Guest Author - Jill Florio

Drinking tea is an age-old way to pamper yourself. Simple Pleasures of Tea is a delightful book about one of life's most cozy and comforting activities. The book's introduction sets up the lovely premise of using teas to enjoy a simpler lifestyle.

Many wonderful ideas for infusions, types of honey and recipes for cooking wonderful baked goods that go well with tea follow. I love the quietly festive recipes, like Red Velvet Cake, Mexican Wedding Cookies, Lemon Tea Bread, Buttermilk Biscuits, Rhubard-Strawberry Crisp, Pumpkin Bread and Raisin Scones. Yum - comfort foods for chilly afternoons with tea. There also are recipes for homemade teas, sun teas and steaming tea facials.

The Simple Pleasures of Tea book also FEELS good. The pages have a nice clay coating and really gorgeous pictures. Great quotes from Emily Post, the Wind in the Willows and Thoreau spice up the content. It's a pretty lovely little kitchen, breakfast nook, or tea shelf book.