Almost tea time

After having so much fun writing the travel article about one of my dive trips, I decided to try my hand at writing an article for the food section.

Since I have put on many tea parties over the years, I thought it would be fun to write about that. My take on it will be how to put on a beautiful tea party while also keeping it simple.

In the past I would roast the chicken for the chicken salad sandwiches. I would make a roast beef for the roast beef sandwiches. I would make scones and a cake for dessert. One time I even made my own lemon curd and clotted cream. The only thing I never did was bake the bread for the sandwiches.

For the recipes in the story, I took advantage of the great precooked things my favorite grocery stores have to offer. The food was still delicious and beautiful, but I saved myself hours of cooking time and a lot of mess.

And, since I want this to be extra pretty for the paper, I also took advantage of having a professional photographer available to do the photos. We got to set up in the beautiful back yard at the home of the paper's garden expert.

I also got to use some of the lovely dishes I have collected over the years. Some I found at antique shops, some on eBay and some were my grandmother's. It was nice to be able to use them all to make a fun, eclectic set for the food.

It was a warm lovely day and the photographer from work, Leonard Ortiz, did a beautiful job.

But those are not the photos you get to see here. You are stuck with mine.

Once the article is published (scheduled for April 2), I will share his far superior work.

I did get to help him, be sort of the photographer's assistant, during the shoot. Which was fun and educational. I learned a few tricks about lighting.

And the recipes that have lived in my head for years? No recipes for now. Sorry. Those also will go up once they have been published in the paper.

But really... how cute are these little desserts canapes?