| Lavender: the incredible, edible, potpourri? | |
by
Jordy Byrd, newsletter volunteer, from the August 2007 newsletter
I’ve seen it in my mother’s garden. I’ve seen it on the roadside, in sock drawers, lockers and even the most putrid dorm rooms, frat houses and college apartments. But never have I seen lavender in food or drink. Boy, I have a lot to learn.
When I first stumbled upon Aura Cacia’s lavender in the Co-op I thought…hmm, it smells nice and all, but could it possibly taste good? So with this question, I began to devour the flower.
Lavender is found all across the world, and the best lavender is produced in the Mediterranean region. Lavender made its way to northern Europe well before the Middle Ages and was used for the brain, its connecting parts and for the illnesses that affect them. Smelling salts, which are used to rouse a person who has fainted, are still made of the essential oil of lavender blossoms. Lavender is used in traditional medicine as a cure for headaches, stress, anxiety and insomnia.
French lavender is most famous for making its home in the underwear drawers of women everywhere. Sadly, most people know lavender as only a quaint room freshener. I was once one of those people and now I have seen…and smelt the light.
First, I decided to make Lavender Shortbread. And although I’d love to be positive and open minded with my taste buds, I cannot lie. I hated them. The recipe was easy to follow and the ingredients were simple but the overall product I was not satisfied with. My ½ inch rings metamorphosed into little lavender pancakes. But more disastrously, each bite tasted like a handful of Christmas potpourri. The funniest thing about the whole cooking experience was that I washed down the shortbread with a can of Diet Coke and later my burps smelt like flowers.
With the first disaster, I desperately needed to produce something of quality. And that’s just what I did. I think I enjoyed my Lavender Lemonade better than the classic original. The lemonade had a subtle kick to it, unlike the overwhelming shortbread, but the lingering aftertaste is what truly won me over. I enjoyed the simple recipe so much I think next time I’ll get creative and add a few strawberries or raspberries. I mean really? Who wants to bring ordinary lemonade to a summer picnic, when you can bring extraordinary?
3 Tbsp. fresh lavender flowers or 1 ½ Tbsp. dried lavender flowers
1 cup butter 1/4 cup (scant) cornstarch
½ cup icing sugar
1 ½ cups flour
1 Tbsp. lavender tea
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Use food processor to blend chilled butter (not room temperature) plus lavender
flowers, icing sugar and cornstarch. Add half the flour amount and lavender
tea. Pulse gently until roughly cut into a “crumbly” texture. Blend
in remainder of flour until it “balls” into a smooth dough. Roll
in a wax paper log like frozen cookie dough. Chill 30 minutes.
Cut into ½ inch rings, bake on ungreased cookie sheet until just golden
on the bottom, approx. 20 minutes.
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lavender flowers or 1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained
Combine sugar with 2 1/2 cups water in a medium pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the lavender blooms to the sugar water, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand at least 20 minutes (and up to several hours). Strain mixture and discard lavender. Pour infusion into a glass pitcher. Add lemon juice and another 2 1/2 cups water. Stir well and watch lemonade change color. Makes 6 cups.
Resources
http://www.planetbotanic.ca/fact_sheets/lavender_fs.htm
http://www.happyvalleylavender.com/lavender_recipes.html
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