Our lavender bushes at home have been pretty spectacular too (though I forgot to take photos when they were at their peak, so you’ll just have to imagine them). In the recent dry weather (no meaningful rain in Seattle since mid-May!) the flowers have been drying on the bushes and I’ve been collecting the dried flowers, because it seemed like the right thing to do.
But I don’t really have any idea what to do with it all. I’m not really the sort of person who makes lavender bags (though maybe I’ll knit some). According to all these links, I’m supposed to be making lavender sugar, lavender lemonade and lavender oil; using it in cooking; making lavender teabags to put in the bath; using the oil to heal burns and wounds and making eyebags from lavender, flaxseed and rice. As a linguist, I am intrigued to note that the name lavender comes from the Latin verb lavare ‘to wash’, so it’s obviously well worth putting in the bath.
Has anyone else got any good ideas? I particularly want to try using it in cooking, so any good recipes would be much appreciated.
meyer lemon marmalade with lavender flowers
Ooh, there’s a bakery here in Victoria that does absolutely to-die-for lavender shortbread! I don’t have the recipe, not sure they’d part with it but there’s got to be a good one on-line somewhere. Lavender and shortbread totally works, believe me.
Valentine Warner has a recipe for tiny Lavendar Meringues which I haven’t tried but have been lusting after recently… Its on the bbc.co.uk/food site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/lavendercreammeringu_91783.shtml
While looking for the meringues recipe I stumbled across one for lamb roasted with lavendar and garlic which also sounds good http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/lavenderandgarlicroa_73975.shtml
Can’t wait to hear how the experiments progress!
Ooh, these ideas sound amazing…have been looking up recipes for lavender shortbread and might have to give it a go soon…
For the easiest lavender bags ever (purely for your own drawers, these aren’t very pretty but smell lovely) cut the toe off a pair of old tights at about the ankle, fill with dried lavender flowers, tie in a knot.
Lavender syrup. Make sugar syrup by boiling a ton of sugar until it dissolves, take off the heat and add the lavender (don’t boil it). Let it steep for a bit and then filter out the lavender and put the syrup in the fridge. Good in iced tea, on ice cream, etc.