Author: Lavender Hill

Lavender in winter

Lavender Hill

I took a stomp through deep snow and drifts to check on my lavender still resting dormant inside my little greenhouse. It will be many weeks before it awakes.

Lavender over-wintering inside the greenhouse
Lavender over-wintering inside the greenhouse
The greenhouse in winter
The greenhouse in winter
+5C inside the greenhouse today
+5C inside the greenhouse today

And I took a hike out to the far edge of the secret garden where lavender also grows and to the western lavender streams still very much asleep under its cozy snow blanket.

Secret Garden Lavender
Secret Garden Lavender
Lavender Streams under snow cover
Lavender Streams under snow cover

Everything still in a deep winter’s sleep, I retreated inside where I store my dried lavender bundles. After pulling back the protective covers off the storage baskets, I took in a deep breath. Temporarily contented I wait patiently.

 

Hiking boots

Lavender Hill

After I moved to the Mountains I suppose it was inevitable that my pace would slow down from that of a ballerina~figure-skater~roller-skater wannabe to that of a walk. Although I still got my need for speed kick from zooming around on my mountain bike, I spent the other weekend day with a pair of hiking boots laced to my ankles and slowly over time built up stamina for longer day and overnight hikes throughout Banff/Lake Louise/Field.

Zamberlan, in the end, became my hiking boot of choice. I don’t remember how many pairs I wore out over the years…this pair, likely the last pair, are still in my closet.

Hiking boots line-drawing stage
Hiking boots line-drawing stage
Hiking boots colour design work stage
Hiking boots colour design work stage
Hiking boots WIP paper-cutting
Hiking boots WIP paper-cutting

Although there are no mountains to hike around Lavender Hill, I occasionally put on my hiking boots and I feel like my mountain-girl-self once again.

making lavender loaf

Lavender Hill

Firstly, this is not my recipe. It was circulating around social media…you know one of those posts that is shared by everyone ~ thus giving a nice boost of free marketing to its creator ~ [the] reluctantentertainer[dot]com who named it Downton Abbey Lavender Tea Bread. Well I’m calling it a Lavender loaf…as it’s made in a loaf pan, slices like banana loaf ~ lemon loaf ~ meat loaf ~ you get my drift?

I assembled utensils and ingredients and began:

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Would you like a slice?

 

The Downton Abbey Lavender Tea Bread recipe (Lavender Loaf) was a success.

But there are a couple things I recommend:

  1. The recipe called for 2 Tbsp of dried lavender (which is A LOT) ~ I used 1 Tbsp of Lavender Hill Hippie culinary lavender which was more than sufficient. Next time, when using Lavender Hill Hippie Culinary Lavender, I would use even less (1 tsp for a milder lavender-tasting loaf to 1 tbsp for a stronger lavender-tasking loaf).
  2. In my electric oven the recommended 45-50 minutes bake time at 325 degrees F was not long enough. At 50 minutes when the toothpick I inserted into the loaf came out raw I decided to switch my oven to Convection Bake and baked the loaf for another 10 minutes. In these 10 minutes the loaf browned up lovely and the toothpick emerged dry when tested. Next time, I think I would choose to Convection Bake for the duration.

Other thoughts:

  • use lavender sugar in the recipe and omit lavender from the milk
  • strain the lavender buds from the milk
  • top with a glaze made from lavender icing sugar
  • store in an air-tight container in the fridge…I noticed that while photographing the loaf that the sliced pieces began to dry out more quickly than anticipated

This is a very easy recipe with readily-accessible ingredients ~ that is if you have culinary lavender in your spice cupboard. The recipe comes together quickly, bakes in under an hour, slices nicely and presents well.

Its texture is of a dense, slightly grainy/crumbly cake but it holds together when sliced. The lavender flavour is present with no other flavouring undertones… the vanilla extract (and I used the real thing not flavoured vanilla) is lost. This perhaps in part because of the amount of lavender used. This I think could be improved by lessening the quantity of lavender or alternately balancing the lavender taste with another such as lemon & lavender ~ which I am anxious to try.

~ thanks for checking in…if you need culinary lavender I grow, harvest, dry, clean and sell culinary lavender at local markets and online through the Rustic Lavender Boutique.

 

Lavender Caramel Lollies

Lavender Hill

If you have a sweet tooth, love cooking with lavender (or are curious to try), I created this luscious lavender caramel recipe in 2015 and perfected it in 2016 when I introduced Lavender Caramel Lollies to local markets.

You can make this recipe into lollies (lollipops) or break it up into bite-sized pieces…tuck a piece in your mouth and ahhhhhhhh.

If you would like to make Lavender Caramel Lollies in your own kitchen, the recipe is available as a FREE digital download from my Rustic Lavender Boutique where, for a limited time, all lavender products are 10% off (with code: lavendersale10) AND until January 19th take an additional 10% off your entire cart with code: ILoveUkraine

And don’t forget that e-mail subscribers always save 10% when they use the SUBSCRIBER code.

Download this Recipe