The Cross & Cleaver. From Page to Plate: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Take Some More Tea
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is 160 this year. Yet it is such a timeless literary work. Made into numerous adaptations, covering many themes and offering a multitude of interesting characters, it has a capacity to etch itself into our consciousness. If you are not familiar (or you have forgotten), open the book’s pages and you will soon find yourself, among others, in a company of talking animals, a game of croquet with flamingoes for mallets, and a hookah-smoking caterpillar. If we didn’t know any better, we would no doubt assume the author was surely smoking something while writing.
Most of us, when reading a book or watching a movie (or TV series), will likely end up favouring one character over others. Or we will end up re-reading or re-watching a particular chapter or scene … just because.
My favourite is A Mad Tea Party chapter. It is a visual feast (if you have imagination), a robust philosophical debate (if you have the courage to see it as such), and a perfect inspiration for setting a table and inviting friends (but if you don’t have any – make it for yourself; works just as well).
I don’t feel like elaborating further … sorry-not-sorry. I feel like going to the kitchen … coming?
A MAD TEA PARTY – THE WAY I LIKE IT
Make sure that while preparing, serving, and hosting the party you wear at least two hats at once. Every 10 minutes, make everyone change their seats and read aloud some philosophy. Otherwise, it just won’t work.
Tea #1 – English Earl Grey, steep according to instructions plus 1 minute. Serve with honey to sweeten (lavender if you can find it) and thin slices of lemon.
Tea #2 – English black tea (I like Typhoo or Yorkshire brands), steep according to instructions plus 3 minutes. Serve with sugar to sweeten and whole milk for those who like it. Just remember – tea first, then sugar, then milk!
Tea #3 – Traditional Masala Chai. I buy it ready-made or powdered, because making the “real McCoy” from scratch is an art and science bordering on magick … so I am out on all three counts.
Sandwich #1 – Spread half of the slices of white bread with softened butter and the other with a thin layer of Heinz’s Salad Cream (no! not mayonnaise, you Philistine!). Put two layers of thinly sliced English cucumber on buttered slices, season with a pinch of salt and pepper (fine grind!!!). Additionally, season half the sandwiches with a pinch of cayenne and the other half with fresh lemon zest (or a few drops of lemon juice). Serve cut diagonally.
Sandwich #2 – Jam pennies, with a twist. Spread half of the slices of white bread with softened butter, then with assorted jams or marmalades. Seville orange marmalade or blackcurrant jam are my choice – every time. Spread the other half of bread slices with soft, creamy peanut butter THEN … sprinkle generously with multicoloured sugar sprinkles. Make sandwiches THEN … using cookie cutters, cut out various shapes. Round is traditional (hence jam pennies), but do not feel bound by tradition. Serve the shape-cut sandwiches, having beforehand eaten in the kitchen all the leftover outer cuts.
Sandwich #3 – The mad sandwich for the mad. Spread all the slices of white bread with softened butter (only on one side … unless you are mad or making grilled cheese sandwiches). Top ¼ with thinly sliced onion (sweet Vidalia is best) and sprinkle generously with sugar (large granules are crunchy fun if you can find some). Top the other ¼ with thinly sliced fresh garlic cloves and season with salt and pepper. Cover with remaining bread. Nobody will care how you cut those, because nobody will likely touch them anyway. Which is a good thing too, because there will be more for you.
The friends you will invite will no doubt leave quoting Alice: “It’s the stupidest tea-party I ever was at in all my life!” They will, however, remember it forever.
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
