In honor of 11/11 earlier this week, did you know to sit down for “elevenses.”
elev·ens·es
British
: light refreshment (as a snack) taken in the middle of the morning
If the term sounds familiar, you might have run across it in one of Winnie the Pooh’s adventures. Pooh loved his elevenses, often having honey on bread with condensed milk. A practice that most likely led directly to his Stoutness Exercises. “When late morning rolls around and you’re feeling a bit out of sorts, don’t worry; you’re probably just a little eleven o’clockish,” says Pooh.
Photo by Andrew Poole via Flickr.com
(Interesting to note that in the first part of the 1800s, elevenses in the U.S. meant a late-morning whiskey break. A practice that most likely led directly to a midday nap.)
Sticking with the British version, I thought you might enjoy this custom with a few of our Raising Jane recipes:
Sweet Potato, Cheddar & Sage Biscuits
GF Apple-Buttermilk Muffins w/Maple Glaze
Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Butter
Easy Gluten-free Quiche
Cinnamon & Sugar Cake Doughnuts
Satsuma Orange Marmalade
GF Jalapeño-Cheddar Popovers.
And to go with your tea and sweets, you might want to grab a partner and play Elevenses: The Card Game of Morning Tea, available on Amazon.com.
Also, Anthropologie has an Elevenses collection—perfect for brunch get-togethers or anytime you want to evoke the spirit of morning tea. Happy elevenses!
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I learned the expression “at sixes and sevens” from my mom which meant one being waffling over what to do next. I do like the elevenses better. Come 10:30 in the morning, I find myself looking at my watch wondering how much longer until lunch. Breakfast always seems to fade away by then. Now, I have the perfect excuse to move forward with something delicious. I will take a sweet potato, cheddar,sage biscuit please!
I love these little tidbits to start the day. They serve to inform and make me feel all smiley ~ a wonderful preparation for greeting each workday. For breakfast… the biscuits sound wonderful, too, but today I think I’ll go with the quiche! Yum 😀
What, no classic Pooh drawings? I dislike the Disney Pooh so much ! The A.A Milne original was so dear and just perfect. I still have my 1950s realio trulio Pooh and Piglet made by FAO Schwartz Toy Store in New York as well as my books . I feel the Americanized version just doesn’t cut it. But hey, it’s Pooh and sweetness for American children who would otherwise miss out completely.
I spent a great deal of time with an Anglophile family and so grew up with elevenses. Its a great custom and you can always drink “a cuppa” and have a scone. Former British outposts like India and Sri Lanka where i have lived are more English than the British ( think “Downton Abbey” type Teas ) and still have elevenses and high tea and all that.
We relate “elevenses” more to the Hobbit movies, finding it entertaining that hobbits just have to eat so frequently, “elevenses” being about the their third meal of the morning.
Thanks for the recipes . . Yummmmm!
CJ