All things LAVENDER

 My very favorite subject:  Lavender

No calories in the newest lavender projects:  lavender infused oil and sketch painting

French lavender - Provence

Lavender Augustifloria

lavender and sage on new quilt

Both are culinary varieties and so versatile.

The question is "What new item can I make with lavender this year?"

I've made Lavender Jelly

lavender jelly  https://messyroomstudio.blogspot.com/search?q=lavender+jelly

Lavender wands:

Lavender wands  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvzz-RiSluV69yZDk5mFECpGU-Pt9BWbrj5t5R3okmfSeoKav5wieA4Im6ZO0oooyy7p8XuHlftrknVdqJWn9HOO-pVajAe1gVK84mTHx9-HpGaIQeuF5PXH5Vx_weE1oewX3FRhS5TV2/s1600/dozen+wands.jpg

Lavender ice cream

lavender ice cream  https://messyroomstudio.blogspot.com/search?q=lavender+ice+cream

Lavender filled eye pillow:

lavender filled pillow

Lavender fields rock  painting:

Lavender lemonade....what no photo?  later

So this years projects:  lavender infused coconut oil

and lavender thread painting:

First collect the best lavender

Then turn the upside down to dry for about 2 weeks:

Then remove the buds and place in a large - 1 quart- jar

Add the oil - any unfragranced oil will  do but I used fractionated coconut oil.  Fractionated coconut oil remains liquid and is often used as a massage oil

infused oil after 6 days

Then I strained the buds out and bottled it.

lavender infused oil in lots of plastic jars

My favorite use of this oil is a nighttime application on my arms and legs.  Lavender does help you relax and this little stip helps you to get to sleep a little kinder and quicker.

Ella has told me this is also good for your skin and hair.   There's a big jar on your way, sweet Ella>

OK Thread painting...also known as creative stitching.  I have treated myself to a new sewing machine.  My old one has died and repair is no longer a good investment.  I have been doing my best to just use my little basic Little Gem (Janome) but if I ever want to finish my unfinished quilts or make a new one I just had to purchase a new one.   The first chore I needed to do was to quilt the border of a quilt I started 15+ years ago.  Ella and I named this quilt "Lavender and Sage" because of the colors:

lavender sage quilt 

I harvested some of each to check the compatibility   Yep!!!

Then I loaded my new machine with some sage colored thread.  I pencil sketched on the purple fabric of the border and then sketched on the lavender image. 

lavender sketch painting

I am happy to say that I have finished two quilts that I started over 15 years ago.  I've promised myself to finish all those I started and got sidetracked from with life.

lavender augtifloria growning in my front yard

Available lavender eye pillows:

Lavender wands - so lovely

lavender wands

Lavender wands began in Victorian times to preserve the fragrance and freshen up linens or add a waft of lavender scent into the room.  I found a little tutorial online and decided to try making these gems myself.   

There are so many different varieties of lavender.  My favorite is Angustaforia,  Hidcote.  It is an English lavender used for both fragrance and cooking.  I use lavender quite a bit in my kitchen: lavender ice cream, lavender syrup, lavender lemonade, lavender sugar and salt.  I also use the flowers in sachets: lavender eye pillows and in my heat pillow.  The fragrance from the blossoms or essential oils is very relaxing.  I use a little essential oil on my wrists before I go to bed. 

All in all I LOVE lavender.

So I started with my lavender garden:

lavendula angustaforia, Hidcote. home

I took this pic just yesterday.....January in California.!

cluster of lavender

For one wand you need 18 lavender stems, 30 inches of 3/8 inch ribbon, a bit of floral wire, a dab of glue from a glue gun.

Long long stems are perfect.  It's January.  I picked the longest stems I had but they are a bit short.  The stems will be longer in June.  You want to work with the stems when they are still pliable.  I let the blooms sit on the table a couple of hours so they would become limp.  Waiting too long will result in brittle stems.

a bit of floral wire twisted around the bottom of the cluster

upside down cluster

Turn the cluster upside down to let the stems flop over the blossoms.

Attach the end of a 30" piece of ribbon and wrap 3 times.

Then start to weave the ribbon over and under the stems, two at a time.

When you've covered the blossoms, wrap the ribbon again and seal with a pearl size drop of glue (from a hot glue gun)

pretty ribbons, 3/8" wide

I made a dozen of these this weekend.  I yet need to trim the bottom of the stems to be even.  You can choose any color ribbon, of course but I like this color.

a dozen wands

There are lots of tutorials on how to make these.  It was a fun project except I wanted to take a nap the whole time

single lavender wand

Ricotta and lemon thyme and lavender tart, recipe for ricotta cheese

I made this tart two weeks ago when I had ricotta cheese left over from making a batch of goat milk cheddar.  Well I still have ricotta and thought I'd try a different version.  This recipe is inspired by and modified from John Ash's cookbook "From the Earth to the Table".  This time I lined the crust with a paste of roasted tomatoes.  The crust itself is a slightly sweet cornbread based pastry made with cup 4 cup flour so it's also Gluten Free.  Give it a try with or without gluten.  Try the tart filling with any herbs you like:

crust ingredients

crust mise en place

Ingredients for cornmeal crust:

butter, 1/2 cup softened

sugar, 2 TBS

cornmeal, 1 cup

eggs, 2- at room temperature

salt, 1 tsp

all purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups - I use Cup 4 Cup whenever possible for a gluten-free choice

Method:

In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the butter and sugar and beat until smooth

Add cornmeal, eggs, and salt

Beat until well combined

Add flour and mix until dough forms a ball.  The mixture should be soft and moist

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour

Preheat oven to 350 deg. 

Butter a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom

On a floured work surface roll out the dough to fit the pan.  Transfer to the tart pan.

Press the dough into then pan, trimming any excess

Prick the dough with the tines of a fork

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just lightly browned.

Any leftover dough can be rolled out and cut into biscuits

happens to the best of us

just pretend it's play dough

Meanwhile gather the ingredients for your filling.  I had fresh tomatoes ( Pineapple and Cherokee Purple) from the garden.....lemon thyme, a pinch of coconut thyme blossoms, and lavender buds.  The ricotta was from the last batch of cheddar cheese.

Ricotta Cheese:

Ricotta is usually made from the whey from a hard cheese process.  Assuming you don't have a lactating goat and you don't have any fresh whey on hand let's make the best of it.

Ingredients:

whole milk, 1 gallon, NOT ultra pasteurized

cream, 1 cup, not ultra pasteurized 

apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup

salt - sea or kosher - no iodine- 1-2 tsp

honey - optional - for sweet cheese

Equipment:

Instant read thermometer

cheesecloth

strainer

Method:

Bring milk and cream to 190 deg

Add vinegar and continue to stir 

Turn off heat

You will see the curds (solids) begin to separate from the whey (liquid) 

Line the strainer with the cheesecloth and place over a vessel large enough to collect all the whey

Lift cheese with cloth and hang to let remaining whey drip out. If you want it dryer give it a squeeze while it's still in the cheesecloth

After about an hour transfer the curds to a bowl and salt to taste

Will keep about a week in the fridge or you can freeze

I don't know how much this will produce.  When I use 2 gallons of goat milk I get about a pound or 3 cups.

Now we're ready to make the filling:   This will take a while because you need to reduce the sauce and cool it before adding the eggs.  I take a nap while the sauce is cooling.  Or you can use an ice water bain Marie to speed up the process- or both

Recipe for filling:

Ingredients: 

Butter, unsalted, 1 TBS

Shallots, 4 TBS minced  ( can use scallions - white and green parts)

Heavy cream, 2/3 cup

Wine, white, dry,  1/2 cup

Sea Salt, 1/2 tsp

Pepper, freshly ground, 1/4 tsp

Ricotta cheese, fresh, 3/4 lb

Eggs, 3

Herbs, fresh 1 1/2 TBS, I used lemon thyme, lavender and a pinch of the flowers from coconut thyme

Method:

In a medium sauté pan melt butter and add shallots until soft but not brown

Add cream, wine, salt and pepper

Bring to a simmer and reduce to half

The kitchen will smell marvelous!!!!

Cool

In the food processor add ricotta, eggs and herbs.

Add room temp or cooler reduction sauce and beat until smooth

Pour into crust with or without roasted tomato paste lining

Bake at 350 deg for 35-40 minutes or until filling is set and lightly brown.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

tart filling ingredients

tart filling mise in place

Roasted tomatoes:

These have wonderful flavor

Cut fresh tomatoes in half and place face down on baking sheet

Roast at 375 deg until brown (at least an hour).  This is what mine looked like after an hour:

roasted tomatoes

Remove the skins and smooth or rough chop in a small blender.
Use the browned bits too
Use a pastry brush and slightly cover the cooled crust

fresh chopped herbs

Bon Appetit!

lavender glazed candied chestnuts

lavender glazed candied chestnuts, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Christmas morning and often before I love to include panettone on the menu. It is Italy's Christmas cake and is delightful. The key ingredients to making this cake unique are fiori di Sicilia, which is an extract of special flowers, and candied chestnuts. The best panettone I have ever tasted is the one Williams-Sonoma sells. The challenge is to duplicate it and make it with gluten free flour. I have never found candied chestnuts available for sale so I set out to make them myself, a good kitchen challenge. And as long as I was making them I decided to add one more flavor: lavender. I took roasted chestnuts and simmered them in a concentrated simple syrup (2 parts sugar to one part water) with a whole vanilla bean. Then I added the lavender and let it steep in the syrup. Then a second sugar syrup, even more concentrated to dip the already lavender dipped chestnuts, so double dipping. I added a little candied lavender to the top and let them dry for 15 hours.
I chopped them up, mixed them with the macerated dried fruit and citrus peel and added them to the batter of the cake. The cake recipe is from King Alfred Flour. The final result was a beautiful tasty and gluten free panettone.

lavender from the garden, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

French lavender

IMG_0186, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

The lavender blossoms are a popular stop for the hummingbirds

Hummingbird in my garden

Today instead of feeding at the "official" bird feeder this hummingbird decided to dine off of the French lavender in my garden. It was a joy to watch him.