Adrienne Crombie

The apples grown in Hunterdon County NJ are pretty wonderful. We had an apple orchard on our farm when I was a kid and my Dad would take us out to the orchard in the back of his truck and we would fill the bushel baskets to deliver to the local cider press. I ate so many apples then, you’d think I’d be sick of them. But there are so many different varieties of apples grown in here, my interest in them never flags. You won’t find more than a couple varieties at the supermarket. Please, do yourself a favor and check out all the many varieties of apples at your local farm market. Phillips Farm in Milford NJ has an amazing array.

How does Mad Lavender culinary lavender pair with apples? Lavender’s soft floral flavor works well with any fruit. I can’t think of a fruit that lavender wouldn’t like. I found this recipe on Instagram posted by Avalon Lavender and it looked so simple and good, just the kind of no-fuss baking I like. I made them in Jumbo muffin tins and they were perfect.

 

Apple Lavender Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour (I use Meadow White from Bobolink Dairy and Bakehouse in Milford NJ)

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1 TBSP culinary lavender bud

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg, beaten

1 cup apple, peeled and diced (safe some to decorate tops!)

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Line 12 muffin tins or 6 jumbo muffin tins with muffin cups

In large bowl, mix dry ingredients with wire wisk. Make a well in the center.

In separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir by hand just until batter is evenly moistened. Fold in 1/2 cup of the diced apples.

Fill prepared muffin tins about three-quarters full. Sprinkle remaining diced apple over muffins. Bake at 375 for 25 – 30 minutes. Test with a knife in the center – it should come out clean – to make sure they are baked through.

Cool muffins in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

 

Shown here with Phillips Farm Blackberry Butter. Yum.

 

 

 

 

Tulsi Basil is believed to promote long life, balance and resilience and is said to relief stress and anxiety. The list of health benefits derived from Tulsi Basil is long but the for the purposes of making mocktails, let’s focus on the taste, which is incomparable. Tulsi is minty, mildly sweet and earthy all at the same time. It must be experienced.

Tulsi Basil Simple Syrup is the secret ingredient that makes an ordinary beverage extraordinary. Like any simple syrup, it’s simple to make.

Tulsi Basil Simple Syrup

INGREDIENTS

1 cup water

3 TBSPs dried Tulsi Basil leaf

1 1/3 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

Heat water and Tulsi Basil in a saucepan until simmering.

Add the sugar and simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature. Strain into a measuring cup. Pour the strained syrup into a jar and store in the refrigerator.

I like to store my simple syrups in recycled soda bottles fitted wit a pour top dispenser.

Here are a few ideas for using Tulsi Simple Syrup to liven up your beverages:

Pear Rickey Mocktail

Fill a glass half full of cold pear juice. Add 1 TBSP fresh squeezed lime juice and Tulsi Basil simple syrup to taste. Top with seltzer and give it a stir. Garnish with a thin slice of lime.

Blueberry Basil Mocktail

Fill a glass half full with Blueberry Basil Kombucha. Add Tulsi Basil simple syrup to taste. Top with seltzer and give it a stir with a wooden or bamboo utensil (avoid using metal with Kombucha, as the detox action of kombucha may extract toxins from the metal).

Blueberry Banana Basil Smoothie

Chop a frozen banana into a blender with a half cup frozen blueberries and Tulsi Basil simple syrup to taste. Add blueberry juice to blend to a smoothie.

Blueberry Basil Lassi

Blend together half cup frozen blueberries, one half ripe avocado, Tulsi Basil simple syrup to taste and 1 cup of plain yogurt. Add water to thin the mix if necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

New Years Eve is imminent and, for many, festive, bubbly drinks are indispensable to the celebration. Count me in on that, sans alcohol. I’ve celebrated New Years Eve with and without alcohol and I prefer waking to the first day of the year in good health and spirits, with no regrets. That being said, there is not much on the supermarket shelves that piques my interest or tickles my taste buds. Sparkling fruit beverages are cloyingly sweet and predictable. But with a little preparation and some simple ingredients, you can whip up something a bit more interesting and fun to drink like a Mad Earl Mocktail!

 

What I love best about the Mad Earl Mocktail:

The sweetness is easily adjusted to taste.

When the ice in the drink melts, the flavor is undiluted.

The caffeine boost helps to keep me up past my bedtime!

 

 

Mad Earl Mocktail

INGREDIENTS

To make 2 to 4 mocktails (depending on how big your glassware is)

3) Earl Grey tea bags (or 3 TBSPs loose tea)

1) TBSP culinary lavender bud

2) TBSPs fresh squeezed lemon juice

Lavender Simple Syrup to taste

Seltzer water

DIRECTIONS

Leave plenty of time for prep to make the Lavender Simple Syrup and to freeze the Earl Grey tea into ice cubes. Click on the link above to make the Lavender Simple Syrup.

Brew a pot of tea (approximately 1 pint) with 3 Earl Grey tea bags and 1 TBSP culinary lavender bud. When the tea has cooled to room temperature, strain into a large measuring cup. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze.

When you are ready to mix the drinks:

Blend 4 ice tea cubes and 1 TBSP lemon juice per drink to slushy consistency.

Pour the slushy into glasses to half full.

Pour on Lavender Simple Syrup to taste.

Top it off with seltzer water and give it a stir.

Garnish with a thin slice of lemon.

Note: for a variation, you may top it off with lavender kombucha instead of seltzer.

I often hear newbies to lavender say that they’ve never tasted lavender in food before. Lavender has become so popular and so I forget that there is a significant part of the population who are as of yet deprived of the full lavender experience. For the benefit of the uninitiated, then, I’d like to provide a classic recipe: Lavender Scones.

Scones are made from basic ingredients; flour, butter and milk and so they make a great vehicle for lavender’s distinctive and delicate floral flavor. Scones come from hundreds of years of European tradition. Traditionally connected with Scotland, Ireland and England the first known reference to scones is from a Scottish poet in 1513. Lavender has deep roots in European cuisine, as well. So, avail yourself of the simplest, most time honored ingredients and treat yourself to a taste experience that was shared by our ancestors.

Lemon lavender icing is optional and quite indulgent.

 

Lavender Scones

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all-purpose flour (I use Bobolink Meadow White flour)

3/4 cup almond flour

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1/4 cup powdered sugar (you can use granulated sugar instead)

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter

1 TBSP + 1 tsp culinary lavender buds

1 1/4 cups cold milk (I put a big spoonful of plain yogurt in the measuring cup, then mix in milk)

 

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Mix together flour, almond flour, baking powder, sugar, lavender buds and salt in a large bowl with a whisk or a fork.

Cut cold butter into cubes first then cut into dry ingredients with a pastry cutter. Finish blending into flour mixture with clean fingers until it resembles coarse meal.

Using a fork, stir in cold milk until just combined.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and, with floured hands, knead until it forms a dough. Do not over-knead.

 

 

 

Roll out dough into a 9-inch round about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into pie wedges with a sharp knife. For large scones, cut into 8 wedges. The tea scones here are cut into 12 wedges.

Arrange scones on large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake scones in middle of a 425°F oven until pale golden, about 15 minutes, and transfer to a rack to cool.

If you are icing your scones, make the icing now, recipe below. Drizzle it on while they are still a little warm.

 

 

To make Lavender Lemon Scones, add 1 tsp finely grated lemon rind to the dry ingredients.

Note: if you don’t have any almond flour in your pantry, and you are hankering for scones, just use 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour instead. They will be more on the dry side, like classic scones.

Lemon Lavender Icing

INGREDIENTS

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (I would definitely use an organic lemon!)

2 teaspoons culinary lavender bud

1 to 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

PREPARATION

Sift confectioners sugar into a medium bowl. Stir in lemon zest and lavender bud.

Gradually stir in lemon juice until the icing is the consistency you’d like.

 

 

Smoothies are the healthy version of fast food. Sometimes I’m just too busy to eat. I know I need a little sustenance but I don’t have the inclination to prepare a proper lunch. Nor do I want to grab something that’s not really nutritious. Smoothies are the answer: they are my go-to in the middle of the day and they always hit the spot.

Frozen banana is the essential ingredient for my smoothies. When the last banana in the bunch inevitably turns overly ripe I throw it in the freezer, skin and all. When it’s rock hard frozen it’s ready for a smoothie. I cut it in half with a sharp knife then cut it length-wise. The peel usually comes off like a glove.

The next ingredients are a combination of greens; like kale, swiss chard or parsley and milk (any kind of milk: nut milk, soy milk, oat milk, goat milk with something sweet like honey or fruit. Some ginger root chopped into it is awesome. A quarter piece of avocado makes it amazingly smooth and creamy.

And then sometimes even that is too much work.

Sometimes a Banana Lavender Smoothie is all I need. It is like a little piece of heaven. It’s perfectly fulfilling, the flavor is so delicate and lovely and the lavender delivers and little bit of calm in a hectic day.

DIRECTIONS:

Peel one frozen banana, chop and put it in the blender

Add a cup of milk of your choice (nut milk, soy milk, oat milk, goat milk)

Add a TBSP of culinary lavender bud and a dash of vanilla

Blend it all together. If the mixture is too thick for your liking, add a bit more milk. If you need it sweeter you can add honey.

Have it your way.

Enjoy.