A spring tea

The second Sunday in May was the obvious time to dine out to honor “She Who Cooks for Everyone Else,” but during the entire rest of the year, most moms go the extra mile to make life more comfortable and attractive for the rest of us. Why not fuss a bit in kind? Pretty June is an especially appropriate month for an elegant, homemade and heartfelt tea.

The following recipes for cucumber sandwiches, scones and meringues comprise a traditional tea, and together they require enough painstaking effort to make others, especially mothers, feel pampered and appreciated.

Plan to use your best table linens and dishes on a table set outside, and tell mom to show up in a hat, gloves and pearls. Really. Whether she feels like a character in an old movie or just has a good laugh, the celebration will be enhanced. I once hosted a tea for six friends as an alternative TGIF party. All of them appeared in the requested hats, gloves and pearls, even while most of them remained in their casual Friday clothes. Like props in a play, the accessories brought out an actress or a subpersonality in each of us. At the height of the laughter, after the sherry had been served, the UPS man showed up, but for some reason fled when we offered him a cup. Just as well. The cup was Aunt Freda’s thinnest china.

Remember when pouring the tea that MIF (milk in first) was an expression of scorn among certain well-bred British ladies. That, as Winston Churchill once said, perhaps at tea, is a situation up with which we shall not put.

One lump, or two? Cucumber sandwiches
From “The London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea”

1. Peel a cucumber and slice it into transparencies on the slicing side of a grater, or by adroit use of a potato peeler. Sprinkle these see-through discs with a little vinegar and salt.

2. After half an hour, drain away the excess cucumber juice by shuffling the slices in a sieve.

3. Cover a slice of lightly buttered paper-thin brown bread with two layers of cucumber, and top with another slice of bread. Apply firm but delicate pressure with the palm of the hand.

4. Slice off the crusts, and cut into three rectangles. Pile these neatly on a porcelain serving plate, and cover with a lightly dampened cloth until tea is served.

Herbal lemon-oat scones
From Tasha Williams, The Sault Falls Inn, Braman, PA

1/3 cup margarine or butter
1 and 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup quick oats
3 Tblsp. sugar
2 and 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
2 tsp. chopped pineapple mint
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds
4-6 Tblsps. half and half

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place dry ingredients and lemon peel and mint in food processor. Add margarine and process until mixture resembles crumbs.

3. Stir egg and half and half together.

4. Transfer dry crumb mix to bowl and make a well in center of mixture.

5. Add wet ingredients and almonds. Mix with a fork until just incorporated.

6. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and roll or pat to a half-inch thick. Cut into wedges, place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown.

7. Spread with butter and serve with strawberry preserves.

Savoy meringues with berries and cream
From Tricia Foley’s “Having Tea”

Choose whatever berry is at its peak, but the contrast of strawberries and snowy meringue is delectable.

1 cup egg whites (approximately 6 eggs)
2 cups superfine sugar
2 cups heavy cream, whipped
1 pint fresh strawberries, halved

1. For an electric stove or a gas stove without a pilot light, preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and beat until stiff.

3. Pipe three- to four-inch circles of meringue onto a baking sheet of buttered parchment paper.

4. If you have a gas stove with a pilot light, dry in the oven overnight by using the heat from the light. If you have an electric stove or a gas stove without a pilot light, bake the meringues for approximately 90 minutes, taking care that they do not begin to color, until dried out.

5. When cool and dry, pipe whipped cream on top of each meringue and garnish with fresh strawberry halves. If making ahead of time, store in an airtight container.

Makes approximately 18.

Eat well.