A proper tea party

A group of proper ladies came to my home today for a proper tea.

Hats and gloves were requested.

From left to right:

Arna S., Janet A., Elaine K., Donna O., Jan K., Carol F., LeAnn R.

They sat down at the table for an afternoon of tea and conversation.

The tea was soon to be served.... one lump, or two, ma'dam?
Shall we begin?

A proper afternoon tea consists of three courses.
The first course is called the "savories" and that would be small sandwiches and other savory items.
The star sandwiches were tomato-curry.
The square sandwiches were cucumber with a cream-cheese ranch spread.


Deviled eggs, garnished with parsley from my garden.


The heart-shaped sandwiches were pineapple-pecan-cream cheese.
Lastly, the round sandwiches were a salmon spread with bean sprouts.
.
More tea was served.


The second course, my favorite, would be fresh-from-the-oven blueberry buttermilk scones.
They were served with jam, "mock" devonshire cream and lemon curd. Take your pick.
They are good enough to eat without all that stuff too!


Each person also had their own pat of butter, molded into a cute shape.
.
and more tea was served...



The last course would be desserts.
On the right are my favorites: madeleines. They are cute little french lemon-flavored soft cakes.
Also served was chocolate-caramel-oatmeal chews, lemon bars and linzer cookies.
Yes, I made them all.


Another addition to the dessert course were little chocolate shells (purchased) filled with a white chocolate filling and garnished with a REAL leave of mint that was coated with chocolate.
Wow, that chocolate covered mint leaf was fabulous!
(Thanks Marlane and Robyn for the great idea!)


In the interest of good health, we also had fruit!
Freshly picked strawberries (from our garden too!) dipped in chocolate.
yum yum


Here's a close up of those sweet little madeleines.
You need to have a special madeleine pan to make them but they are pretty easy
(as long as you don't forget to grease the pan!)
.
But here's the best part of the tea party: it was something I offered at our church auction that one of these dear ladies paid for - and the proceeds of the auction are to go toward the building of a very modest home for a family in Mexico that needs that home desperately.
For the third year in a row, a group of volunteers from our church will travel to Mexico and stay for a week or so helping in the construction of this home.
Having seen the pictures from the previous trips, and the grateful reaction from the family that benefits from having a decent shelter for them to reside, it is well worth the effort.
So, as I enjoyed the time preparing for this afternoon of tasty food and warm fellowship, I thought of the family in Mexico that was ultimately to benefit from our small efforts.
What a deal.