2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 300 ml can of sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp ground lavender
3 Tbsp melted butter
Combine all ingredients into a double boiler. Sir constantly until chocolate is melted and smooth. Place in a 8×8 ” lined pan and cool overnight in the refrigerator until firm. Cut into pieces and top with fresh lavender, a sprinkle of lavender salt or cocoa powder
Makes 20 small pieces.
Yes, it is that time of year again when we gather round the big screen television to watch the superbowl. Or for those who are not football fans at the least the half time show. This North American tradition has become something more – its a celebration of friendship, family and food. That food is usually pizza, wings and all kinds of snack foods but why not shake it up a bit and try something with a twist of lavender- yes I said lavender. Here’s a recipe that we love with the added zest and herbal flavours of lavender.
Ingredients:
1 cup of pecans
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Sugar
2 dried red chile peppers
2 tsp lavender
Method:
Combine the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat constantly stirring to avoid the sugar from burning. Add the pecans and return to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Arrange the pecans evenly on a baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees until the pecans start to lightly brown.
Cool and serve.
Come to Serenity Lavender wearing your finest hats and gloves on Saturday, June 23rd from 1-3pm to Serenity Lavender’s Victorian High Tea. Enjoy a delectable array of finger sandwiches, scones, deserts and or course our teas amidst the sereneness of teh lavender blooms. Tickets are $25.00 per person. Seating is limited so call today to reserve your tickets. 519 980-4504 Visa and Mastercard accepted
MENU
Fresh Sandwiches
Cucumber Mint
Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper Pinwheel
Ham and Pickle
Lavender Onion Tartlet
Home Baked English Scones
Served with clotted crème, lavender jelly and raspberry lavender jam
Selection of Petit Fours
Choice of Serenity Lavender Teas
Lavender, Lavender Earl Grey, Lavender Green Tea, Provence Rooibos
Victorian High Tea at Serenity Lavender
Great with fresh greens and our local greenhouse tomatoes
1 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey – We love our friend’s at Sunparlour
1 teaspoon dried culinary lavender
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt
Dash of Pepper
In a small saucepan combine the honey, balsamic vinegar and dried lavender. Over moderately low heat reduce the mixture to half. Add oil. Mix to blend. Add salt and pepper.
Last minute preparations for Super Bowl Sunday and of course I had to include lavender in something. So here’s my a quick creation:
2 ripe firm avocados mashed
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp Serenity culinary lavender crushed with a mortar and pestle
1 small Leamington greenhouse tomato chopped
1/8 cup black bean and corn salsa
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 small onion
pinch of ground pepper
dash of hot sauce ( I used our homemade habenaro paste made from our garden grown peppers but use whatever you like)
Mix together and serve with nachos.
Photo by Steven Depolo
Just in time for the Holidays we have signed copies of the award winning Harrow Fair Cookbook available. Quantities are limited so order early to avoid disappointment!
http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=e13505312
If you love crème brulee you must try this recipe. The delicate floral flavor of lavender is heavenly!
Yiel
ds: 6 to 8 servings
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Ingredients:
4 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon Serenity Lavender’s Culinary lavender
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, add cream and the lavender flowers; heat just to a simmer. Remove from heat and allow lavender flowers to infuse with the cream for 15 minutes. Strain cream mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove lavender flowers.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until light and creamy. Slowly add the strained cream to the egg mixture, blending well. Divide custard mixture among the custard cups.
Arrange the custard cups in a oven proof roasting or baking pan. Prepare water for the water bath by bringing enough water to a simmer. Carefully pour the hot water into the baking pan to come half-way up the sides of the custard cups.
Bake 60 minutes or until set around the edges but still loose in the center. The cooking time will depend largely on the size of the custard cups you are using, but begin checking at a half hour and check back regularly. When the center of the custard is just set, it will jiggle a little when shaken, that’s when you can remove it from the oven.
Remove from oven and leave in the water bath until cooled. Remove cups from water bath and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
When ready to serve, sprinkle approximately 2 teaspoons of remaining sugar over each crème brulee and using a small hand-held torch melt the sugar until a golden brown crust is formed.
Impress your guests with this beautiful pistachio crusted roast rack of lamb using Serenity’s Herbes de Provence and Culinary Lavender. Sweet, nutty pistachios are added to a traditional Dijon mustard crust, which gives the lamb a great flavor and texture.
Makes 4 Portions Pistachio Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 fully trimmed racks of lamb (just under 1 1/2 pounds each)
- 1 teaspoon Serenity Lavender’s Herbes de Provence, or dried Italian herb blend
- salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
- For the crust:
- 2/3 cup finely chopped roasted pistachios
- 2 tablespoon plain bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon Serenity Lavender’s Culinary Lavender finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Season the lamb very generously with the fresh black pepper and salt to taste. Sprinkle over and press in the dried herbs. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet, and brown the lamb racks on both sides for a few minutes over high heat. Remove to a roasting pan and reserve.
Use a brush or spoon to spread the Dijon mustard over the surfaces of the lamb. Spread some on the sides and ends, but most should remain on the top surface.
Combine the crust ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Divide between the 2 racks of lamb, and sprinkle over to cover the mustard-spread surface. Once evenly distributed, press gently with your fingers to makes sure it’s adhering to the mustard.
Place in the preheated oven and cook for 25 minutes, or until the internal temp is 125-130 degrees F, for medium-rare. Remove and let rest 10 minutes before slicing between the bones and serving. Garnish with a sprig of Lavender!
Well at Serenity Lavender we are busily preparing for this awesome event. This coming Sunday you can visit six different farms including ours. At Serenity you will be able to touch see and smell the lavender. There will be farm tours, pruning demonstrations and of course shopping! We hope to see you at Serenity this Sunday between 10 am and 5 pm.
To see all the participating farms visit:
http://www.ecfa.ca/main/index.php?page=farmhiker.php
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2011/08/30/farm-hiker-tour-back-sept-18/
Peaches, Lavender and Harrow go hand in hand. Did you know that varieties such as Harrow Beauty, Harrow Fair, Harbright and Harrow Diamond, just to name a few, were developed right in our own backyard at the Agriculture Agri-food Canada Harrow Research Station? While we no longer celebrate these achievements at the Peach Festival, but we still love our peaches which are bursting with sweet rich ripeness right now and available at your local Harrow fruit stands picked just hours before your purchase.
So this season for something try the flavours of lavender and peach
Ingredients:
6 -8 peaches
2 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
1 Tablespoon of Serenity’s culinary lavender
1 bay leaf or clove
Preparation
In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and water and over medium heat stir until the sugar is disolved and the mixture is clear. Remove from heat and add the lavender and bay leaf and steep for 10-15 minutes. Strain the herbs from the liquid and return the liquid to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add peaches and cook for 2-3 minutes until the peaches are tender. I like mine a bit firmer. Remove peaches from the liquid with a slotted spoon. Let them cool down a bit. Peel the skin, pit and slice in half. Continue to cook until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Place 2 peach halves on a plate and drizzle with syrup. Serve with ice cream or for something more decadent try it with marscapone cheese or devon cream. Garnish with a fresh lavender sprigs, mint or bay leaf.
Impress your guests with this beautiful pistachio crusted roast rack of lamb using Serenity’s Herbes de Provence and Culinary Lavender. Sweet, nutty pistachios are added to a traditional Dijon mustard crust, which gives the lamb a great flavor and texture.