Mother's Day Afternoon Tea

Happy early Mother's Day :)

If you're looking to throw a quick and simple Mother's Day brunch or afternoon tea, here are a few decor ideas/recipes!

The dining area:

Table cloth: I cut up part of a black table cloth and draped it over a white table cloth. Next, I cut up circles using scrap pieces of white paper and glued them to the black table runner.

Flowers: I bought some magenta roses from the dollar store and trimmed the ends. Afterwards, I placed them in mason jars.

Utensils: I bought pink napkins from Amazon, used tea cups we had at home, made little name cards, and used little dessert plates. Instead of washing forks/spoons, I just used white forks and spoons.

I actually added one or two items to the menu but most of the items served were on it!

Balloon chandelier: rather than going to the store and getting gold/white balloons (bought them from Amazon) pumped, my brother and I just blew up balloons and tied strings to them. The next day, I hung them upside down from the ceiling! 

Juice Bar: 

Decor: I used my exacto-knife to cut out the words in the sign (a large piece of cardstock), I cut out various sized circles from construction paper, I taped balloons to the wall. 

Table: Remember that black tablecloth I cut up? Well I draped the rest of it over the table!

Glasses: I bought these disposable (but honestly, I'm just gonna wash them!) glass martini glasses and placed pretty straws in each one (both from Amazon)!

Fruit: I had little cups of blueberries (defrosted), strawberries with the stems, raspberries and cucumbers.

Garnish: fresh mint leaves ;)

Juices: I bought lemonade, cranberry juice, and club soda/seltzer water. Rather than leaving them in their containers, I transferred them to glass jars (one Voss, an old jar of crushed tomatoes, and an old chocolate milk jar!) 

Bucket: I filled the bucket with ice packs and reusable ice cubes to keep the drinks nice and cold. Unfortunately, the bucket is Christmas themed, but I didn't think it was necessary to paint the bucket ;)

Now....for the FOOD :)

Mini Fruit Tarts with a Shortbread Cookie Crust

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Custard: http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/italian-fruit-tart/

Crust: http://www.apt2bbakingco.com/apt2bbakingco/2013/07/mascarpone-cream-tart-with-fresh-fruit.html

assorted fruits/berries

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1. Bake the crust in a muffin tin and prepare the custard

2. Cool the crust and custard completely

3. Spoon the custard into each crust

4. Top with berries/fruits

gently slice off the frosting layer

cut the remaining base into two parts

spread the chia seed jam onto the top of the bottom half

sandwich the other half on top of the bottom

you can either spread more chia seed jam and add the frosting layer on top, or keep it bare and just add a strawberry!

use a little bit of chia seed jam to "glue" the raspberry to the cake!

Rustic Lemon-Raspberry Petit Fours

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Pound cake: I bought it from Wegman's!

Strawberry Chia Seed Jam (recipe below)

Raspberry to garnish :)

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1. Gently slice off the top of the pound cake

2. Halve the remaining base

3. On one side of the base, spread an even layer of chia seed jam

4. Add the other half of the base on top

5. Either spread more chia seed jam and add the top layer OR cut into 8 pieces and top with a raspberry

6. If you added the top layer, now cut it into 8 pieces

7. Add a little bit of chia seed jam onto each raspberry that you add on top to help it stick

Strawberry Chia Seed Jam

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2 cups of strawberries, washed, hulled, and chopped

2 tablespoons of water

3 tablespoons of chia seeds

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1. Add the strawberries and water to a small pot. Turn on the heat and let the strawberries simmer until they're all mushy and soft.

2. Let the mixture simmer for longer if you want, or just remove from the heat.

3. After the strawberries have cooled, blend it in a blender.

4. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the chia seeds. 

5. Let it set in the fridge overnight.

Smoked Salmon-Poached Egg Avocado Boats

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poached eggs

smoked salmon

avocados, halved

1/2 lemon

cayenne, black pepper, salt

parsley, to garnish

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1. Squeeze lemon juice onto each avocado half

2. Add a slice of smoked salmon to the avocado

3. Gently place the poached egg on top of the smoked salmon

4. Sprinkle cayenne, black pepper, and salt on top of the egg

5. Garnish with the parsley

Gluten-Free and Sugar Free Strawberry-Coconut Scones

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1 egg

1/4 cup of coconut oil, softened

1 cup of almond flour

1/2 cup of oat flour

2 tablespoons of tapioca starch

1/3 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup of chopped strawberries

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1. In a large bowl, mix the egg and coconut oil.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients (everything else except the strawberries)

3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix to combine.

4. Gently fold in the strawberries.

5. Bake at 350*F for about 30-35 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

My signature recipe ;)

Gluten-Free and Sugar-Free Blueberry Banana Muffins

Strawberry Tea Sandwiches

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bread, with the crusts cut off

1/4 cup of cream cheese, softened

handful of fresh mint, cut into ribbons

handful of strawberries

mint or parsley, to garnish

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1. Mix the cream cheese with the mint.

2. Spread the cream cheese onto the bread

3. Thinly slice each strawberry and fan it out onto the bread

4. Top with mint or parsley

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

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bread, with the crusts cut off & cut into triangles

1/4 cup of cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon of chopped parsley

1 cucumber, thinly sliced

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1. Mix the parsley with the cream cheese in a small bowl.

2. Spread the cream cheese onto both triangles

3. Layer cucumber slices onto only one triangle of the sandwich.

4. Top with the other triangle

That's everything!

Thank you Mom for being there for me through everything. You've gone out of your way for me, from getting gluten-free donuts at Erin McKenna's bakery to picking up my favorite sticky rice for me. Not many parents would be as enthusiastic and supportive when it comes to their kids going to certain colleges, and you and dad really helped me feel a lot more secure about my school choice. Thank you for listening, for helping me calm down during my late night anxiety attacks, for always being excited for me, for reading my blog every day, for taking my side when I get mad at Wilson (sometimes), for coming to all of our school concerts.

Happy Mother's Day!

xoxo, han