Tea Time ~ In the Brambles with Capricorn

Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn, arrives late in the year so he doesn’t have a lot of tea herbs in his garden. But the mighty bramble blackberry is one that he favors. I didn’t have any tea containing blackberry in my collection, so I checked the shelves at the local grocery store and found a Lipton black tea that fills the bill ~ Bavarian Wild Berry. (The tea is packaged in those silky pyramid tea bags, which I love.) The tea is mild and not too fruity.

Other teas that fit the Capricorn code are teas made from herbs that are used in money spells ~ oil of Bergamot being one. Earl Grey is the most famous of these teas, and the title “Earl” does command respect. Teas containing comfrey, slippery elm, and kava-kava are also Saturnine and likely to satisfy a more “herbal” palette. The Bavarian Wild Berry tea is “domesticated,” if you get my drift.

If you’re not big on hot tea but love iced teas, here’s what looks like a really good blackberry iced tea from Southern Living’s recipe collection. Those of you basking in the Southern Hemisphere summer might prefer this Sangria-like tea to something hot and steamy.

If you have a favorite, respectfully cared for cup or mug, Capricorn is already at work. If it’s bone china, Capricorn gives a knowing nod and a thumbs up.

Snacks and Goodies

Here we get some interesting goodies to go with tea time. Capricorn rules preserved, aged, and salted foods like bacon, ham, beef jerky, olives, capers, and fruit preserves. You’ll find a lot of overlapping when it comes to foods ruled by the zodiac. Just like the chart, nothing is written in absolute stone ~ which kind of irritates Cap at times.

You can satisfy a Capricorn tea with nothing more than a plain scone topped with blackberry preserves, the seedless variety of course.  Blackberries are one of those foods you can have now, and then have some later ~ when you least expect it. The seeds love getting in the nooks and crannies of our teeth, which Cap also rules. Scones made with black currants also meet the Capricorn goal. (If you want to make your own scones, there’s a basic scone recipe at the bottom of this post. They’re really easy to make.)

A good, standard item found at tea is quiche and what’s more available than a bacon or ham and cheddar quiche?

Goat cheese and watercress tea sandwiches are another great choice for Cap. So’s a spinach salad. Spinach doesn’t contain much calcium that Cap adores, but the bacon brings it home.

Coffee, tea’s husband, is often attributed to Capricorn. Is there anything better than the smell of coffee and bacon in the morning to get you up out of bed? It gives you a little push to face the work day.

Items to stock during Capricorn:

• Anything rich in calcium
• Bacon and ham ~ salted and cured to preserve their shelf-life
• Smoked foods, including smoked salmon and other fish
• Goat cheese, of course
• Gelatins ~ made from bones
• Root veggies ~ a salad including red beets is a good choice.
• Pansies ~ An edible flower of Capricorn that looks gorgeous on a salad of field greens
• Other fruits include black currants, black figs, and quinces

Libations

If you like afternoon tea time to include something a little stronger, you have to check out Intoxicated Zodiac’s Cocktails of Capricorn. Gwen serves up some gorgeous cocktails, all catering to a particular sign of the zodiac. Definitely take a look at this one ~ Blackberry Noir… A Sip for Saturn’s Dark Goat, Capricorn. Wow! That’s gorgeous, Gwen!

Basic Scone Recipe

This recipe makes an extremely plain scone that’s a good carrier for whatever you’d like to top it with.  For a moister, more flavorful scone, try this recipe from Vampire Gran’s Kitchen instead. There’s an amazing array of scone recipes online. I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to scones, and tend to like them on the drier side instead of biscuit-like. Dry makes Capricorn happy.

I made this recipe with self-rising flour this morning. Just omit the baking powder.

Preheat the oven to 425º

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 heaping tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1½ cups buttermilk*

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl (I like a bowl that’s on the flat side), then scoop a well in the center of the bowl. Add the buttermilk into the well and start folding the dry ingredients in until the dough is moist. Don’t overdo this step. Just get the ingredients mixed. You’ll have to get your hands into this dough to get it mixed.

Turn the dough out onto a floured, parchment lined cookie sheet and form the dough into a round loaf that’s about 6-8 inches wide.

*If you don’t have buttermilk, add a tbsp of vinegar to the milk and let it stand for about 10 minutes. It’s not the same, but it will do.

Before baking, brush any left over flour off the sheet, cut the round into 8  wedges and separate them slightly. Bake until golden, usually around 20 minutes. The time might vary with the Moon’s sign. These cook quickly, but you can test the center with a toothpick to be sure they’re done. This makes a very crusty scone.