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

12 comments:

  1. A lavender feast and fabulous finale for lavender week! I think I'll have to eat dessert first~ your lavender cookies with those tiny perfect blooms!! Recipe Please! I love that there are minced leaves in the cookie dough! I'm afraid my lavender is short-lived, it doesn't grow well here and what I have in pots is about to be drowned by excessive rain but I have plenty of leaves at the moment.

    I'm screaming for your ice cream and syrup drizzle to accompany it along with your jam and picture perfect biscuits~ they could be on the cover of a magazine!

    Monique's chicken recipe looks divine, I must head over for a taste. I adore your borage blossoms, styling and exquisite photos. Lavender Heaven!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Indeed a lavender feast! That grilled chicken looks terrific! The homemade jam with biscuit would make an amazing breakfast in bed :-))

    ReplyDelete
  3. After a really long day in Montreal ..tis a treat to see your post..
    I thought isn't that funny?
    We both just made jam also:)
    Your little lavender blossoms from up above look like tiny bleeding hearst..
    I hope you watercolor those cookies!
    Beautiful photos..I have seen that Monin syrup at the market..In Sept..when I return!
    Have a lovely weekend Mary.
    Thanks for all the lush lavender posts.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely post. I have enjoyed lavender week. I am not much of a cook but I plan to try the marinated chicken with lavender.

    Your photos draw me in. They are lovely. I have so much to learn about photography.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I spent 15 minutes at Publix today, looking for a magazine to bring home, and I ended up buying Mike's Hard Lemonade. Go figure. But your photos are like opening a much=loved magazine, where I can savor the colors and imagined flavors. I love your mile-high biscuits, and can just imagine the burst of flavor from the jam. I am getting ready to make ice cream (terrible lighting conditions, but the heart won't wait). I've enjoyed this week so much. I will try the honey chicken. Be still my heart. It looks like the food of the gods. xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you kind friends for you sweet comments ~ it has been a fun lavender ride for me this week, and I appreciate your visits!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jain, I think because you are at SeaDream your comments do not appear here. Fresh from my email box:

    "a quiet life has left a new comment on your post "Lavender Week Wrap-Up with the Novel Bakers":

    "oh my mouth is twitching as i glance over yours pics, trying to act like they have no affect on me, but alas i can taste through the screen, my mouth quivers with joy... and my eyes dance in your colors~

    i am melting over the jam, that is my lover this morn. talk to me later and perhaps the chicken will be my midnight fling, but for now i am engaged to your jam... how smart to drizzle over cucumbers!

    ok i am ready to dump jam, i hadn't engaged far enough to know i could have strawberry lav ice cream, so long breakfast, give me something to cool down my sultry wanton desire for lavender meant to chill me to the bone... that must be so darn good... its nice to have had so many lavender dishes behind me, i can truly imagine how fantastic this tastes.

    and those cookies! where is that recipe, its just so beautiful i surely missed it because i was blind sighted by these little hussies calling me away from all my other loves... i want this with your ice cream NOW! its funny i was so smitten with the jam, but i just have a roving eye when it comes to pretty little things :-)

    beautiful beautiful beautiful post mary, i adored our lavender week, mine is not over yet, i have 2 more official novel baker days through sunday, and then i had 3 more spilling over after that ! I JUST LOVE LAVENDER! thanks so much for playing along, it was this cookbook that got us all inspired again to read, play and cook, and i have been enchanted with everyone's work all week long. heavy sigh to saying farewell from your lavender kitchen this week, its been delightful! "


    This makes me grin, thank you very much!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a fabulous way to end lavender week! I have so enjoyed all out lavender times together and thank you all for letting me join in!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mari, I have truly enjoyed all the posts made by The Novel Bakers about the uses of Lavender. You will laugh when you read this but as a result of all of your posts I made an enormous order through Amazon. Yes I did, y'all inspired me. I ordered the cookbook, culinary lavender, the lavender syrup you recommended, a crock of herbs d Provence and a couple of other things that I needed anyway. I cannot wait to prepare that chicken dish, it looks fabulous. Enjoyed all of your posts.

    Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh and I forgot to mention, that martini is tops on my list as soon as all my "stuff" arrives.

    Caraolyn

    ReplyDelete
  11. You're an exquisite cook. Your pictures explode with your talent and you are an excellent photographer. I found your blog thru a photo from your blog on pinterest. I'm sure you are (over) protecting your photos because there is a receipe book in your future.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you Pam, Carolyn and S&Z !

    So sweet of you to leave such kind comments.

    xo ~m.

    P.S. Carolyn, CHEERS! I hope you like the martinis.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

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