilie Barnes*

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Be sure to add your own sweet or savory ingredients to complement the perfect cup of tea for your breakfast. My family enjoys our scones with blueberries, white chocolate, and honey drizzled on top. Other combinations we've tried in the fall include: fresh cut up apples pieces, cinnamon, and caramel drizzled on the top before baking. 

We all enjoyed that one! 

Mommy Therapy

Good Monday to you all!

 I very successfully missed the sunrise. Partially due to the dreary, England-like weather we're having States-side. I figured it was a perfect morning for a cup of tea to replace my routine cup of coffee.

I'm currently sipping a lovely Holiday Spiced Plum from one of our favorite tea companies, Republic of Tea. Its light, but the plum adds the sweet while the spices add a hint of zing.

~~~~~

“As far as her mom was concerned, tea fixed everything. Have a cold? Have some tea. Broken bones? There's a tea for that too. Somewhere in her mother's pantry, Laurel suspected, was a box of tea that said, 'In case of Armageddon, steep three to five minutes.” ~Aprilynne Pike

Lately I've been pondering the uses of tea. Douglas Adams said
"A cup of tea would restore my normality"

I couldn't agree more. I've been on a roller coaster this weekend. Funerals, relatives, inebriated neighbors, and exhaustion. I must say, my tea this morning feels like a breath of fresh air. There is nothing quite like a cup of tea and a good friend to reset such a bad day. Several times during my weekend that can only be described as emotional chaos, I called my dear friend. Her words were, "If I wasn't in another town I would come right over with a cup of tea." Music to my ears. I'm quite certain the kind of tea would have been the last thing on my mind.

“Honestly, if you're given the choice between Armageddon or tea, you don't say 'what kind of tea?” ~Neil Gaiman

Okay, sure, my life wasn't quite at an Armageddon this weekend, but you get my point. When your world, emotional or otherwise, is collapsing tea can be one of the most important ways in which to calm your nerves and reset your thinking. I think this is because usually that cup of tea is accompanied by a good book, or a good friend, or simply some solice to let your mind clear from the debris of what has been the end of your world. Whether or not your debris is the injustice you're living with or simply the need for calm in life with a two year old boy with his diaper off, running around throwing blocks, tea and a good book/friend should be all you need to pay for any kind of "mommy therapy."

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”

~C.S. Lewis 

Thought of the Week

Good morning fans of tea!

      I've been thinking of how many teapots are out in the world and never used or rejected and disregarded. There are of course so many things you can do with a teapot if you are one who chooses not to drink tea. Such as.....

a new idea for old teapots from the pintrest search "teapots"

     But, if you will, humor me for a moment. What if you were to take those broken, old, and desheveled teapots and think about the story they represent? In the book "If Teacups Could Talk"  (one of my favorite books on the art of tea) the writer suggests that every teacup and teapot has a story as to how they found their appearance. Some of them represent the story of a favorite tea party with children, or going on a walk by an old house only to find a teacup left abandoned, or a cup and pot passed down among the generations.

    So, before you toss out your old teapot or teacups think about the times you had with them and the memories they gave you. It might be a special story to tell to the generations after you while you serve afternoon tea.


With a love for heirlooms,
Erin

Just Getting Started

I hope one day you will come to this blog and fall in love with it!

From your Tea lover,
Ashley