Books, tea, and fruity heaven

With April fast approaching, the women's book study I started back in November is coming to an end. We've enjoyed each other's company immensely over the past 5 months, and have explored a wealth of perspectives on problems facing modern women. We've read books of great polarity and extremism, engaged in great dialogue and conversation, and enjoyed delicious treats along the way. :)

A book club member graciously offered to bring blooming tea this last time, and treated us all to quite the delightful visual experience:

Blooming Tea kit comes with a glass tea jar and lid,
and several flavors of tea bulbs.

Simply pour hot water over the bulbs and steep. We
used one bulb of jasmine and one bulb of pomegranate
flavor to get a delicious blend!

Then we watched as the tea bulbs blossomed!

The bulb will drop to the bottom as it blossoms,
exposing a flower that floats to the top like a lilypad.

I started the book club primarily as a venue for empowering women through discussion. Not surprisingly, I got to combine many of my other interests as well: deep conversation, reading, and finger foods! I am always looking for yummy appetizers and finger foods for parties, and the book club was a wonderful outlet to test run small batches! I recently made cheesecake-stuffed strawberries (which a friend of mine had made for an in-home jewelry party she hosted a while back) and they were heavenly! I simply blended an 8 oz package of softened cream cheese with a heaping 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, a splash of milk, and 1 T of vanilla extract. Then I put the filling in a cake decorating bag so I could easily squeeze it into the berries. I cut off the tips of the strawberries (so they sit flat on a plate) and the tops, making sure to core out the middle. Squeeze in the filling and sprinkle crushed graham crackers on top and there you go! Simple. I used the same filling to decorate a kiwi slice with a blackberry just to see what it would taste like and angels sang.

Cheesecake-stuffed Strawberries and Kiwi-Blackberry Tarts

About to have a flavor
explosion in her mouth!

Very happy book club member!