Afternoon Tea in the midst of the COVID-19 Outbreak

As we are all well aware, it's been a longgggggggggggg couple of weeks bogged down with COVID-19 hysteria so I figured now was as good a time as any to share photos of the afternoon tea my family shared on March 21st.

To my delight, everything tasted delicious, although I'm not sure that I like apple bits in my scones. I'm still a little torn on that one.

These are Apple Cheddar scones. Aren't they pretty?

I love how you can clearly see the bits of cheese. We didn't have white cheddar like the recipe said, so I just used regular and they turned out fine. I suspect that white cheddar was mainly for aesthetic purposes, anyway.

If you care to try them, the recipe is in the January/February 2020 issue of Tea Time magazine.

These are called Romeo's Sighs because they're from A Literary Tea Party cookbook by Alison Walsh. It's a truly darling cookbook with lots of yummy recipes and ideas.

Romeo's Sighs are a delectable light cookie with a hint of almond extract.

They're actually half of a whole cookie since the intention is to make an elegant cookie sandwich.

These are Juliet's Kisses (of course!), the other half of the cookie sandwich with Romeo's Sighs. These have no almond extract, but about 1/2 cup of toasted, almost ground almonds in them. Delicious!

Also from the A Literary Tea Party cookbook by Alison Walsh.

Here's how they look together.

It's a rather charming effect, the two cookies of such a contrasting color, right in keeping with the "Two households, both alike in dignity" theme of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

They are time-consuming, but well worth the effort, especially now during the outbreak, when we all lots of time and nowhere to put it!

No, this isn't clotted cream!

This is my mother's salmon spread.

My family hails from Scandinavian roots (lots of them), so we eat pickled things and we eat a lot of fish. My dad, an avid fisherman, loves to salmon fish in Oregon every couple of years, maybe every year now that he and Mom are both retired. So this is some delectable smoked salmon left from one of his last trips.

Spread on rye crisps, and it is the next best thing to heaven. The only thing it could have used was a smattering of capers, but I forgot to bring them from the apartment.

Our three-tiered serving tray in white. I love this tray for two reasons: it's white and fits a variety of design styles and I purchased it from Bernideen's in Old Colorado City before she and her husband retired to Missouri.

Every time I use it, I think of her.

She's always been an avid blogger, so if you care to follow a blog of Victorian shabby chicness and afternoon tea awesomeness then visit Bernideen's Tea Time, Cottage and Garden.

She even makes and sells the MOST ADORABLE tea cozies you've ever seen. Visit her Etsy store and you'll see what I mean!

I may purchase this one!

My mother's lovely teapot thrifted from somewhere. I just can't recall where. 

And here's the tea cozy my mother made in matching colors for her teapot. She's an avid seamstress and made matching tea cozies for all of our teapots. Now that she's retired, she's branching out into more elaborate designs, but I think there's something charming about this one's simplicity.

And there you have it!

May this post inspire you to try your hand at baking, and if you have teapots and teacups, then try creating a little afternoon tea for those in your immediate household while we social distance for safety's sake.

This too shall pass!