If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…the weekend coffee share edition

Thistles and Kiwis,

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…you would see a freshly baked cake. I would tell you it is Julia Turshen’s Afternoon Cake from her book Small Victories. It is made with ground almonds and orange rind, and is light and not too sweet.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…we would talk about the past week, about the three day Level 3 lockdown in Auckland and Level 2 for the rest of the country, about how we were glad to be back at Level 1 where we are, but not that we have to now wear masks on all public transport and not just planes. We would say…well the rest of the world has been doing this for ages, but for us it is still something to get used to, and wasn’t it wonderful that the first vaccines have been administered to the front line border staff.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…we would say how much we like summer, even though it hasn’t been a particularly good one this year. We would be happy to be sitting outside, enjoying our tea and cake.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…you would ask me what tea we were drinking and I would say French Earl Grey from tLeafT. We agree it is really fragrant, and a lovely variety of this tea.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…I would say I missed the Virtual Afternoon Tea this month as I was travelling for work. You say, well, it can’t be helped, but at least you can feature a cake today.

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…we would talk about friends and family overseas, about podcasts (I tell you I was obsessed with The Apology Line), about forthcoming events, about all the things we always talk about. The time passes….

If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea…I would ask you if you would like to share a roast chicken this evening, and you say yes. So we went into the kitchen and carried on the conversation there.

Thanks to Natalie the Explorer for inviting me to her weekend coffee share blog party. Go and have a look and see who else is there!

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram@thistleandkiwis.  As for Twitter….am totally inactive these days.  If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com

Published by Thistles and Kiwis

23 Comments

  1. I’d love to try a French Earl Grey tea and a slice of your Afternoon Cake. Good to hear you’re back to Level 1. It takes some time to remember and get used to wearing masks. Thank you for linking with #WeekendCoffeeShare.

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  2. I’m off to look up your freshly baked cake, especially since it is made with ground almonds .. one of my daughters is celiac ..so she would enjoy that cake, as would the rest of the family. I have so many podcasts on the waiting list, I had better spend more time listening to them, but The Apology Line sounds intriguing.

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  3. Your cake looks delicious and Earl Grey in its various forms is a favourite of mine. We have had to wear masks, sanitise our hands, and keep a social distance for coming up a year soon so it is second nature to us. How wonderful it will be when masks can be dispensed with!

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  6. Oh my goodness, that cake looks absolutely wonderful!
    Yes, lockdown. It’s normal to us by now… I’m glad you’ve started vaccinating over there in NZ too. I can’t wait for this to be over!

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  7. Your cake looks perfect; almond and orange is a combination I love, though seldom make (note to self, etc). I am rather taken with your teaspoon too. I’ve developed a recent liking for those commemorative spoons that seemed to be everywhere in my youth — probably because they look so good in photos like yours above.

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  8. Delicious cake looks yum. Love the fancy teaspoon. It is very odd with the masks & restrictions, the Chinese have been wearing masks & had restrictions for years due to pollution as for our countries we are pretty blessed aren’t we. I’m so glad restrictions are being lifted again for you all.
    Have a sweet week.

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  9. That cake looks great & I’m off to check out Julia Turshen. My bestie lives in Wellington & I normally get across at least twice a year so am now having NZ withdrawal, but she has said the summer has been a bit yeah nah. I live on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and we have no requirements to wear masks – although do have to if we’re on public transport in Brisbane or in the airport. We really are so lucky, aren’t we?

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      1. We’ve reopened travel to NZers but it’s not much good when you still need to quarantine at your end. Fingers crossed.

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  12. Pingback: This week’s small pleasures #231 – Thistles and Kiwis

    1. This year I find I am missing not being able to see family more than last year. We live far away from everyone, except one of my nephews (and even then, he is on the South Island), and for some reason, this year I want to see them all.

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      1. I used to hate travelling but now … I want to jump in the car and drive to Spain and see my sister, onto France to see our daughter and then onto the UK to see our boys. Yet when we could travel it was too much effort

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