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Creatively
Frugal
Afternoon
Tea
Suppose you are hosting an intimate gathering in your home
of 5-6 people. You want to do something along the lines of an
afternoon tea, but since it’s still warm in your part of the
country, you don’t want to serve hot tea. You want to serve
light refreshments that are relatively inexpensive and simple to
make, yet make an attractive presentation when served. One of your attendees is allergic to flour
products so anything you serve must be wheat-free. What would
you serve?
"Cucumber slices make a
base for pretty little sandwiches. Celery can be filled with
hummus, cheese or meat spreads. Use lettuce leaves, or cups, to
make wraps. Endive filled with chicken salad is very nice. Raw or
blanched vegetables can be used for dipping. (Check dip
ingredients.) Meringues and coconut macaroons are wheat-free
cookies (check label to be sure). Serve a fruit tray. Bon appetit!"
~ Joan
"I love your site! I
can't resist the challenge of the frugal afternoon tea. I would
serve homemade lemonade (or iced tea with a mint leaf from my
herb garden) with deviled eggs (from my laying hens or the
store-on sale), fresh fruit from the farmers' market or my
garden, and tuna salad served on lettuce leaves or tomato
slices-also from the garden." ~ Kellie
"If you’re
on a budget, it’s really all about the presentation! Make
the ordinary look extraordinary. Find a nice mix of colors and
textures, and act like everything is an art display. We had a 'tea
party' for my daughter’s birthday, but we certainly didn’t spend
a fortune. In fact, I think it was one of the most affordable
parties we’ve had (and a lot more than 5-6 people).
Serve a cold beverage such as iced tea or lemonade (very
inexpensive), but garnish it with a few mint leaves from your
garden, or float some thin lemon slices in the pitcher and put half
lemon slices on the glasses. You could even chill the glasses to
give them that frosty look!
Since you have an allergy to deal with, you might want to look
for cookie or cake recipes that are flourless, or just stick to some
simple alternatives. If you can find some wheat-free bread, it is
bound to be more expensive, but you can stretch it by cutting
sandwiches into quarters (squares or triangles – don’t forget to
take off the crust) and serving them with other food. Serve cheese
slices, but cut them into fancy shapes with a little cookie cutter.
(You can always use the little scraps for something else later.)
Vegetables can be cut up nicely and arranged in a pretty display on
a fancy plate or cutting board. Fruit is always nice and makes
a good compliment to whatever else you serve. Neighborhood markets
often have wonderful, ripe fruit for less than the main-stream
grocery chains. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or even
grapes might be a bit more expensive but they can be used as a
garnish for something else to add a touch of color.
Don’t forget the chocolate! If you really want to get fancy,
you don’t have to buy those boxes of expensive filled chocolates.
You just need a little time. Chocolate chips are quite affordable
and now come in white, milk, chocolate, and many other varieties.
Melt them in a double boiler or in a microwave and then dip fresh or
dried fruit, pretzels, cookies, marshmallows, or other items
(flour-free) into the chocolate and let them cool. You can
even roll them in sprinkles or colored sugar before the chocolate
hardens for an added touch. If you’re really ambitious, find a few
nice leaves, wash them, and paint the back (the side with the veins)
with melted chocolate. When they cool, you can peel off the
leaves and you have some gorgeous decorations to add to the top of a
cake or just put on everyone’s little plate.
I’m sure there are plenty of other ideas if you just get a bit
creative. Good luck!
" ~ Jeanette
"Since I have celiac disease myself and cannot have
anything with gluten in it either, I would suggest perhaps a
fresh fruit salad with a yogurt-honey dressing. Perhaps some
fruit juice over crushed ice to drink if it is hot or just some
coffee as the beverage. You could offer some cookies to go with
it for your non-allergenic guests. For myself, I know those
would be off limits but I would want others to be able to have
the chance to choose them if they wanted. Or you could purchase
some gluten free cookies at a health food store and let your one
guest know which are gluten free." ~ Nancy
"Go online and look for
low-carb recipes. We who are serious Atkins dieters NEVER
eat any white food...sugar, wheat, rice, etc. Those recipes
will be wheat free and are also delicious.
Here is one good link to get
you started. Cheesecakes, using finely ground nutmeats
for the crust, are always good at teas, but there are a
good variety of other things as well. I use almond meal for
flour in many cases, but there are other products as well.
Check out Linda's
Low Carb Menus & Recipes - Daily Menus Near
the bottom of that link, just click on 'desserts'.
Here's a simple pie crust
recipe as an example:
"GRAHAM CRACKER"
PIE CRUST
3 ounces almond flour, 3/4 cup
3 tablespoons flax meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
(you could use regular sugar if that's not an issue for you
or your guest)
Mix dry ingredients in a
small bowl. Add Splenda to melted butter; pour over dry
ingredients. Mix well and spread in 9" pie plate or
springform pan. Bake at 375º about 10-12 minutes until set
and lightly browned. Cool, then fill pie. For baked pies,
chill unbaked crust 1 hour before filling and baking.
Makes 8-12 servings
Can be frozen
Hope that helps." ~ Joan
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"For a nice change, serve iced
green tea with lemon flavor, maybe slightly sweetened. You will not
need sugar or milk and it is very refreshing on a warm day. Three
wheat-free food ideas (my son does not tolerate gluten and we are
used to this):
1) Serve ice cream sundaes in fancy glasses. Maybe sorbets and fresh
fruits if it is really hot!
2) Make a 'cake' with the bottom layer of a crisp meringue, next a
layer of either one jar of lemon curd or fresh fruit cut up, then
the top layer of unsweetened whipped cream. A few peppermint or
lemon balm leaves on top is a nice decoration. You must plan ahead
as the meringue takes awhile to make, but it is easy.
3) Make a parfait of bananas and cream. Slice bananas, fry lightly
in butter with a little dark brown sugar, let cool. Layer in glass
with unsweetened whipped cream.
Recipe meringue bottom for
"cake": Preheat oven to 500°. Beat 5 eggs whites (you can
freeze the yolks separately for future use) until very hard, Fold in
1 cup white sugar. Carefully transfer the egg white mixture to a
greased and floured 9" springform pan. Place on a lower rack in
the oven and immediately turn the oven off. DO NOT open the oven for
at least 5 hours--you can even let it stay in there over night.
Remove the meringue and let it cool (it should be cool). Spread the
lemon curd or fruit and whipped cream on the cake. Done!" ~
BethAnne
"When I think about afternoon
tea, I think shortbread. I have a terrific recipe for shortbread
using rice flour that I think will be a hit.
Cream 1 stick of butter with 1/4 cup
confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar). Add 1/2 teaspoon
vanilla.
Work in 1 cup rice flour, 1/8
teaspoon baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. (Classic
Scottish recipes use rice flour to give the shortbread a slightly
grainy crispness that is very delicious.)
Pat the dough into an 8-inch circle
on an ungreased cookie sheet. This recipe gives you a very soft,
delicate dough, so be patient with it. Before baking, score the
dough, making 6 wedges, and mark the edge with the tines of a
fork. Bake the shortbread in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for
about 20 minutes, or until the edge is golden brown. While the
shortbread is still warm, cut it into the wedges with a sharp
knife.
There you have it. A true, no-fault,
idiot-proof dessert, beloved by adults and children (animals often
go for it, too). And once a year, as a special reward, there
is no better use for a quarter pound of butter.
I attribute the recipe to Laurie
Colwin, one of my favorite cookbook authors.
I hope you can use it!" ~ Kristi
"What about fruited ice tea and stuffed tomatoes, either
chicken or tuna served on a bed of lettuce. The plate can be
garnished to look fancy. Serve fruit sorbet with some fresh fruit
for dessert or try this yummy caramel apple salad. Use 2-3 Granny
Smith apples cut up with the peel, 1container Cool Whip, 1 large
box vanilla instant pudding and 3 large Snickers candy bars
chopped up. Mix all the ingredients together and chill. You can
garnish by drizzling top with caramel topping. (This tastes like
caramel apples.)" ~ Debbie
"My children and I have Celiac
disease, which means we can't eat gluten (wheat, barley, or
rye). There are of course snacks you can buy already made at the
grocery store, especially Health Food stores, but they tend to
be very expensive.
Homemade snacks:
* Rice Krispy bars (read the
labels carefully, certain brands of marshmallow and Rice
Krispies can be hidden sources of gluten)
* Corn flake bars (like
special K bars)
* Rice crackers served with
dip or cheese and meat
* fruit & dip
* dried fruit & nuts
* popcorn (popcorn cake,
popcorn bars, caramel popcorn, candied popcorn, etc.)
* Monster cookies (oatmeal,
peanut butter, M&M's)
* homemade granola &
yogurt or homemade granola bars (oatmeal)
* Any other type of flourless
cookies, check the internet, there's a ton of recipes out there.
I have a ton more info, let me know
if you need more!" ~ Julie
"Oh, I am a tea addict and
love tea parties! A classic teatime snack is the
cucumber sandwich. This is probably the easiest to do
wheat free and are really inexpensive if you grow your own cukes.
Simply score down a cucumber with your fork or paring knife so
it will be pretty when sliced. Slice into slices thick
enough to hold the topping, but not too thick to be
bite-sized. Then top with a cheese or other creamy
topping... Fast, easy, & deelish!! Enjoy your
tea!" ~ Carol
Editor's Note: Thanks to these readers for taking time to share
their ideas!
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