Tapioca is a  light, easy, Gluten Free dessert! It is a favorite “soul food” of mine, that brings back memories of my childhood at Grandma’s house I’ve put a little modern twist on this recipe with our Culinary Lavender, giving it a warm, lightly floral  flavor. This would be a perfect light dessert for your Super Bowl menu!

Lavender Raspberry Honey Tapioca

Serves 4-6

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup/2.5 oz. small pearl tapioca

2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

¼ tsp. fine-grain sea salt (I used HRL Sel-Gris)

1/3  cup mild honey

Grated zest of 1 small lemon (I left this out)

1 tsp. Organic Vanilla (I used instead of lemon)

2 tsp. English culinary lavender (HRL Signature Blend)

¼ to 1 tsp rose water (I left this out)

Sliced raspberries to garnish

1. Soak the tapioca in 2 cups of the room temperature water 4- 6 hours or overnight. Strain off water, and set aside.

2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, over low heat, add 2 1/2 cups milk, and culinary lavender; heat just to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover, and allow lavender flowers to infuse with the milk for 15 minutes. Strain milk mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove lavender flowers.

3. Wisk in the egg yolks, salt, and honey, add tapioca, and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. This will take about 15 minutes. Decrease the heat so the mixture gently simmers, stirring constantly, for another 20 minutes or until the tapioca is fully cooked (this depends on how large your tapioca pearls are.) The tapioca is fully cooked when the pearls swell up and are nearly translucent-tasting is the best way to tell. The pudding itself will also thicken into a custard. Continue to taste and stir, preventing the tapioca from scorching. Remove the pan from the heat, and scoop into parfait glasses. Chill or serve warm. Top with fresh raspberries. Enjoy!!

Original recipe is from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day, altered a tad with our culinary lavender, and vanilla.

These Red Velvet Lavender Cheesecake Brownies are rich, luscious, and fragrant, and so perfect for Valentine’s Day!

Love at first bite….just the tiniest bite is capable of sending you into paroxysms of ardor!  The delightful interplay of flavors: Chocolate, Cheesecake and Lavender…. Be still my Heart!  I will enjoy these luscious, fragrant treats with a warm cup of tea, as I spend many hours inside, out of the cold winter elements. May your winter blues be lifted, and calmness fill your days, as each day brings springtime closer Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Red Velvet Lavender Cheesecake Brownies

Original recipe is from Sweetpeakitchen.com, altered a tad adding culinary lavender.

Ingredients:

½ cup butter

2-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (100% natural Cacao)

1 cup sugar (I used natural cane sugar)

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3-5 tsp. culinary English Lavender (I used 5 tsp)

1 ½ tsp. red food coloring (I left this out)

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. salt

8-oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup sugar (I used natural cane sugar)

1 large egg

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom & sides of an 8 inch baking pan (I used a 9 x 12 Pyrex baking pan to make a thinner brownie). Put a long piece of unbleached parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.
2. In a small pan add culinary lavender, butter and chocolate, on low, melt together. Stir until combined and very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.  Add chocolate, lavender mixture and stir until smooth.  Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
4. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
5. To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Distribute the cheesecake mixture in 8 -10 dollops over batter in the pan. Swirl in with a knife or spatula.
6. Bake for 30 minutes (9 x 12 baking pan). Bake 35-40 minutes (8 inch baking pan), until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.
7. Let cool in pan on a cooling rack before lifting out the parchment paper to remove the brownies. (I let brownies cool only slightly, about 10-15 minutes, and gently lifted the parchment paper w/brownies out of the pan, and set it on countertop. Then I cut 12 heart brownies using small & medium  heart shaped cookie cutters)

Weeks ago I was whining about not having any snow yet, well you know how the saying goes, be careful what you wish for! Last week we got 20″ of snow, which was reallllly beautiful. I was able to finally get my x-country skis out, and trek around our lavender farm. What fun!!

Hood River Lavender in Winter

However, that evening we got more snow,  and ice “freezing rain”, on top of it. Whew! We had many tree limbs break, luckily nothing fell on our house, but we lost our electricity for a few hours in the afternoon….just as I was attempting to sew up lavender Neckwraps. Darn.. didn’t work fast enough! Making the best of the situation, I grabbed my sewing needles and attempted to hand-stitch the opening, adding our HRL  label on, and finishing one Neckwrap. I hadn’t forgot how to hand-stitch I still remember my dear Grandmother Mable saying , “hand-stitching is the foundation of all sewing, it starts there”. Thank you Grandmother! I only hand-stitched one neck wrap and gave it up until our electricity came back on.  We were lucky our power returned within a few hours, so I finished machine stitching our Neckwraps.

I needed something warming, so I made a cup of  hot Lavender Chai Mate Tea. Then I began sewing on a few lavender Eye Pillows. As I sipped on my tea, I  had lots of hopeful thoughts, that our electricity stays on for us, as well as our friends and family in our Hood River Valley and surrounding towns. And I hope I’ll find a few more opportunities to x-country ski before our snow melts  Enjoying winter. Keep warm

I’m dreaming of warm fragrant summer days with 1000′s of lavender flowers surrounding me

Awww…what an amazing aroma, I’m imagining! These days I spend most of my time hibernating indoors, working on our business, while the lavender plants are dormant outside in the cold…Today, when I wasn’t day dreaming , I filled numerous bottles of English Lavender Essential Oil for web orders. When I needed a mood lift I would inhale deeply, huffing the lavender aromas,to soothe my blues away!!! It helped bring the fresh aroma of my lavender garden inside to me. I call lavender my “Fragrance of Sunlight”, because it instantly lifts my spirits, like walking in the lavender garden with the warm sun-shining on my face If you are one of the wonderful customers that ordered Angustifolia (English) lavender essential oil during our largest price reduction special, you will soon also bring the Fragrance of Sunlight into your home, as you experience it’s calming, soothing aroma.

Save 50% on our Lavender Oil Now!

This yummy recipe comes from Ming Tsai, and is adapted by me a tad to incorporate our Organic Culinary Lavender. It combines together with the ginger beautifully, enlivening this recipe with a delicate floral-spice flavor. We love it!

Makes 2 Loaves

Ingredients

1 lb unsalted butter

1 lb dark brown sugar

1 lb eggs (9-10 large eggs)

1 lb. all purpose flour

2 tablespoons culinary lavender “Signature Blend”

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon ground ginger powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Cooking spray with flour, for greasing pans

Whipped cream, for serving

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, cream butter.
• Add sugar and continue to cream together until light & fluffy.
• With mixer still going, add 1 egg at a time.
• In a bowl, combine flour, culinary lavender, ginger & salt. Sprinkle in flour mixture while beating & mix until just incorporated.
• Spoon into greased loaf pans.
• Bake 350 degrees in center of oven for 55-60 minutes. Cake will be done when deep golden brown and skewer comes out clean when inserted into center of cake. Allow to cool on wire rack, run knife around edge & release from pan. Serve slices with generous amount of whipped cream. Second loaf can be stored, wrapped tightly in freezer, for 2-4 weeks.

Enjoy with a warm cup of Gorge Wind Tea

Recipe was altered a tad with our Culinary Lavender, thanks to Ming Tsai.

See more Yummy Lavender recipes!

Today I delivered a wholesale order to the organic department, Huckleberry’s Natural Foods, in Rosauer’s. We appreciate the years we’ve had the opportunity to have many of our lavender products available at this popular grocery store in our hometown. It has made our organic lavender products available, and convenient to many folks. We “Thank you” Huckleberrys, and look forward to another year of partnership & friendship!

With the New Year right around the corner, I’m looking forward to this coming year with much anticipation and wonder. This is our 9th year since we started our lavender business, and 8th year we’ve been open at our U-Pick lavender farm. Reflecting on the extreme changes we’ve progressed through in developing our U-pick farm, it gives me much joy to ponder on the  growth  from year to year. It has been amazing , exciting, and I admit, exhausting at times, however that’s what brings Joe and I the fullest joy, and the rewards of our labor! Because we’ve experienced the stretching pains of growth, and we’ve worked, day by day, cultivating the plan, expanding our creativity, and creating a thriving business… when there was nothing, just a dream! That alone brings a Smile of achievement, but most of all we want to remember, with appreciation, our amazing seasonal employees,  and customers that helped make it all possible!

So when I reflect on the past years, I smile, and inhale deeply, knowing that as we move forward in the coming year all our effort, and creative insight will be just enough for each day, and this lovely calming, healing lavender aroma will touch others.  And we will be touched in the process by each of  you!!

Thank you for celebrating life and lavender with us! 

contemplating and planning 2005

Happy New Year to you and your families. May it be a prosperous year, filled with good health and happiness! Let’s bring in 2012 with all the Gusto we have

Online orders are all shipped..done..

gifts are wrapped & under the tree..done..

finished baking Lavender Gingerbread cookies..done..

Phew!

Time now to say thank you! We are extremely thankful for all your support throughout the year! We’d like to wish each of you a fragrantly calm Merry Christmas, and blessings of  health, and happiness in the New Year!!

We hope you are enjoying special moments with your family, and friends during this time.

We are taking a few day off to relax also, and today my husband and I went to see the movie “Hugo“, a delightful, magical mysterious adventure. Definitely a must see movie!  We  plan to relax doing a few of our favorite things…sipping lavender chai mate tea & playing games, like Racko, Skip Bo, Ratuki, &  board games like Sorry, & Aggravation!! Fun games that encourage laughter, simple pleasure, while spending time with friends or family.

Make Merry memories, and may it be a joyful, relaxing, safe time for you and your family!

Yummy Holiday cookie!! Makes 20-36

Ingredients:   (*Vegan option)
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, (more for dusting)
2 cups all-purpose flour *2 cups Brown Rice Flour
1/4 teaspoon salt         *2 teaspoons Xanthan Gum
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 Tablespoons culinary lavender (Signature Blend-English)

Preparation:
-Preheat oven to 350′.
-Cream butter, culinary lavender, and 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar using large mixer on medium speed, until light & fluffy. Mix in the flour and salt on lowest setting until they are well combined. Stir in coconut with large spatula.
-Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Roll dough into 1-2 inch balls, spreading them 2-inches apart.

-Bake for 17-25 minutes (depending on size)

-Allow the warm balls to cool 3-4 minutes, then roll in confectioners’ sugar, let cool.

Relax & enjoy a few cookies with a friend, and a warm cup of Lavender Chai Mate’ Tea or Soy Nog!

Holiday blessings and cheer to you & yours!

This recipe was altered a tad from Martha Stewart’s recipe

We Love them!!!

I took the day off with Papa Elf, from producing Lavender Products, and also packing up web orders for our customers. We went to a local Bazaar at the HR County Fairgrounds, called Last Chance Christmas Bazaar. In past years we’ve participated in this local Arts & Craft event, but this year we chose to take a break. Many of the vendors are friends of ours, including the ladies that run the “Special Olympics” booth. I purchased a pack of 10 sweet Christmas Cards, hand painted by the Special Olympic Athletes. 

I also purchased several bags of their handmade Chex Mix, since I don’t have that on my to do list! After shopping, I visited my neighbors with Christmas cards and a plate of homemade cookies, Five Spice Lavender Shortbread & Coconut Lavender Balls.  If you love christmas spices, and coconut & Lavender as much as I do, then you’ll love these recipes.

Five Spice Shortbread

This recipe is from Ming Tsai ( I add this to my Lavender Shortbread recipe, without the “Mint”)

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoons ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground star anise

1/4 cup turbinado or other granulated sugar

1 chilled log of Lavender Shortbread cookie dough.

-Preheat the oven to 325′F. In a small bowl, combine the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and sugar.

-Cut the chilled log into  1/2″ rounds.  Dip one cut surface of each round into the spice mixture and arrange the rounds 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

-Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.  Remove the cookies with a spatula and cool.

I hope you enjoy preparing for a very Merry & Calm holiday!

This recipe is from Kate McAloon (altered just a tad)

2 cups butter-room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder & 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tablespoon organic culinary lavender
2 cups shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups small marshmallows
-using an electric mixer combine butter, white sugar & brown sugar together until creamy.
-add vanilla and eggs 1 at a time and mix in well.
-in a separate bowl mix together flour, salt, baking soda and powder, and culinary lavender
-then add the flour mixture to the batter slowly and mix well.
-add the shredded coconut, white chocolate chips and marshmallows and blend together.
-put the mixture in a medium to large baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.
-bake at 350 for about 20-25 min. then check and cover Lavender Blondies loosely with foil so the top does not burn and continue baking until the insides are a bit firm for about 15-20 minutes more.
The middle will still be gooey when done. Enjoy!