Tis the day for the wearing of the green!  Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

My teatime today offers some aspects of a time-honored classic menu but also offers some more modern fare to tempt the palette.

Teatime Menu

Warm currant and orange zest scones served with a selection of jams

Spinach Pinwheel Wraps filled with roasted turkey breast, cheddar cheese, and fresh spinach

Pistachio & Chocolate Pudding

Tweed Squares

Lemon Spritz Cookies

Tea Selection:  Twinings Irish Breakfast

Instead of the traditional sandwiches, I opted to serve these pinwheel wraps which are super easy to make.  I used a garlic herb cream cheese spread mixed with a good quality olive oil to make it almost the consistency of mayonnaise.  I spread that over each spinach wrap, then added two thin slices of roasted turkey.  I added some chopped orange pepper and fresh spinach and then sprinkled grated cheddar cheese over the top.  I rolled the wraps and placed them in the refrigerator for about an hour before slicing and serving them.

After the sandwiches came the scones, fresh and warm from the oven.

I brought the wee bottles of jam home with me from Stratford-Upon-Avon last October.  I knew they would fit in perfectly with my teatime menus and would bring back nice memories of a wonderful cream tea we enjoyed in Stratford-Upon-Avon!

In keeping with my green theme, I made these small pistachio puddings.

The base is ground up chocolate cake (ground Oreo cookies would also work).  My featured Island product today is chocolate sauce made on PEI by J.J. Stewart Food and Soda Company.  I drizzled a couple of teaspoons of the tasty sauce over the chocolate crumbs then added some pistachio pudding, topped with Cool Whip and sprinkled with chocolate crumbs.  A tasty little dessert!

Tweed Squares and Lemon Spritz shortbread cookies decorated with orange and green gumdrops rounded out the dessert course.

My tea choice for today was Twinings Irish Breakfast blend.

Since we were having our tea around noontime, I figured I could get away with a breakfast blend tea and this black tea is one of my all-time favorites….anytime of the day.

And, of course, I used my Shamrock-patterned dishes

and my Irish linens that I bought some years ago at the Blarney Castle.

Instead of flowers on my tea table, I chose a small Oxalis plant, more commonly known as the Shamrock plant, with its tiny star-shaped white flowers. (I looked but didn’t find any four-leaf clovers on this plant!)

And, of course, I wore the sweater I also bought at the Blarney Castle.

And, when it all came together, this is what my tea table looked like.

I hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into how we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day.  What are your St. Paddy’s Day traditions?

Pistachio and Chocolate Puddings

Assemble ingredients.

The little glasses I used only hold a scarce 1/4 cup so, if you are using larger dishes, you will need to vary the amounts accordingly but it is easy as there is really no right or wrong measurements in these puddings!

Add about 1 – 1 1/2 tbsp of ground up chocolate crumbs to each dish.   Lightly tamp the crumbs on the base of each dish.  Drizzle about 2 tsp chocolate sauce over the chocolate crumb base.

Prepare instant pistachio pudding mix according to package directions.  Spoon about 2 tbsp pudding onto chocolate base of each cup.  Top with Cool Whip (or your favorite whipped topping).  Sprinkle with chocolate crumbs.

An Irish Blessing

May your troubles be less

and your blessings be more

And nothing but happiness

come through your door.

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