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Mad Lavender Farm

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Adrienne Crombie

Roasted Culinary Lavender Buds

November 30, 2020 by Adrienne Crombie Leave a Comment

One of my favorite ways to enjoy culinary lavender is by roasting the buds. Roasting transforms the flavor of lavender buds from a delicate floral to a unique nuttiness that pairs splendidly with root vegetables in the Fall.

To roast culinary lavender buds, heat a cast iron pan on medium high heat. Drop a few tablespoons or up to a cup of buds on the hot pan. Stirring constantly, roast the buds for 1 minute or until they are evenly roasted. Take the pan off the heat.

When the buds are cool, pack them into a clean jar.

The buds may be sprinkled on roasted butternut squash or other Fall root vegetables or used to season cream of Pumpkin Soup.

culinary lavender buds
Roast no more than 1 cup of lavender buds at a time.
Roasted Lavender Buds
Heat the buds on high heat for one minute until they are evenly roasted.

Filed Under: Recipes

Homemade Lavender Infused Yogurt

November 7, 2020 by Adrienne Crombie Leave a Comment

I love yogurt but boy do I hate those plastic tubs they come in. I don’t like being party to accumulation of single-use plastic. There are brands of yogurt that are produced in glass jars but they are not widely available. If you share my love/hate for yogurt dilemma, you may be really excited to know how easy it is to make yogurt at home. Are you psyched for this?

 

You’ll need some equipment:

  • A one quart mason jar and lid
  • A kitchen thermometer
  • A heating pad measuring 24inches long by 12 inches wide that does NOT automatically turn off. I ordered mine online.
  • Milk. You may use whole milk or low fat milk if you have concerns about fat content.
  • And yogurt! This could be your final purchase of yogurt in a plastic tub. Select a good brand of plain yogurt with no additives.

 

 

Ready?
Heat one quart of milk in a saucepan over medium/low heat to between 180 – 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a wisk to stir the milk once in a while to distribute the heat and to prevent the milk from scorching the pan. Hook the kitchen thermometer onto the lip of the saucepan so you can easily monitor the heat.

Heating milk for yogurt
Heat the milk gradually to 180 – 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wonder why milk has to be scalded to make yogurt? I did too, so I looked it up. It has to do with the way the proteins of the milk bond to form a nice, silky texture. If it is not heated first and then cooled down, the resulting yogurt will be thin and watery.

If you want to infuse your yogurt with lavender, add 1 tablespoon of culinary lavender buds as you are heating the milk.

Lavender infused milk
Add a tablespoon of culinary lavender buds to the milk as you are heating it.

The scalded milk will form a skin on the surface. That’s normal. Just skim it off with the whisk and dispose of in the compost.

 

Skimming milk for yogurt
Skim the skin that’s formed on the scalded milk and discard.

Allow the milk to cool down again to no more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have added lavender buds, strain the buds out through a small sieve and pour the cooled milk into your quart mason jar.

Pour the cooled milk through a small strainer into a quart mason jar.

It’s time to add the yogurt culture. Add a big spoonful of plain yogurt to the milk in the mason jar. Screw the lid and and shake well to integrate the live yogurt culture with the milk.

Next step is to wrap the quart jar in the heating pad. I place a tea towel underneath my jar to insulate it better. Wrap the jar, plug the heating pad in, set the heat on low and don’t touch it again for 12 hours. After 12 hours (it’s ok if it sits wrapped in the heating pad for a few more hours) the result is a quart of velvety smooth yogurt. I love that first spoonful of warm yogurt before I pop it into the refrigerator.

wrap heating pad around jar of milk
Wrap the heating pad around the jar of milk.
Heating pad wrapped around jar.
Wrap the jar, plug in the heating pad and wait 12 hours.

 

 

Spoonful of yogurt.
After 12 hours, voila!! velvety smooth yogurt.

If you have infused the yogurt with lavender, get ready for the most sublime taste experience; creamy, rich yogurt that is subtly but unmistakably infused with lavender essence. It blends well with fruit or jam. I like it with a dollop of Blackberry Butter from a local farm market, Phillips Farm.

Blackberry butter
Blackberry butter made locally by Phillips Farm is a nice foil for lavender infused yogurt.

Surprisingly, lavender infused yogurt works equally well topping a savory soup.  It pairs with cream of carrot soup, also cream of beet or borscht, both of which have a natural sweetness to them.  The warmth and earthiness of a cream of wild mushroom soup is nicely accented with a dollop of the yogurt, as well.

carrot soup
Try creamed carrot soup with a dollop of lavender infused yogurt.

Filed Under: Recipes

Cooking with Lavender

November 5, 2020 by Adrienne Crombie Leave a Comment

I love to cook. I love the textures, the smells, and the process of combining select ingredients and transforming them into something delightful and yummy. I love the tried and true recipes I can always rely on and I like trying out new ones. I really like knowing what I’m putting into my body. It’s amazing when I’ve grown some or even most of the ingredients myself to bring it from a seed in the dirt to food in the mouth.

All that being said, I’m also busy. I’m an artist and I have a lavender farm, 4 goats, a flock of chickens and a good marriage and they all require some attention. I don’t want to spend all my time in the kitchen puttering around. So, I like recipes that are simple and satisfying. My approach to cooking with lavender is the similar. There are some pretty fancy recipes out there, but I like to keep it simple and let the lavender speak for itself.

Lavender is unique, sophisticated but surprisingly compatible with a lot of different foods. I will be sharing some clever ways to enjoy lavender that may become staples in your kitchen. I’m also looking forward to some exploration into new recipes this winter that I will share with you. Lavender is such a nice way to bring a sweet memory of summer into a cold winter day.

More to come!

Filed Under: Recipes

Lavender Latte at Home

November 5, 2020 by Adrienne Crombie Leave a Comment

I like my coffee super light in the morning: half coffee and half hot milk. It’s my “At Home Latte”. I use good quality organic, fair trade coffee and I make it in the French press. While the coffee is brewing, I heat up the milk in a small saucepan, using a whisk to keep it from scorching and to give it a little latte foam.

That’s my morning ritual. After I’ve milked the goats. So, not only have I earned a great cup of At Home Latte, but the milk is the best milk on the planet. But you can just use any good organic milk.

If I want to elevate my experience to a truly sublime cuppa, it’s easy to just sprinkle in a teaspoon of culinary lavender buds and add a spot of vanilla extract.

lavender buds in hot milk
Sprinkle a teaspoon of culinary lavender buds and a drop of vanilla extract into hot milk.

It’s a good idea to whisk the buds into the milk to blend them in and foam the milk a bit.

Whisk the lavender buds into the hot milk.
Whisk the lavender buds into the hot milk.

Next set a small strainer over your cup of hot coffee and pour the lavender infused hot milk straight into your cup. I like to push out as much liquid as I can before I toss the used buds into the compost.

Strain lavender buds
Strain the hot infused milk directly into your hot cup of coffee.

If you want to make enough for several cups, you could strain the hot milk into a thermos or Airpot and allow guests to serve themselves with as much hot lavender milk as they like.

I served Lavender Latte recently with an Apple Galette and it was a divine combination.

Filed Under: Recipes

Shop Online and Pick Up at the Farm

November 2, 2020 by Adrienne Crombie Leave a Comment

Our Open Air Farm Shop is closed for the season but you  can still order online at the Tiny Shop and schedule a drive through pick-up at the farm.

Pick up hours are every week,  Wednesday through Sunday (except holidays).

Filed Under: Event

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