Adrienne Crombie

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!

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.

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

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.

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.