Tutorial: Steampunk-friendly millinery flowers

Japanese hana kanzashi flowers turned into
Steampunk-friendly millinery flowers!

I've taken a bit of a detour from my Victorian and 1912 day dresses and started to flesh out an idea I had for a Steampunk hat trim.  I usually don't make my own hat trims -- heck, I have trouble using pre-made trim and silk flowers on my hats -- because I just don't have the right kind of imagination to come up with something that looks good.  A few years ago I was at Costume Academy -- a one-day costume conference put on by the Greater Bay Area Costumer's Guild -- and ended up taking a class on hana kanzashi, or the delicate, elaborate flower-bedecked hairpins and headdresses that Japanese geishas wear. Making them involves doing origami with tweezers and 1/2 inch squares of hand-painted China silk ribbon to make the individual flower petals, and is very time-consuming and fiddly.  I didn't really know how I would ever use the information, but because I was getting ready to help with the costumes for a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's Mikado, I thought it might come in handy for making headdresses for the women in the cast.  While I didn't end up making any headdresses at that time, I did start thinking about how to alter the design and production for theater costume purposes.  I ended up with cool Steampunk propeller-flowers for my hat (which I don't have yet, but that's another story)!

A picnic with the Pre-Raphaelites.

Pre-Raphaelite Tea Picnic table.
Photo: Elizabeth and Virginia Urbach

The South Bay Ladies' Tea Guild enjoyed almost perfect weather and surroundings at the Pre-Raphaelite Tea Picnic and Artistic Salon.  The popular Japanese Friendship Garden was full of families -- and even a wedding party taking photos -- but the Guild was fortunate in securing a shady picnic table near the back entrance to the garden (and more importantly, near the restrooms!).

another view of the table.
Photo: Elizabeth and Virginia Urbach

The table was set with a green cloth, with a bunch of roses for a centerpiece, and fresh rose petals scattered around.  Plain white plates and clear glasses, along with a few colorful platters, were the serving and eating utensils, with the addition of fly-proof food covers!  Five lovely ladies attended in colorful summer dress, three of them in costume appropriate to the theme and occasion.  The artistic and literary world was represented by two antique books -- one full of poetry and quotations -- as well as period fashion illustrations and a book about traditions and customs from the past that should be brought back into style.  This is the menu:

Pomegranite tea punch

The ladies in attendance. 
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach.

Blueberry scones
Homemade Meyer lemon curd
Homemade fig jam
Imported Devon cream

Pear-cardamom chutney and water crackers
Cucumber sandwiches with fresh mint and rose petals
Chicken salad sandwiches with garden tomatoes
Pastry bunches filled with spinach and cheese

Brown sugar spice cookies
Sugared raspberries and cream

It was a relaxing afternoon tea in the garden, a perfect way to spend a late-summer day! 

Join the South Bay Ladies' Tea Guild for the Pre-Raphaelite Picnic!

"Bower Meadow" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Pre-Raphaelite Tea Picnic: join us at the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose for an Artistic Salon, Victorian style!  Please come prepared to participate by reading a favorite Victorian poem or an excerpt from a period novel, showing a piece of Victorian artwork, singing or playing a Victorian song, or some other historical entertainment (family-friendly, please!).  Gentlemen and older children welcome!  Bring your camera so you can take atmospheric and artistic photos in the garden.

    Date: Saturday, August 20, 2011. Time TBA.
    Location: Japanese Friendship Garden picnic area, Kelley Park, Senter Rd. and Alma St., San Jose.
    Cost: $20 (Tea Guild members) /$25 (non-members)
    Suggested costume: Victorian or Edwardian day dress, Artistic, Reform or Aesthetic costume.

Please R.S.V.P and send payment by Thursday, August 18!  E-mail the Guild at southbayladiesteaguild (at) yahoo (dot) com for more information and to R.S.V.P.  Payment can be made by PayPal, or you can send a check (e-mail for the address).  To qualify for the Member price you must be a paid member of the South Bay Ladies' Tea Guild; membership information is available in the links at the top left of this page.  We look forward to seeing you!

How to prepare matcha?

Prepared matcha with a Japanese sweet. Wikimedia Commons.
I've been a fan of Japanese food and tea since I was 8, but I've never had matcha except in cookies and things. One of these days I've gotta get myself some matcha and a proper tea whisk and see if I can make it properly!

So what is matcha anyway? The region around Kyoto, Japan, is the most important region for the growing and production of matcha, which is made from gyokuro tea leaves that have been steamed before drying, and retain their fresh green color, vegetal flavor and aroma. The tea is also grown differently, kept in the shade just before harvesting. According to In Pursuit of Tea: “The vibrant green color in matcha comes from careful cultivation. Tea plants are covered with mats several weeks prior to harvest, making it difficult for them to receive nutrients. In this struggle, the plant produces more chlorophyll and its leaves become supple.” The tea leaves are de-veined and ground into powder between two stones, before being packaged for sale.

Traditional Japanese preparation of matcha can involve the beautiful and meditative Japanese tea ceremony, or a modified technique more suited to everyday life. The modernized way to make a cup of matcha calls for a few more tools than are necessary for standard tea-making: a fine wire strainer, a small bowl, and a small whisk. The normal kettle, tea cup and tea spoon are perfectly fine for matcha, although it ads to the ambiance to use real Japanese ones. Matcha powder is whisked into hot water until it is frothy, and the tea leaf powder is left in the cup, to be consumed with the liquor. Since the entire tea leaf is ingested, matcha provides a higher level of Vitamin C and antioxidants than the standard tea infusion does. Here is the simplified way to prepare matcha:

Fill the kettle with fresh water and bring it almost to the boil, or bring the water to the boil, and then pour it into an empty teapot and let it sit for a minute or two. Set the wire strainer over the bowl and measure two teaspoons of matcha powder into it, then sift the matcha into the bowl. Measure one heaping teaspoon of sifted matcha and add it to the empty teacup (put the rest in an airtight container for later). Fill the teacup about ¾ of the way with hot water. Use the whisk to break up the clumps of matcha powder, then use rapid back-and-forth motions to whisk the matcha into the water and make it frothy. When the surface of the matcha is covered with froth, drink and enjoy!

For a different experience, why not try adding some matcha powder to a vanilla milkshake, sprinkling it over some vanilla or chocolate ice cream, or working it into a batch of shortbread dough? You’ll have a delicious new treat!

“Japanese tea from San Jose’s Japantown”
“Tea tasting 101: characteristics of good quality green tea”
“Matcha magic: the health benefits of green tea”
In Pursuit of Tea newsletter and website
“Matcha Green Tea – What is it?” Youtube video
“How to prepare matcha” YouTube video
Japanese tea ceremony YouTube video
another Japanese Tea Ceremony video on YouTube
Tea ceremony put on by teachers in Shizuoka
Casual home-style Japanese tea ceremony

Hot tea for cool weather.

tea house at Japanese Friendship Garden, San Jose CA.
It seems that this month has been cooler, temperature-wise, than past Octobers, although I remember one Halloween where the kids were complaining that it was too hot to wear their costumes when they were trick-or-treating, and I thought it was warmer than normal. Maybe it's just now getting back to normal October temperatures! Whatever the reason, the cool weather always makes me want to bake and enjoy cup after cup of hot tea, and I recently bought some really nice loose-leaf jasmine green tea. I have been a long-time fan of savory Japanese soy crackers and green tea cookies, so I'll be pulling a few of these items together, with some sushi from Kazoo Sushi in Japantown, for the South Bay Ladies' Tea Guild's Japanese Tea Garden Picnic. Let's hope for warm, sunny weather this weekend!

Japanese Tea Garden Picnic: let’s enjoy the cool shade in San Jose’s Japanese Friendship Garden, with a picnic in the grove by the koi pond. Gentlemen and older children welcome!
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2009, 2 p.m.
Location: Japanese Friendship Garden, Kelley Park, Alma and Senter Rd., San Jose.
Cost: $20 (members)/ $25 (non-members)
Suggested Costume: Japanese-inspired.

As always, please R.S.V.P. and buy your ticket at least 48 hours in advance (by Thursday, October 22) so I know how much sushi to get. I don't eat raw meat, so I'll be getting vegetarian sushi, and maybe some Spam sushi. E-mail southbayladiesteaguild@yahoo.com for the address to send your check, or if you prefer PayPal, I have an account at eurbach@yahoo.com.

I would have loved to be able to use the tea house in the garden, but unfortunately, it's not open to the public. The city of San Jose uses it for a meeting and conference center and they don't rent it out to anyone -- although I have heard of non-profit groups being allowed to have events there. The person I talked to wouldn't let the Tea Guild in, so we'll have our tea and picnic outdoors. I'll bring the few Japanese decorative items that I have, given to me years ago by Rie Hanu, who was a Japanese exchange student who stayed with my family one summer when I was 8 years old. I have a few dolls and a kid-size kimono and obi that I will bring for display. Hopefully we'll have some beautiful California weather for our picnic!