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We all love a tea break, but what if you could raise money for an important cause at the same time?

Every year, NHS Charities Together encourages the country to host an afternoon tea party to raise money for healthcare workers, patients and volunteers.

This year, after 15 months of pandemic living that has left few unscathed, a tea party celebrating our tireless NHS heroes seems more important than ever, especially as they continue to battle the Covid crisis and start down the long road to recovery.

The past year has been a tough one for the nation and especially for our amazing NHS staff, who have been working so hard to look after us all, says Nadiya Hussain, who has joined forces with NHS Charities Together to come up with some delicious, easy recipes perfect for the party. The NHS Big Tea is the perfect opportunity for us all to come together with friends and family and raise money to support NHS staff as they keep battling for us.

She adds: What better excuse is there to combine our love of the NHS and baking? It will be great to unite over a cup of tea and a slice of cake or two to show our thanks.

In the time it takes you to brew your morning tea, you can sign up to host a tea party for your friends, family or colleagues on the NHSs birthday, 5 July, here.

So whether youll be raising a cuppa in the office, over Zoom or during a picnic in the park, lets celebrate 73 years of our health service with these delicious recipes from the Bake Off winner.

Chicken, brie, cranberry and pink pepper pithivier

A French classic with a delicious melted centre

(Chris Terry)

A French classic, this beautifully scored, round, puff pastry pie can be filled with all manner of ingredients, sweet or savoury. With such a reliable exterior, the inside is all to play for. Ive filled mine with chicken thats spiced and sweetened with pink peppercorns and cranberries, around a delicious centre of melted brie.

Serves: 6

Prep time: 30 mins, plus chilling | Cook time: 50 mins

Can be assembled up to 1 day in advance and then baked to serve.

Ingredients:

2 x 500g blocks of puff pastry

3 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of garlic

1 onion

1 tsp salt

4 tbsp pink peppercorns, crushed

300g chicken thighs, cut into cubes

100g dried cranberries

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

200g brie

Method:

1. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

2. Take the puff pastry blocks and roll them one by one on a floured surface. Roll to a 5mm thickness and cut using a 25cm round, then cut another circle to a 30cm round. Leave both to chill on a tray while you make the filling.

3. Add oil to a non-stick pan. Blitz the garlic and onion to a smooth paste.

4. Add the paste to the hot oil and cook till the mixture is thick and brown this should take about 10 minutes over a medium heat. Now add the salt and peppercorns and mix.

5. Add the chicken along with the cranberries, and mix and cook till you have a dry chicken mix and the chicken is cooked through, which should take around 7 minutes at most. Take off the heat and leave to cool completely.

6. Take the smaller round and lightly brush the edges with egg yolk.

7. Carefully slice off the top and base of the brie, just to make it shorter. Pop the brie in the centre of the round and then add the chicken all around the edge and over the top of the brie, patting it into a mound and avoiding the brushed egg yolk edge.

8. Take the second, larger circle and place on top. Push down over the filling, easing out any air bubbles as you go and sealing all around the edges firmly. Brush the top with the egg yolk and pop into the fridge for 30 minutes.

9. Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and put a tray in the oven to heat up.

10. Flute the edge using the back of a knife to create a scalloped edge, and score the top. Brush the egg yolk again and bake for 25-30 minutes. If the pastry is looking very dark after 20 minutes, cover loosely with foil and reduce the oven temperature to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Serve straight from the oven.

Ginger and almond florentines

Brandy snap meets biscuit meets toffee

(Chris Terry)

These are delicious to have lying about the house for a sweet treat, but even better wrapped and given away as a present. Laced with chopped crystallised ginger, sliced almonds and a hint of orange zest, theyre finally dipped in chocolate to add to the party in your mouth!

Makes:18

Prep time:25 minutes, plus setting

Cook time:15 minutes

Ingredients:

50g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing the trays

50g soft brown sugar

50g golden syrup

50g plain flour

75g crystallised ginger, finely chopped

50g sliced almonds

1 orange, zest only

200g dark chocolate

65g white chocolate

Method:

1. Start by preheating the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Line and very lightly grease three baking trays.

2. To make the florentines (and these are so easy I think you will be making them again), place the butter and sugar in a medium pan along with the golden syrup and heat until the sugar has dissolved and there are no more granules.

3. Take off the heat and add the flour, ginger, almonds and zest and mix to thoroughly combine.

4. Take teaspoons of the mixture and pop six equal mounds on each tray, leaving plenty of room for them to spread. Bake for 8 minutes. As soon as they are light golden in the centre and just slightly darker on the outside, they are ready to take out. They are still fragile when very hot, so will need to rest for about 5 minutes before you even think about moving them.

5. Have a cooling rack ready and gently, using a palette knife, take them one by one to cool on the rack. Once they have cooled completely they are ready to dip.

6. Now, traditionally they have one side covered in chocolate, but that doesnt agree with me where am I supposed to hold it without getting melted chocolate all over my fingers? So I like to half-dip. No messy fingers and I get to taste the florentines two different ways. So, melt the chocolates in separate bowls. Make sure to put the dark chocolate in a bowl deep enough for dipping the florentines.

7. Add the melted white chocolate directly on top of the melted dark chocolate, then use a skewer to create swirls.

8. Take each round and dip half in, then pop out and leave to set on the tray with the baking paper that they baked on initially. Leave the chocolate to set and they are ready to eat!

Mango and coconut yoghurt cake with German buttercream

Traditional Bangladeshi flavours in a cake!

(Chris Terry)

These flavours are as traditional as they get for me. Theyre the flavours I grew up with, though while mango was cooked in curries, dried, or eaten in the sun under the shade of the tree, it was never put in a cake! The same went for coconut. If it wasnt being eaten dry, it was being stewed or eaten early drinking its sweet water and scooping out its young flesh but it was never ever put in a cake. So, lets fix that, and put all that wonderful stuff straight into a cake, shall we?

Serves: 8-10

Prep time: 35 mins, plus chilling | Cook time: 45 mins

Ingredients

For the cake:

Butter, for greasing the tins

50g desiccated coconut

1 mango, peeled and thinly sliced lengthways

400g Greek yoghurt

300g caster sugar

7 medium eggs, lightly beaten

400g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

For the German buttercream:

150ml whole milk

100g caster sugar

3 egg yolks

1 tbsp cornflour

350g unsalted butter, at room temperature

tsp vanilla extract

For the decoration:

25g coconut chips or desiccated coconut, toasted

150g mango pulp

To serve:

Greek yoghurt and extra mango pulp

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line the bases and grease two 20cm deep round cake tins.

2. Toast the coconut in a small pan until it is golden and sprinkle into the bases of the cake tins, making sure to evenly distribute it. Toasting it will enhance the flavour (untoasted coconut tastes no different to the wood-chip shavings I lay out for my rabbit). Add the mango in some sort of orderly fashion, straight on top of the coconut.

3. The cake is an all-in-one method, so really easy. Pop the yoghurt into a large mixing bowl along with the sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and salt, and mix until you have a smooth, shiny cake batter. Pour the mixture into the tins and tap them a few times on the work surface to level off the top.

4. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden, and a skewer, when inserted, comes out clean. Take the cakes out and leave in the tins to cool for 15 minutes, then turn out and leave to cool completely.

5. Meanwhile, make the buttercream by adding the milk to a saucepan with the sugar. As soon as it has come to the boil, take off the heat and mix, making sure the sugar has melted.

6. Now add the egg yolks to a bowl with the cornflour and whisk. In a steady stream, pour in the hot milk mixture, making sure to stir all the time.

7. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently until it all thickens into a really thick custard that coats the back of the spoon. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to cool, then chill in the fridge.

8. When chilled, whisk the custard mix, then add a good tablespoon of butter at a time, whisking after each addition. Keep whisking until you have a really stiff, pipeable buttercream. Pop into a piping bag.

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Celebrate the NHS with Nadiya Hussains perfect tea party recipes - The Independent

Boston ranked 25th out of the 100 best and worst places for Fourth of July celebrations in the United States.

The Massachusetts capital ranked 40th in affordability, 91st in attractions and activities, 14th in safety and accessibility, 23rd in weather, in a recent WalletHub study.

While Fourth of July celebrations were extremely limited last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year states are a lot more open thanks to our vaccination efforts, WalletHub wrote. Americans are already gearing up for this major holiday, too. The National Retail Federation projects that American households this year will spend a collective $7.5 billion on Fourth of July celebrations.

The top five cities on the list are New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Minneapolis and Atlanta. Boston is the highest ranked city in New England.

WalletHub also featured key findings about Independence Day from the survey which include:

Survey Key Findings

Massachusetts has been deemed the birthplace of the American Revolution and is home to the historic events of the Boston Tea Party to the battle of Lexington and Concord. Despite this, Massachusetts didnt crack the top 10 for fourth of July celebrations and was ranked at 39 in WalletHubs list of the most patriotic states earlier this month.

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Boston ranked 25th best place for 4th of July celebrations, top city in New England - MassLive.com

In "Imitation" episode 7, Kwon Ryeok (Lee Jun-yeong) and Ma-ha (Jung Ji-so) started dating and went on date to a secret spot only the idols know.

Unfortunately, the paparazzi caught them, and in episode 8 of Imitation, we will see Ma-ha and the Tea Party on the verge of getting caught in a controversy because of their relationship. Shax fandom is extremely possessive of their idols, especially Kwon Ryeok.

If they were to learn of the relationship between Shax and Ma-ha, they would definitely abandon the band and that would bring about a huge loss to the company that manages Shax.

Also read: BTS's V becomes fifth Korean soloist to reach 3 million followers as fans await release of his first mixtape

Until now, the CEO of the company, Park Jin-Man (Kong Jung-hwan) was unaware of their relationship. Kwon Ryeok's manager had tried his best to hide the truth. He had even tried to stop Kwon Ryeok from meeting Ma-ha but that had instead harmed Kwon Ryeok.

So now, they are all collectively in a mess, and the CEO of Shax's managing company is out to get Tea Party. Tea Party's manager, Ji-hak (Danny Ahn), is someone the CEO doesn't like too much, because he was handling Shax when Eun-joo disappeared following the death of his girlfriend.

So there is leftover hatred between Jin-man and Ji-hak, which would also need to be resolved. Based on the promo for Imitation's next episode, Jin-Man will use the former CEO of Tea Party's ex-agency, the same one that handled Ma-ha, Ria and Hyun-ji when they were still Omega 3.

Also read: 'Blackpink disband' trends online, K-Pop group's fifth-anniversary celebrations marred by feud between Blinks and BTS Army

This band also abandoned them after the death of one of its former members. So Jin-man definitely has something evil planned for Ma-ha and her friends. The question now is how they will sidestep this obstacle.

At the moment, the show doesn't follow the comics at all. The webcomic features Kwon Ryeok as powerful enough to control his agency, and the newspapers, as the son of a conglomerate family. So far, there has been no hint of this in the show.

That leaves Ji-hak to deal with the mess that Ma-ha has created in Imitation. Ma-ha will also face opposition from Hyun-ji who, as of now, is unaware of Ma-ha's relationship with Kwon Ryeok.

Tea party manager Ji-hak, in Imitiation episode 8's promo, is seen approaching the journalist who has been following him around. He asks her a favor.

Also read: What is BTS Jimins net worth? Exploring the K-Pop singers wealth as he ranks #1 in individual idol brand reputation

Ji-hak tells her that he wants an article published and in return he will owe her one. The question now is, what exactly will Ji-hak reveal? Will he reveal Ma-ha and Kwon Ryeok's relationship or a scoop about Eun-jo in Imitation? After all, he is the only person from Eun-jo's past who has met him again.

No one from Shax, in Imitation, even knows that Eun-jo is back in Seoul. He seems to have taken up photography, which is much different from the character arc that Eun-jo had in the comic. In the webcomic, Eun-jo was driven away from Shax by Kwon Ryeok's powerful brother.

Will there be a chance for Eun-jo to return to Shax now? There are also chances for Eun-jo to finally open up about why he had to leave the band and his relationship with former member of Omega 3 as well in Imitation.

Imitation episode 8 will air on June 25th at 11.20 on KBS 2 and can be streamed on Viki.

See the rest here:
Imitation episode 8: Can Kwon Ryeok save Ma-ha and Tea Party from his CEO's evil trap? - Sportskeeda

The calendar may say June, but what promises to be a bruising 2022 election cycle is unofficially underway in Texas, with candidates and potential candidates already crisscrossing the state, hitting up their supporters for money and testing campaign slogans.

Billboards for Republican Don Huffines for governor dot the interstates as Texans head to the beach this summer. Meanwhile potential Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen West, of Garland, is speaking to GOP activists from the Dallas Metroplex to the coastline, leading to speculation that he, too, could jump into the race.

Democrat Beto ORourke hasnt announced whether hell run for governor, but he just finished a 22-city road trip reminiscent of his go-everywhere U.S. Senate campaign in 2018, making it clear he hasnt ruled it out either.

And while all that is going on, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is trying to shore up his right flank by traveling to the Texas border this week with former President Donald Trump at his side to deliver a tough-on-border-security message.

Its all earlier than we are used to and earlier than what weve seen in past years, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor.

The secretary of state wont even start qualifying candidates to run for governor and other state offices until November.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Though both major parties are at a crossroads, it is mainly Republicans who are hastening the 2022 cycle, in part because those launching primary challenges have to get to work early if they hope to knock off incumbents who often have more money and name recognition. Rottinghaus said that means the candidates need to assess early how far they can go to appeal to Trump Republicans without alienating moderates who will be needed in the ever-tightening battles for statewide offices such as governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Then there is the dramatically changing electorate in Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference on details of his plan for Texas to build a border wall and provide $250 million in state funds as a "down payment."

Since Abbotts last reelection, in 2018, the state has added 1.7 million more voters. And over the last eight years, 3.5 million more voters have been added. Counties such as Harris and Bexar, where statewide Republicans won races just eight years ago, went so heavily for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election that he came within 6 percentage points of winning Texas the best showing for a Democratic presidential candidate in a quarter-century.

In the last two weeks, two high-profile Republicans announced primary challenges to Attorney General Ken Paxton, two others have filed to run for state land commissioner, and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced they are staying put and running for reelection, instead of challenging Abbott, as some predicted.

Democrats face the same primary timeline, but ORourke can afford to wait longer, based on his name identification and proven fundraising skills. George W. Bush did the same in 1993 when he announced his campaign for governor against Democrat Ann Richards one year from the general election.

Lesser known Democrats dont have that same luxury and have had to start even earlier. Democrat Mike Collier, who ran against Patrick in 2018, announced his campaign for lieutenant governor in April. And in the attorney generals race, former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski, a Democrat, announced his candidacy seven months ago.

Abbott starts his reelection campaign with major advantages. Having been a statewide officeholder for 25 years and after a year and a half of controlling the Texas response to the pandemic Abbott, 63, has a name recognition advantage over any potential challenger and more than $39 million in his campaign account to fend them off.

But even with all that, Abbott moved quickly to get Trumps endorsement an acknowledgment that Trump still holds major sway with GOP voters, particularly the super voters who dont miss primary elections.

Governor Greg Abbott will continue to be a great leader for the Lone Star State, and has my complete and total endorsement for reelection. He will never let you down! Trump said in a statement in early June.

Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a campaign stop at the Jefferson County Republican Party's office in Port Neches in 2018.

On Wednesday, Abbott and Trump will tour parts of the Texas border a favorite issue of Trumps but also one that Abbott has spent considerable time talking about over the last two months as Texas has seen a record surge of Border Patrol encounters with migrants crossing into Texas between Del Rio and Brownsville.

I thank President Trump for his leadership, and I will continue to fight for the values that make Texas the greatest state in America, Abbott said after Trump endorsed him.

But all that Trump support isnt deterring Abbotts best-known challenger. Huffines, a former state senator from Dallas, has already put up dozens of billboards around Texas announcing his campaign with border security themes. One on Interstate 35 in Williamson County calls for building a border wall; another near Corpus Christi along Interstate 37 calls for stopping giving illegals our money.

I am the clear Trump candidate in the Texas governors race, Huffines said.

Huffines made finishing the wall a central part of his campaign and is reminding people that he made that pledge before Abbott committed Texas to doing more work on wall construction.

When I am governor, we will finish building the wall, Huffines said.

Those two may have serious competition in the race soon if West jumps in. West, the current Republican Party of Texas chairman, is also a former congressman, early tea party leader and author who continues to have a national following. West announced he will resign from his party post in July and has told reporters that hes weighing what his next political move is specifically refusing to rule out running for governor.

Any primary challenge for Abbott is a novelty for the two-term governor. Abbott has been a statewide official for 25 years, including stints as a Texas Supreme Court justice and attorney general, and he never has had a serious primary opponent.

In 2018, he won his primary with 90 percent of the GOP vote and defeated Democrat Lupe Valdez in November by carrying 56 percent of the vote to Valdezs 43 percent.

On the Democratic side, it is all about ORourkes next move. While the former congressman from El Paso has not announced hes running for anything, hes acting very much like a candidate by traveling the state, hosting a major rally at the Texas Capitol about voting rights and sending out fundraising appeals for his political action committee that continues to raise money.

Asked if hes going to run for governor, ORourke said his focus now is helping Texas House and Senate Democrats fight what he calls voter suppression bills.

Im going to see this fight through to the finish, ORourke said. And once we do that, we can start thinking about other things.

A supporter for former U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke holds up a sign at the state Capitol on June 20.

At the June 20 rally he organized, ORourke tried to share the spotlight with other Democrats who could be statewide contenders in 2022 in their own right, whether ORourke runs or not.

State Sen. Royce West of Dallas and state Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, Gina Hinojosa of Austin and Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio were among the speakers. Crockett, Hinojosa and Martinez Fischer were key leaders when Democrats in the House walked out in the closing hours of the Legislature to prevent Republicans from passing a massive elections bill.

But Democrats say they have a deep bench with other potential statewide candidates, including U.S. Reps. Sylvia Garcia of Houston and Veronica Escobar of El Paso both of whom were featured during the Democratic National Convention last summer and county judges such as Harris Countys Lina Hidalgo and Dallas Countys Clay Jenkins who have found themselves in pointed policy disagreements with Abbott over the handling of the pandemic.

At the ORourke-led rally, Democrats made clear that whoever runs is going to lay the blame for the states faulty power grid on Abbott and Republican leaders throughout the government who have run the state for two decades.

Democrats are also watching for how Republicans in the statehouse handle redistricting for the states congressional and legislative districts to see what opportunities there may be to move up the political ladder.

Because census data was delayed by the pandemic, the Legislature is expected to meet in a special session this fall to redraw all the lines including adding two new congressional districts because of Texas continued population growth.

That has created questions about whether the March 1 election will even be able to go on. Republican leaders in the Legislature have already floated the possibility of moving the Texas primaries to next May to give lawmakers more time to draw districts and get them through potential court challenges.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com

See the original post here:
Is June too soon? 2022 elections off to early start in Texas Houston Chronicle Wallace, J - Houston Chronicle

Right out of lockdown, wine in a plastic cup and cheese plates would do. Now theme parties with flashy accessories feel more like they match the giddy moment.

In East Hampton over the weekend, one host brought out watercress sandwiches and parasols for a tea party. Another, Champagne guns.

The shiny plastic guns -- loaded with Veuve Clicquot -- sprayed guests hanging out near the DJ, pool-side. The idea was to re-create some of the spectacle of Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro, an Aspen restaurant that can only be reached on skis.

One person who got drenched in bubbly was the guest of honor, Tommy Tollesson, the general manager of Cloud Nine, and a fixture of Aspen fun, having arrived a ski bum a few decades ago from his native Sweden.

Jane DeFlorio and Tommy Tollesson

Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg

But its important to note that Champagne was not the drink of choice at the event. The party pour was Entourage ros, which Tollesson created with friends a few years ago, inspired by Saint Tropez and Aspen, and made with grapes from Provence.

During the pandemic, Tollesson shipped many bottles to clients craving a connection to these resort destinations. If you cant go to Saint Tropez and Aspen, maybe Saint Tropez and Aspen can come to your house, Tollesson said. Now with many parts of the world reopening, hes working on expanding where the ros is sold -- including in Dallas, Palm Beach, New York and the Hamptons.

What I like about this wine is that its so light, but its got that minerality and goes really well with food, said Caroline Williams, a sommelier and founder of Curated Cellar. Its low enough in alcohol you can drink it during the day.

Julie Macklowe and Caroline Williams

Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg

Host Jane DeFlorio sipped hers wearing jean shorts and a fur hat -- with an ice pack tucked inside to keep cool. Shed set the dress code as bikini/ski chic. Pir Granoff, a partner in Amagansetts Best Pizza & Dive Bar, went with ski pants and goggles, and yes, there were a few bikinis spotted.

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Others in more typical Hamptons attire: Anna Nikolayevsky, founder of Axel Capital Management, caterer Janet OBrien, whose team passed truffled grilled cheese sandwiches and tuna tacos, and Julie and Billy Macklowe, whod come straight from a bat mitzvah in Montauk.

I hope if Covid killed one thing, it was the big bat mitzvah, Julie Macklowe said. Now its gone back to what it used to be: small, intimate, not at the Temple of Dendur.

As for those Champagne guns: they were obtained from the website kingofsparklers.com, said DeFlorio, a former retail and consumer investment banker who is on the boards of SITE Centers and the East Hampton Historical Society, among others. Her husband, who works in private equity, gave her one a few years ago for her birthday.

The Champagne guns at rest.

Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

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Hamptons Parties Return with Champagne Guns and Exclusive Rose - Bloomberg