Afternoon Tea Sandwiches

Afternoon tea sandwiches are usually dainty and easily consumed in less than three bites.   Here are a few ideas for traditional and not-sotraditional sandwiches.

TRADITIONAL CUCUMBER SANDWICHES
1.  Butter slices of white bread. 
2.  Cut cucumber slices very thin and sprinkle lighting with salt.  Place between slices of bread. 
3.  Garnish with a dash of paprika.
4.  Serve immediately to prevent dampening.

For a modern twist on the traditional cucumber sandwich, visit The Hot Plate for their beautiful gluten-free cucumber tea sandwiches pictured here.  

EGG SALAD SANDWICHES
1.  Hard boil eggs.
2.  Once eggs are cool, cut up eggs into small pieces.
3.  Stir mayonaise into eggs.
4.  Add cut celery or green onion, and a dash of curry powder if desired.
5.  Spread on white bread.
6.  Cut off crusts and cut into quarters.

WATERCRESS SANDWICHES
1.  Clean and dry watercress leaves.
2.  Spread salted butter on each side of white bread. 
3.  Place watercress in the middle between slices of buttered bread.
4.  Cut off crusts and cut into quarters or use cookie cutters to cut into shapes.


SMOKED SALMON AND CREAM CHEESE SANDWICHES
1.  Spread cream cheese on each slice of bread.
2.  Cut up smoked salmon into thin slices and place between slices of bread. 
3. For added visual appeal, roll the edges of your sandwich into plain yogurt and then into parsley.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!"  I love this saying so much that I recently had a little lemonade party to celebrate it.  (Notice the cute little lemon jello slices taken from a previous post on Jello Slices.)   

But most of all, I have been thinking about that catchy little phrase.  I recently read an article about optimism and the author made the point that optimists are not just "positive-thinkers" but proactive doers.  What sets apart optimists from pessimists are their can-do attitude.  It isn't so much that optimists always believe the future to be rosy.  But when faced with adversity, they have faith that they can conquer the challenge and they go ahead and take action.  Pessimists will look at a problem and often not do anything about it because they don't believe anything they can do will help to solve it.            

Hebrews 11 is like a hall of fame for those people in the Bible who had great faith. The interesting thing is that it describes each person as doing something by faith.  They didn't just believe and wait for things to happen.  By faith, they acted.  By faith, Abel offered a sacrifice to God.  By faith, Noah built an ark.  By faith, Abraham left his home and went into another country.  They all acted in faith. 

Sometimes life challenges us in such a way that we have to act even if we don't feel like it.  Most of the time, if we can proactively work towards a solution, we will begin to feel better.  Passivity, on the other hand, neither produces results nor positive feelings.  Sometimes passivity can even be a sign that we don't trust that God will take care of us.  So the next time life gives you lemons, decide to put your faith in God and face your fears head on.  Then make some lemonade and throw yourself a party! 

Represent God's Grace

If you took a survey among non-Christians and asked them what they did not like about Christians, I'd venture to say that among the top answers would be, "Christians are ungracious."  Words like "judgmental" or "hypocritical" might also come to mind, but the idea remains the same.  A good number of non-Christians are turned off to Christianity mainly because of their experience with Christians.  Let's admit it.  We haven't always done a very good job representing God to people who don't know Him.   

The primary word to describe how God treats us is "grace."  God has lavished his grace upon us in such a way that we should be reflections of grace and gratitude.  And as Christians, we should be giving away grace in bucketl oads at a time.  But I've found that grace, while easy to receive, can be very hard to give away. 

Customer service jobs are one in which grace is part of the actual nature of the position.  The motto, "The customer is always right" doesn't mean that the customer truly is always right, but that the customer is treated in a way which dignifies his concerns and fully addressed them in a way that he walks away from his experience a more loyal customer than he had been before.   

In my experience working in a customer service department of a company, I have learned that showing grace sometimes goes against every fiber of my natural makeup.  For one thing, the only time a customer contacts a company is to express a complaint.   Rarely will a customer ever email or call just to thank a company or tell them what a great job they did.  They are usually calling with a problem and let's face it, they are usually angry. 

I once had a customer who was absolutely livid at what ended up amounting to $0.36 (which he had been charged by a third party company, no less.)  Thirty-six cents!  You can't even buy a postage stamp for $0.36!  Of course, we ended up reimbursing him and then some, but he still was not satisfied.  You can't please everyone all of the time, and then there are just some people who you can't please at all (but that is another topic for another time).    But the point of my interaction with the customer was that although I wanted to tell him he was completely overblowing the situation over a mere $0.36, I had to remain gracious and even apologetic.  I had to do so because I wasn't representing myself, but the company I worked for.  I was the only human interaction he had with the company and as such, I was responsible for how he ultimately viewed his experience with the company. 

II Corinthians 5:30 says, "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."  We are the primary means by which God makes his appeal to other human beings.  We represent God's grace and mercy to the world.  So let's live in such a way that the world will recognize Jesus in us.

Dining and Living Alfresco

I love dining outside in the summertime.  There is something about being outdoors that heightens the experience of even a simple meal.  The fresh air, cool breeze in the evening... it all makes me feel like I've gone on vacation in my own backyard. 

There are scientific reasons why spending time outdoors is beneficial to our emotional health.  Our bodies were created to need natural sunlight.  Vitamin D from the sun is essential for our brains to maintain adequate serum levels, which affect our emotional wellbeing.

Previous generations spent much more time outside. People worked on farms, in fields, and as hunters and gatherers.  , in communities with other people.  Our modern society has in great part retreated from nature.  The average American today spends 95% of his time indoors.  Experts suggest we spend 25% less time outdoors that we did only 25 years ago.  We are confined to inside offices and stay cloistered in our homes, having little connection with nature as well as other human beings.  Research has shown that taking a walk outside can be as effective in treating mild depression as antidepressants.  Interestingly enough, walking indoors did not have the same results in groups studied.  

So, make an effort to spend some more time outdoors this summer.  Pack a picnic and find outdoor activities that the whole family can enjoy.  Enjoy the beauty of God's creation!   

The beautiful outdoor setting pictured here is from Martha Stewart Weddings.

Watermelon Jello Slices

Continuing with the theme of keeping cool this summer, I discovered some great ideas online.  Look at these adorable Jello slices.  You can do this with Lemons, Limes or Oranges.   Here are the basic instructions. 

1.  Cut your fruit in half and carve out the inside so that you just have a shell.

2.  Prepare your flavored jello according to the instructions on the package AND add a packet of unflavored gelatin to make the jello firmer. 

3.  Pour the jello into the halved fruit and cool in the refrigerator.

4.   Once the jello is set, then you can cut them into slices.

You can use lemon jello for lemon slices, orange for orange slices and lime for lime.  Or use watermelon jello with limes for a whimsical dessert.  Decorate with edible "seeds" (candy, herbs, etc.)  A lot of people have used this idea for making shots, but you can just use water or juice in the jello mixture for a kid-friendly summertime treat. 

Visit The Family Kitchen to see the recipe for the beautiful Watermelon Jello Shooters pictured here. 

Summer Slushies

The long hot days of summer are upon us, and I am always trying to find ways to keep the kids cool!  We have been eating our fair share of popsicles and italian ice, but have also started making our own fruit slushies. 

Our family seems to have an unending supply of fruit that is just about to become overripe, so I have found that making slushies and shakes are the perfect way to use up that fruit.  It is also a great way to sneak extra servings of fresh fruit into picky eaters.  All it takes is a good blender, some ice and a few spoonfuls of sugar.  We have made delicious slushies using peaches, watermelon and strawberries.   For milkshakes, you just need to add some milk or a few scoops of vanilla ice cream. 

To make the beautiful Watermelon milkshakes pictured above, visit Foodess for an easy, delicious recipe.

High Tea for Alice

When it comes to entertaining, presentation is equally, if not more, important than food itself. Table settings and decor set the mood for parties and can transform even store bought food into something beautiful. I have always been fond of vintage china and glassware. They are both elegant and beautiful without being overly formal.

I recently discovered a lovely Etsy boutique appropriately named "High Tea for Alice" that takes lovely European china plates and teacups and turns them into tiered dessert stands. Can you just imagine serving little tea cakes and sandwiches on something like this? They carefully select each unique plate and coordinate them with others to make a brand new set. The results are simply delightful. They come in a variety of colors and styles, and also take custom orders.

Visit High Tea for Alice for "exquisitely indulgent, remarkably heirloom, extravagantly refined, decoratively sublime & cheerfully divine stands to fill and feather your own personal wonderland."