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My sister and a tearoom proprietor share a passion

My sister Carol (Mrs. Fred Goldman) has just completed her 14th annual Christmas Tea. I have asked her to have at least one more just so I can experience what I’ve heard about all these years.

It started simply enough: invite a few friends over for tea and read the book, “A Cup of Christmas Tea” by Tom Hegg and illustrated with watercolors by Warren Hanson; have a few cookies, read some scripture and enjoy a few brief, calm moments with friends during holidays.

Well, Carol’s tea party grew! She’s had as many as 70 guests and a menu approaching that of a traditional English Tea. Four years ago she moved the party to her local country club. She and the club share the culinary duties and the party has grown to include games, prizes and yet, still, Carol says the message is simple: Take the time to have a cup of tea with someone. She says she encourages people to reach out to those who are alone and bring them a cup of Christmas tea…and friendship.

About mid-way in the life of this tea party, Carol found The Shoppe at Shady Gables, an authentic English tearoom in Versailles about 7 miles from her home in Camdenton, heart of the famous Lake of the Ozarks area. Soon Reba Starling-Silvey, the proprietor, and Carol shared their passion of taking time for tea with each other.

Today when Carol has her tea party she often serves Reba’s chicken salad, a recipe or two of mine and her own favorites. For her tea, Carol says she always uses Reba’s teas. Carol’s two favorites are “Peace & Serenity” and “Angel’s Dream.”

Reba’s love of tea goes back to her childhood. “When I was 7 my mother had given me a few dollars to spend at Woolworths and a teapot caught my eye.”

Reba said she wrestled within as the purchase seemed extravagant. However, she knew that she had to buy it. It was a “grown-up ladies’ teapot and very sophisticated: white with tiny yellow flowers and a matching cream and sugar set,” Reba said.

Her first teapot served her for about 25 years until the handle was accidentally broken. Today that teapot (properly repaired) resides in the finest china cabinet reigning over 30-plus teapots used at Shady Gables.

Reba says she is grateful her mother let her “splurge” that day and to believe what a dream that purchase inspired.

The tearoom serves just tea….and foods that go with tea. No sodas, no coffee…just teas…about 80 high-quality loose teas artfully brewed as described by Reba.

Shady Gables is a 13-room 104-year-old Victorian farmhouse that Reba has carefully remodeled for the needs of the teahouse. She and her husband Terry are the second owners of the home. The Knopp family built the home and a Knopp family member occupied it until purchased by the Silveys in 1994.

The gift shoppe opened in 2000, preceding the tearoom by one year. Reba says that for her the tearoom is about being blessed as it is her heart’s desire and being a blessing to all her many friends and customers who have enjoyed the pleasures of her tearoom.

So if you’re not going all the way to England but traveling to Missouri anytime soon, call (573) 378-2740 for a reservation at Shady Gables (or visit http://www.shadygables.com).

Meantime, Reba generously has shared the following recipes, noting that for the tea sandwiches, a thin film of real (not imitation) butter is spread on the bread before the filling.

Shady Gables: How to prepare the perfect pot of tea

Fill the kettle with cold tap water. Cold water has more oxygen and will create a livelier pot of tea. Put the kettle on to boil.

Fill the teapot with warm tap water. Add the water to warm the teapot for a few minutes, then pour over the water. A warm teapot helps keep the water hot so the tea will brew properly.

Use high-quality loose leaf tea (like that available at Shady Gables). Use one level teaspoon of tea leaves for each cup of boiling water. Place the tea leaves in a filter and place the filter into the teapot.

For black tea: When the water in the kettle comes to a boil, pour the boiling water into the teapot. If the water has not first come to a boil or if the temperature drops, even slightly, before adding to the teapot, the brewed teas will be weak and tasteless.

For green tea: Allow the water to cool a bit from the boiling stage before adding to the teapot because the boiling water could actually “cook” the tender leaves.

Put the lid on the teapot. Cover with a tea cozy and let brew for 3 to 7 minutes. After 7 minutes the tea will get bitter. At Shady Gables we use 3 minutes for Darjeeling and delicate teas and 4 to 5 minutes for most other black, green or oolong teas.

Remove the tea filter with the tea leaves. Stir the brewed tea in the teapot. Serve and enjoy! Replace the tea cozy over the teapot to keep the tea piping hot.

One of Reba’s most requested recipes is for the chicken salad that is served with “The Queen’s Choice,” a Full Afternoon (Luncheon) Tea. Blink and you might think yourself in jolly ole England

Shady Gables Chicken Salad

2 cups cooked chicken breast, finely cubed

1 cup apple, cored and chopped

½ cup celery, finely chopped

½ cup onion, finely chopped

½ cup walnuts, chopped

1 tbsp. dried parsley

1 tbsp. dried rosemary

1 cup tiny frozen peas

1 cup mayonnaise (do not use salad dressing)

Combine all ingredients. Chill and serve on a croissant with a lettuce leaf. Serves 6.

“Trial and error, that’s how I finally came up with these savory scones that are so very popular at the tearoom,” says Reba, mistress of the Shady Gables Tearoom in Versailles, MO.

Savory BLT Scones

3 cups self-rising flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter

3/4 cup cold buttermilk

1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

2 tablespoons crumbled bacon

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried thyme

Thoroughly combine all dry ingredients. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in dried tomatoes and bacon. Make a well in the dry ingredients mixture and stir in buttermilk until well blended.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for about one minute. Pat out to about 1/2-inch thick. Cut with one-inch biscuit cutter.

Bake at 450 degrees for about 8 minutes. Brush warm scones with melted butter.

Use pumpernickel, whole wheat or rye bread for this unusual dip or spread for sandwiches or cocktail nibbles.

Smoked Salmon Dip for Tea Sandwiches

1 cup mayonnaise

1 (8- to 10-oz) can of salmon, drained

3 tsp. liquid smoke

2 tablespoons grated white onion

Dash of salt

Dash of white pepper

Bone and discard skin and remove all particles from salmon; flake with a fork. Mix together salmon and mayonnaise until well blended.

Stir in remaining ingredients. Chill.

Spread onto brown cocktail bread; remove the crusts. Cut in half.

“This recipe was actually inspired by one of our customers,” Reba says about this simple spread for tea sandwiches. Whole wheat bread is the preference of most at Shady Gables tearoom.

Cottage Cheese and Pineapple Sandwiches

2/3 cup cottage cheese

1 cup pineapple, finely diced

4 slices brown bread, buttered

White pepper to taste

Mix together cottage cheese and pineapple. Season with pepper. Spread onto bread and cut into 3 equal fingers.

 

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