Lovely Lavender

If you know me, then you know my penchant for all things lavender. Call me old and stuffy but I just can't get past it's beauty and versatility.  Last year I was absolutely delighted when a client requested that I provide around 1000 lavender sugar cookies for their upcoming California nuptials. Much to the thrill of my girlfriends, I was perfecting the recipe for days and my home reaped all the benefits, even though my thighs didn't!


Knowing my love for this woody, aromatic herb, my boyfriend recently surprised me with a lavender bush that he planted in our front yard.  Whadoyaknow, a few short months later this once small shrub has taken over most of our lawn!  Now I have a brilliant excuse to come up with as many fabulous recipes as I can to relieve our once diverse garden!


Here's an amazing recipe for a Lavender Vanilla Syrup that will just knock your socks off! Use it on pancakes, in lemonade, champagne, fruit salad, ice cream, whatever! I'd bathe in it if I could!  The ways to enjoy this sweet treat really are limitless and I challenge you to experiment and share your own culinary ideas with me! This recipe yields 2 cups of syrup.

Vanilla sugar is a staple that I always keep in my pantry. It's one of those things you can make weeks or months in advance, forget about and then reap all the aromatic and flavorful benefits!  Fill a jar you have lying around with granulated sugar and anytime you have a recipe that calls for vanilla beans, place the remaining pod in the sugar jar. You're left with a dewy sugar that packs a flavorful punch! 

Combine two cups of vanilla sugar and two cups of water and bring to the boil. 

Add two tablespoons of dried culinary lavender and boil for one minute. Remove syrup from the heat and allow to steep for one hour.

Drain syrup into a sealable container and voila! Something that required minimum effort and expertise and yields maximum ohhhs and ahhhhs!


Enjoy!