Traveling Lavender Class & Herbed Pasta

Last week we had our 

Traveling Lavender Class

Everyone met at our store

(and thankfully the rain held off for our party!)

Tables were set outside 

and we shared how to cook with culinary Lavender

while everyone dined on:

Cherry Turkey Wraps with Raspberry Lavender Vinaigrette

Herbed Pasta with Goat cheese

and Lavender Pineapple Dream Cake

After our talk & meal we traveled west down
Route 6 to Schooner Farms 
Where we were treated to walking
the Lavender Labyrinth
and learning how they make their lavender hydrosol

Because the 4th is coming up
we thought we'd share the Herb Garden Pasta recipe
 because it would be perfect for a picnic or get-together!

HERBED GARDEN PASTA

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound uncooked penne pasta

1-1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil,plus 1-1/2 teaspoon separated

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon organic culinary Lavender buds, chopped

1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 red onion, minced

2 teaspoons fresh chives, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1 pint cherry tomatoes

3 Tablespoons vegetable broth

2 Tablespoons butter

1/3 cup goat cheese

Fresh basil for garnish

Cook the pasta according to the package's directions, and drain.
Place the pasta in a large bowl and toss with 1-1/2 teaspoon of olive oil..
Add the basil, parsley, lavender, salt and pepper.
Toss well to combine.
(We added more lavender because we wanted to taste it more
~ you can do this at the end if you'd like to adjust your herb flavors!)

In a large skillet, mix together the remaining 1-1/2 teaspoon of olive oil,
garlic, onion, chives and rosemary.
Saute the ingredients over medium-low heat for 4 minutes,
stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, and continue sauteing until
 the skins of the tomatoes are slightly charred and just beginning to burst.

Add the vegetable broth and butter, and add the tomato and onion mixture
 to the pasta.  Toss well to combine.  Sprinkle with the goat cheese
and garnish with as much fresh basil as you want!

Serve immediately.  Makes approximately 2-4 servings.

Wishing everyone a lovely 

4th of July Weekend

with friends & family!

Karla & Karrie

The Summer Kitchen Girls

There's Always Something Cooking at The Summer Kitchen......

Onion Pie 

With Lavender, Bacon & Blue Cheese

Last month we served this delicious pie for our Lavender Class!

Even if you aren't a big blue cheese fan (we aren't!) you will find this

one of the tastiest savory pies you've ever had!

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

 (homemade or store-bought; use deep-dish shell if purchased)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup whole milk or cream

2 cups caramelized onions (see recipe below)

4 ounces bacon, diced, cooked and drained

2 teaspoons culinary lavender

4 to 8 ounces blue cheese

Caramelized Onions

You will not believe the difference Caramelized Onions make!

2 pounds yellow onions

1 to 2 teaspoons salt

2 to 3 teaspoons sugar

2 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Halve onions and remove the outer layers and cut into thin slices.

Place onion slices in a plastic bowl and sprinkle with salt and sugar. 

Toss the mixture and set aside for at 10 minutes

Melt butter in a skillet.

Reserving any liquid left in the bowl, add the onion.

Cook over medium heat stirring often until the first browning is visible.

Reduce the heat and add the liquid from the bowl.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cover the skillet and cook for 20 minutes, watching it so it doesn't' burn.

Onion Pie cooking directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Bake the pie shell for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden. Let it cool.

Whisk together the eggs and milk or cream in a medium bowl. Add the onions and bacon, whisk to combine and pour the mixture into the baked pie crust. Sprinkle with the lavender and crumbled blue cheese.

Place the pie in the oven on the lower rack. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until almost set but still slightly soft in the middle. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!

~Karla & Karrie

The Summer Kitchen Girls

You can find this recipe on The Washington Post.

When Herb de Provence meets Pork.....

Thursday night we had our 

Lavender Cooking Class 

at the store and we had to share this recipe

because...

it was

to

die

for!

We just took a 3 pound pork roast

rubbed it with 2 tablespoons of crushed garlic

 then we rubbed it with the Herb de Provence we made for class

 {recipe below!}

Heat some olive oil in a skillet...get it nice and hot and then

sear the meat on all sides....take it out ~ then all we did was just took about

1/3 cup Dijon mustard and brushed it all over the roast....oh yum!!

Next just put it in a cooker and covered it

and put it in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 3-1/2 hours or so...

pull it out....let it rest

then pull it apart

:)

it will make your guests smile

honestly!

Herbs de Provence

1 Tablespoon dried thyme

1 Tablespoon dried basil

2 teaspoons culinary lavender buds

2 teaspoons dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon dried savory

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

Combine all of the ingredients, and mix well.  

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark location.

Summer Sorbet....

Summer.....

almost over ~ so let's make the best of it!

Thought we'd share our Raspberry Lavender Sorbet 

with chocolate Lavender Raspberry Jam recipes with you today....

well...and we just had to share this delicious looking picture...

because if it doesn't scream summer...

we just don't know what would!

Raspberry Lavender Sorbet

Ingredients

3 cups water

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons culinary lavender buds

3 cups frozen red raspberries, slightly thawed

1/2 cup frozen strawberries, slightly thawed

1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice (about 1 large lime)

1/4 cup corn syrup

Directions

Freeze the insert of an ice cream make according to the manufacturer's instructions.  

To begin, you will need to make a lavender simple syrup. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring gently, about 3-5 minutes or until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Remove from the heat, stir in the lavender buds, and allow them to steep for 3 minutes.  Strain the lavender buds from the water and discard the lavender buds.  

Completely cool the lavender simple syrup in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight. 

Combine the raspberries, strawberries and lime juice in a food processor,

 and blend for about 1+2 minutes or until the berries are completely pureed.  

Press the berries through a fine-mesh strainer to remove all the seeds.  Combine the raspberry puree with the cooled lavender simple syrup and the corn syrup.  

Stir and chill for 2 hours or overnight.

Turn the ice cream maker to the on position, and slowly pour the raspberry mixture

 into the freezer bowl through the ingredient spout.  Let the ingredients mix 

until thickened, about 25-30

Makes approximately 8 servings. minutes.  Transfer the sorbet to an airtight container

 and put in the freezer for 2 hours before serving.

Now...that sorbet is just fantastic by itself....

but put some of our Chocolate Lavender Raspberry Jam on top and....

well...be prepared to swoon!!  

We also love this jam smothered on scones...

ok...and it's pretty good on a spoon as well :)

Chocolate Lavender 

Raspberry Jam

                                                                              

Ingredients

8 -1/2 cups fresh raspberries (about 2 pounds)

3 cups granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1-1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

1 Tablespoons Culinary Lavender Buds

Directions

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, mix together the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice.  

Place the pan over medium heat, and simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes, stirring slowly.  Skim off any foam from the surface.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Add the chocolate chips and the lavender buds to the raspberry mixture and 

stir until the chocolate chips are completely melted.  Spoon the mixture into a large bowl, 

and cover with parchment paper.  

Refrigerator overnight to allow the flavors to mature.  Transfer the jam into airtight containers.  The jam can be store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.  For longer storage, place the airtight containers in the freezer for up to 3 months.  

The jam may also be kept in seal-tight-jars

Makes approximately 6 cups

oh-so good

to the last drop!!

Lavender Days

"Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,
Lavender's green
When you are King, dilly dilly,
I shall be Queen"

We will be celebrating

Lavender at the store this month...

with Lavender potpourri, sachets, Lavender Candles

& Culinary Lavender buds

and why not make these delicious

 Lavender cookies?

If you are area...

we'd love you to join us for our

Lavender Cooking Class

Scone meets butter

Hi, I'm a scone.  And although I'm quite tasty on my own, I am soooo much better when I have a companion.

And then one day I spied my perfect mate.

She was like milk and honey, and was adorned with lavender buds.

Talk about a delicious match!

This Lavender Honey Butter Recipe was a hit at both our Lavender Tea and our Sorbet Soiree.... So after much demand, here is the recipe:

Lavender Honey Butter

1 stick of butter (softened)

4t. honey

4t. culinary lavender

Blend ingredients together and then chill until about a half hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Lavender Tea & Garden Party

Lavender Tea & Garden Party

We are sooo excited!

Out Lavender Tea is tomorrow night...

want to know what we're having??

Lavender Tea 2011

Salad Greens with Lavender vinaigrette

Lavender Pecan Chicken Skewers with Rhubarb-Apricot Dipping Sauce

Broccoli Lavender Cornbread

Buttermilk Scones

Lavender Scones

with Honey Lavender Butter

Lavender Harvest Fudge

Peach & Lavender Sorbet

Lemon-Lavender Mousse Fillo Cups

oh....don't you worry

 we'll get you one of our recipes later this week with pictures!

It's going to be a Lavenderlicious Day!!

On another note...Catherine brought over some delicious herbs that are so good looking - these will be on sale starting today!  Lots of interesting varieties - see more pictures on our facebook page!

Our Tea will kick off our

Annual Garden Party

Friday, June 24th   10am-8pm

Saturday, June 25th  10am-5pm



It's Friday...and we're in love...

Last night we had our Lavender Class.

Catherine came out and taught us all about this herb and it's gazillon uses.

She also taught us how to grow, prune and harvest this fabulous herb.

We also talked about the many foods and drinks you can make with Lavender.  We found out that you can even use the leaves to make things like Lavender lemonade... Who knew?

Then she brought along her collection of Lavender cleaners, room & linen sprays, herbal teas, sachets, and of course, the plant itself for us to shop from.

All this while we devoured Lavender cookies & Lavender tea bread while sipping on some of our Victorian Garden tea, which of course has Lavender in it!

One thing we wanted to make was this recipe for Lavender fudge, but we didn't have enough Lavender buds for it (then we found out that we could have used the leaves!)

So we thought we'd share it with you... then we all can make it!

Lavender Harvest Fudge

2cups(12oz.) good chocolate chips (for special occasions us Belgian chocolate!)

1tin(300ml) sweetened condensed milk

1 Tbsp. dried Lavender flowers (3Tbsp. fresh)

-measure, then grind finely, use a clean coffee grinder

Melt everything together in a double boiler.  Add 3 tbsp. butter.  Stir until smooth and melted. 

Pour into a pan lined with wax paper (approximately 9"x9").  Cover with Saran Wrap.  Chill overnight.

Cut into 1" squares.  Wrap like "sweets" in twists of wax paper. 

*Recipe can be doubled, use 9"x12" pan.  Stripe it using white chocolate for top layer and dark for the bottom.

**Optional:  Sprinkle fresh Lavender on to layer to decorate!

We are in love with Lavender this Friday... what are you in love with today??

Sweet as Honey...

Our French Lavender Honey is processed cold so it don't lose it's flavor or any nutritional value. The honey is named Lavender Honey, not because it tastes like lavender, but because the honey is collected from bees fed on lavender plants.  It is some of the finest tasting honey in the world!!

 It's Lavender Week at The Summer Kitchen!

If you are around our way on Thursday evening - we'd love to have you for our Lavender Class.

We will be serving our famous lavender cookies, lavender tea and other treats, as you listen to Catherine tell you everything you need to know about this wonderful plant!  This year we are thrilled to have Karen Miller lead us in making lavender wand sachets for your home.