Tag Archives: downton abbey

Hot Leaf Juice & Firewater

A sequence of images from the TV show Avatar The Last Airbender from Nickelodeon depecting one character calling tea Hot Leaf Juice
©Nickelodeon

It’s that time again! Apparently, it’s been a while since the last one, and I’ve discovered more nerdy cookbooks on our shelves that deserve some time in the spotlight. This time around, I’ve accidentally hit on a theme, and rather than filling your stomach with food, I’ll be quenching your thirst with tea and cocktails1. There will still be some nibbles to start, but I’ll primarily focus on the libations today. Before we get too far into this, I should probably warn my readers that I’m by no means an expert on cocktail mixing or even cocktail drinking. I enjoy a nice cider once in a while, but alcohol has never been something I’ve gone out of my way to partake in, and mixing drinks sounds like a lot of work. That said, I have family and friends who enjoy a nice mixed drink, and just like with making coffee for my wife, I’m happy to pick up a new skill to show off with make their life more enjoyable.

The Official Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook

I’ll start sober with one of the tea books. Thanks, Maya, for setting up beautifully for this section with your ways to hide from winter, though I’ll contest that tea is a year-round drink. Admittedly, The Official Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook has more to do with food than tea, but given that it’s all food meant to accompany an afternoon tea, I’ll give it a pass. To the surprise of (probably) none of you, I know nothing about Downton Abbey beyond that it was a TV show with a rather large following. Is it particularly nerdy? The audience might prefer to avoid hearing this, but yes. British (and world) history mined for what is essentially late-Edwardian early-modern era fan-fiction? Nerdy as all get out2. So what’s in this book? Surprisingly little tea. Pages 15 and 16 cover Tea at Downton Abbey, including Tea Etiquette, Preparing the Tea, Serving the Tea, and Types of Tea. There’s also some talk of British tea history in the preamble, but most of the recipes are for sweets and treats, which makes me think that tea time was just an excuse to indulge one’s sweet tooth. Dish names here are surprisingly standard; they didn’t name a single one after a character from the show, though pictures and quotes are scattered throughout. Will the book make you feel like you’re enjoying afternoon tea at Downton? Probably not, but does that matter when you’re scarfing down English Toffee Shortbreads or Sticky Toffee Pudding3 in a very un-Edwardian fashion? Not one bit. Before moving on, I want to point to Royal Teas, which also has very little to do with actual tea and is more about the food eaten during tea time. I’m tossing it in here since an obsession with royalty is its own kind of nerdery.

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Pamela’s Picks: Downton Abbey – Season 6

 

Downton Abbey - Season 6

 

Fans of Downton Abbey in North America have now seen the penultimate episode of this series about the lives and loves of the Crawley family and their servants. Only the last episode is left and then the series will be completely over. I watched the season 6 Christmas special in December through streaming from England so I already know what’s going to happen but I plan to watch it again when it airs here. For those who haven’t seen it yet, some questions remaining are will Edith and her Marquess get back together? Will Tom find love again? Will Isobel choose Lord Merton or Dr. Clarkson or neither of them? Will Anna deliver her baby safely? Will Daisy leave service? Will Baxter and Molesley get together romantically? What will happen to Thomas? All these questions will be answered, more or less, but – spoiler alert – like in real life not all characters will get a straightforward resolution.

While it will be strange to have no new episodes to look forward to there will still be sites on which to discuss the series, fanfiction to read and the episodes on DVD to watch again and again.

 

 

 

Pamela’s Picks: The World Of Downton Abbey

World of Downton Abbey

 

 

 

 

 

Fans of the television show Downton Abbey might like to read The World of Downton Abbey by Julian Fellowes. This book gives an historical perspective on the life and times of the Edwardian Age and World War I as well as a behind the scenes look at the filming of the show. Readers can learn about the fashion of the times, the life of high class society, what life was really like at the front during World War I, the changing role of women and women’s suffrage, and how servants really lived. There are also comments from the producers and actors and lots of behind the scenes photos. If you like this book you may want to continue on reading about Downton in the books The Chronicles of Downton Abbey and Behind The Scenes at Downton Abbey.