Friday

Lavender Week Wrap-Up with the Novel Bakers




For the final day of Lavender Week with the Novel Bakers
I'm going to take you from Breakfast/Tea, then skip to the
evening meal, and throw in a few options for dessert
at the end. 

I hope you enjoy!






I made quick, Strawberry-Blueberry and 
Lavender Infused refrigerator jam as an accompaniment
to the warm homemade biscuits
for our tea . . .








The jam is fresh, made with strawberries and blueberries
from the garden, I like that you can control the amount
of sweetener. We prefer ours not too sweet ~







and it cooks up in just a few minutes.








~*~*~*~*~



And for dinner, I just had to make this luscious
Grilled Chicken Breast with a lovely and different
Lavender-Honey Marinade, which my friend Monique 
recently posted on her blog.
(Click to Link.)







Oh my. 
Do yourself a favor. Make THIS!






It's a winner. I followed Monique's variation on
the original recipe exactly and I wouldn't change
a thing about it. It's heavenly.







The light sauce goes really well with the tiny potatoes,
as Monique served it. And because the garden is
prolific with cucumbers right now, I sliced a few and
anointed them with a drizzle of the vinaigrette style
sauce as well. Borage blossoms compliment cucumbers
very nicely, as they have a very mild cuke-like taste.

Yummy! A keeper that I'll definitely make again.



~*~*~*~*~



On to the dessert (or two...)




Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream, infused with Lavender
essence.






It is one of the EASIEST ice cream recipes I know of.
 Condensed milk, heavy cream (warmed with
a bit of lavender, then strained and chilled.)
Put that mix in your ice cream maker to begin the freezing process, 
then about 10 to 15 minutes before the ice cream is
solidified, add the chunks of fresh strawberries
along with a splash of vanilla, and continue with
the freezing process.






I like to offer a drizzle of Lavender Syrup at the table so
anyone who wants it can add a bit to bump up the
lavender flavor.




I happen to like it just as it is. 


~*~*~*~*~*~


If you don't want to serve the Lavender Palmiers (pictured above
with the ice cream), you might like to substitute these
lavender cookies:





Delicate, and gently flavored with lavender ~






I think it's best to make these when the lavender blossoms
are at their peak.






Fresh blossoms are milder, and texturally more appealing than
dried flowers in this recipe.






If you look closely, maybe you can see . . .






~ the tiny specks of green in the cookies ~ this recipe
includes a small amount of minced lavender leaves to
the cookie dough.




Not overwhelming at all, just a faint nuance of
lavender ~ I think these would be so pretty served
at a summer tea or bridal or baby shower.


~*~*~*~*~


I had much fun with the topic of lavender, it pushed
me to try recipes I probably would not have otherwise,
and we were pleasantly surprised at my house at what
a versatile herb lavender is.


Sending out a big THANK YOU to our organizer, Jain @ a quiet life blog,
and my companion Novel Bakers, Mary @ Home is Where the Boat Is.
Michael @ Rattlebridge Farm and our special guest this week ~
Pam @ Sidewalk Shoes, it was fun having you join in Pam!


And a big thank you to my followers, whether
you comment or not ~ I appreciate the time you take
to come see what's going on here on my blog.


xo ~mari

Wednesday

Lavender Week with the Novel Bakers



There are hundreds of delicious, savory recipes using culinary 
lavender which tempted me this week ~

But because they are at their peak now
I gravitated towards recipes using berries . . .

such as this one, which I slightly adapted from one of the
Trader Joe's cookbooks.






These are very easy to make; the method is to roll puff pastry 
out with a rolling pin (the work surface and the top of the raw pastry is 
sprinkled generously with Turbinado sugar prior to rolling.)






The pastry is cut into squares, (or whatever shape you like) and
baked off in a hot oven.   After cooling on a rack the squares are
 sliced in half horizontally. 

You can use a variety of fillings ~ pudding, whipped cream,
lemon curd, mascarpone, etc.  I used a creamy plain yogurt, blended 
with a little raspberry jam and lavender honey to sweeten the mix.



Arrange berries, or any fruit that you like on the 
filling, then top with the remaining puff pastry half
and enjoy!

So good!


~*~*~*~*~*~


And, as I mentioned, MORE berries . . .





This recipe is inspired from one I found on the internet
and served at a lavender farm in the UK.

It is called a fruit cup but I think we, on this side of
the pond, would consider it a really refreshing drink with a lot of
fruit in it. :)





No matter the name it is really delicious,
not too sweet and doesn't contain much of 
an alcohol kick. The strawberries from the garden
are slowing in production now, but I found just
enough to make the recipe. 

I believe other fruit would work equally well (I'm thinking another
kind of berry, sliced peaches, nectarines, plums,
or pitted cherries.)





I would describe it as a twist on Sangria ~ delightful!
I serve it with a spoon to get every piece of fruit ~
a straw would make it easier to sip the liquid, too.



 
(Please note: I'm not endorsing any particular brand of ginger ale --
 I attempted to block the logo, but it looked like a train wreck.
And I love my good neighbors to the north in Canada!)


These are the ingredients: 

Fresh orange juice, lemon juice, ginger ale and a splash of dry vermouth.
Lots of sliced strawberries. Muddled lavender.
For garnish: lemon balm (or lemon verbena) and a stem or two of 
lavender. Serve well chilled!





I'll have the recipes and links to them up on
Friday.




Thank you for coming by for a visit ~
I appreciate your comments if you care to leave one!







I know you'll enjoy stopping by
each of the Novel Bakers blogs to see their
magical creations today ~

(To visit click on the links below.)
a quiet life blog

Tuesday

Lavender Week with the Novel Bakers ~ A Bonus Post . . .


Since we at the Novel Bakers are posting about Lavender
this week, I thought I would share two older posts
that I did some time ago using lavender.



The first is the Lavender Blossom Martini you can find the
original post HERE.





~*~*~*~*~


And then one of my ALL-TIME favorite recipes
 for homemade ice cream ~ Lavender-Blueberry,
which the Novel Baker organizer ~
Jain @ a quiet life blog introduced us to
a few years ago. 

Oh my, it's a fabulous
recipe and I'm quite sure you'll love it too.

You can add less lavender if you're not
sure you'll like it, or add more if you know
you love it!  

Lavender-Blueberry Ice Cream






See you back here Wednesday with some
all new (for me) Lavender Recipes with the Novel Bakers.




Happy Tuesday, friends!

xo~mari

Monday

Lavender Week with the Novel Bakers!



Welcome to Lavender Week with the Novel Bakers.
This week we have a special guest joining us:

Pam from Sidewalk Shoes!


~*~*~*~*~


We'll be posting about Lavender on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
of this week, I hope you'll enjoy what we have to share.





Here is one of the books that inspired us:


(click the image to learn more)



The first recipe I made was from the book~
"Grilled Lavender Honey Breast of Chicken"

Of course, as is my way, I had to tweak it a bit.




I didn't have boneless chicken breast halves with skin,
so I cubed the boneless chicken and marinated in the delicious citrus
and lavender honey glaze, 




then skewered the chicken chunks, ribbon-candy style with
prosciutto, and grilled the skewers. 



If you don't care for the look of charred skewers, of course you'll
plan ahead and soak them in water before loading the ingredients.  :)



We really enjoyed the flavor the marinade added;
 made with vinegar, lavender honey, fresh lemon zest and juice
along with fresh lime juice and finely ground culinary Provence
lavender buds, a little olive oil and salt and pepper.

I served it as an appetizer course and it quickly disappeared.

I would definitely make this one again, either this way or
as the original recipe suggests~ boneless chicken breasts
with skin-on as a main course.

It was declared a winner.
Thumbs up!


~*~*~*~*~





We're still harvesting our blueberries, so
in keeping with the Lavender theme, I served
the skewers with Blueberry-Lavender Spritzers ~
you can serve them as the recipe suggests spiked with vodka,
but I found they were equally delicious sans the vodka. The
choice is yours.






I think the combination of blueberries and lavender is absolutely
heavenly ~ whether in this luscious Lavender-Blueberry Ice Cream,
(from many, many posts ago), or in this delightful liquid concoction.


It is an easy one to make ahead. First you make the blueberry-lavender
simple syrup (can make it up to a week ahead and keep it in
the refrigerator.)




When you're ready to make the drinks, just put ice cubes in the glasses,
add some of the blueberry-lavender simple syrup, then 
pour the remaining ingredients over.






Garnish with a stem of lavender, a sprig of lemon verbena (or lemon balm)
and a slice of lime.







For an added treat, freeze some blueberries and float them in

the drinks.



Such a refreshing beverage on a hot day!





~*~*~*~*~



Not feeling in the blueberry mood? 

Then you might want to try this recipe from Elise
@ Simply Recipes (I love her blog!)

Lavender Lemonade


I first tasted this at a local restaurant about 10 years ago.
It's been a favorite ever since.







Note:

I'll have all of the recipes I share during Lavender Week
posted on my recipe blog on Friday.
(I'll share the links on Friday.)

A few tips about lavender~ 

Thought to have first been cultivated in the Mediterranean regions,
lavender is easy to grow, and grows in poor soil where
other plants may fail.

Lavender's uses include: 

Landscaping, crafts, floral decor, culinary,
personal care, including therapeutic applications.

Both the flowers and the foliage of lavender
are intensely aromatic and the flowers
range in color from blue, very dark purple, pink,
white and yellow depending upon the variety.

English lavender and Provence lavender are
the two types most usually used in
cooking.

A little lavender goes a long way in recipes,
so it's best to start with a light touch, adding
more if you like a more pronounced flavor and aroma.


~*~*~*~*~

Please come along and see the treats the Novel Bakers
have in store for you during Lavender Week!

Click on the links below:

Home is Where The Boat Is

Rattlebridge Farm

A Quiet Life

Sidewalk Shoes



Thank you for stopping by today, friends.

Please come back on Wednesday, we have lots more to share!




A Sampling of my food . . .

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