Tulip Teacup and Mendocino Muffins

Welcome and thank you for stopping by. 
(Sort of a strange combination in the title, right?)

Please join me for tea in a vintage tulip teacup and carrot pineapple muffins.

Tulips are my favorite flowers. I just love their shape and glossy color. Only one of my tulips bloomed this year. Five others sprouted but no flowers. Our crazy warm weather threw off tulip season for many. Even the local florists didn't have any tulips available for Easter. Hence no tulips in these photos.

One day I was thinking that you hardly ever see tulip designs on teacups. Traditionally you see pansies and roses. Hmm wonder why this is? While tulips are enormously popular and grown in the Netherlands, perhaps they were not "exported" to England during the early to mid twentieth century which was a lucrative time for the bone china pottery industry.

So I was on a quest to find an English teacup designed with tulips. After some online searching I found this beauty on ebay for four dollars! It is a vintage Foley.
I like the thin lime green line at the base of the cup as well as on the bottom of the handle.

The petals appear to be hand painted.

Foley teacups are mistaken for Shelley teacups at time. Foley was a pottery region in England. Some Shelley back stamps include the word Foley on them. You can tell just by picking up this Foley that it is not a Shelley. It lacks the thin translucent bone china of a Shelley. Here is an article explaining briefly the history.

Now this brings us to the muffins! For part of my honeymoon (many years ago) I went to beautiful Mendocino in northern California. It is a coastal artist community. While there I purchased this wonderful cookbook titled Mendocino Mornings. We didn't stay at this Inn, but this has been my go-to cookbook for breakfast and brunch recipes. Every single one has been a winner. I want to share with you a really moist carrot muffin recipe that oozes with the sweetness of brown sugar. These muffins are quite large and perfect for a morning tea.

Carrot Muffins from Mendocino Mornings

Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup oil
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup crushed pineapple

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, brown sugar, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, carrots and pineapple.
Stir into dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Spoon into oiled muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Makes about 18 muffins
*I made twenty muffins and baked for 24 minutes because the muffins are dense.

Some scenes from Mendocino:

(photo from wikimedia)

Mendocino Headlands

(photo from tripadvisor)

Headlands Inn

This is where my husband and I stayed for our tenth anniversary. Delicious breakfasts!

(photo from free internet images)

Glass Beach

Glass Beach in nearby Fort Bragg

From 1906-1967 this was a dump site where the pounding waves tumbled pottery and glass into smooth jewelry like pieces. The beach is almost depleted of glass nowadays, but I still found some green and white pieces which I keep in a glass jar.

Have a wonderful week!

Nora