berry berry good

Tis the season for fresh summer produce. Berries, melons, all the things that make you feel light and breezy perfectly compliment the warmer days and longer nights.
This blueberry syrup can be used for a multitude of recipe's and the blueberries can be substituted for your favorite raspberries or any other berry you may fancy.


Blueberry Vanilla Syrup

Put three cups of freshly washed blueberries into a small saucepan.

Add a cup of water a cup of vanilla sugar and a tablespoon of lemon juice.

Add half of a vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and bring to the boil.

Once it's boiling bring it down to a nice simmer. The blueberries will begin to burst and fill your house with warm berry jam aroma.

After about half an hour, the pectin in the lemon will begin to thicken the syrup.  Take it off the heat and allow to cool a little.

Remove vanilla pod and fill an old bottle with this deliciously fragrant jammy syrup. If you wish to have a smoother syrup, be sure to strain it before storing. Use it with the Doughy Lemon Maple Yogurt Cake or in a summer cocktail.  The uses are endless! Explore!

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!