English morning and afternoon tea ritual

 It's done every day, twice a day..........I am so glad I grew up with this ritual of taking the time to sit and enjoy a good conversation and relax a bit, before going back to work. May not be quite so fancy as these pictures depict, but its still practiced, none the less.  You don't have to be having any guests. I often see my parents, aunts and uncles doing this ritual daily, no matter what the occasion.
Since I live in the USA, its more of a ladies get together, special event........but I love that its just a daily thing for so many of British decent.

You always serve your guests a pretty table with a variety of choices.  My grandma and mother        would keep a tin filled with shortbread, ginger nuts or fruit cake handy, for just such an occasion.
But to rock my Dad's world, there would have to be scones involved.

 That's the proportion of jam to butter ratio that I remember.  And the tea always has milk/cream.

                                                                   Current Scones

                                                            Maple Date Pecan Scones

                                                             Cranberry orange scones

                                        
                                       Raisin scones with whipped cream and raspberry jam


So the scone recipes are endless.  Too many to mention here. 

Again the basic scone recipe is:

2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp butter
3/4 c milk

Variations:
1/2 c Dates chopped, 1/2 c pecans, 1 Tbsp maple syrup

1/2 c Raisins, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 Tbsp brown sugar

3/4 c Currents, 1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 c Cranberries, 1 Tbsp orange zest, 1 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 475 oF
Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it is just course granules.
Add your other special ingredients and coat with the flour mixture.
Make a well in the center and add the milk.
Toss lightly until just moistened and combined.
Fold very gently onto a floured surface and press down slightly...do not knead.
Cut into wedges, squares or circles.  Or just spoon from the bowl and drop on a
parchment paper covered baking sheet or just a lightly floured baking  sheet.
You can give the top an egg white wash or melted butter wash and add granulated sugar sprinkles.
Do whatever you like to make it the style you desire.  Be creative.
Of course you can also use fresh fruit like chopped apples, blueberries and strawberries in the mix
as well. 
Bake for 10 mins and serve immediately.  To check for doneness, just press the top lightly and they should bounce back.  If you can smush it down, it needs to cook longer.
The outside will be very crunchy and the inside very soft.
Serve with butter, and jam. and for special occasions whipped cream.
If you aren't going to serve them right away, then store them in the freezer.  They don't keep fresh for very long.  You don't want them to go hard.

Try Lemon Curd too.  That's always a special treat.

And yes, even cucumber or watercress sandwiches.