The Invalid's Tea Tray - Flaxseed Lemonade (1885)
Susan Anna Brown, New Hampshire
The Invalid’s Tea Tray was written by Susan Anna Brown, published in 1885 by James R. Osgood, Co. It offers up everything you might need on your sickbed, such as beef tea, a savory oatmeal, something called caudle, mutton broth, arrowroot porridge and more delectable treats like ice cream and hot chocolate. Of all those offerings you voted we try the flaxseed lemonade. Susan instructs as follows:
She did not instruct that I should strain it, but she also suggested that I dress it up a bit to make it more enticing!
Use the prettiest dishes you have; and, if you can offer nothing better than a toasted cracker and a cup of tea, let everything be good of the kind, and daintily served. A slop of tea in the saucer, a burnt side to the cracker, a sticky spoon, may spoil what might have seemed an attractive breakfast.
And so, I strained it and put in a straw and some sliced lemons for garnish to add a touch of daintiness. I hope she would approve.
It was the first real sunny spring day and as I’m not yet adjusted to the hot weather, I greedily drank it down. Here’s generally how it went:
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