Just a quick entry to let you know that I’m taking two-week’s vacation starting today. We’re flying from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale and then getting on a ship to make our way down thru the Panama Canal… a place that’s been on my “must see” list for a very long time :)
I’ll be back around the middle of the month. Until then – - – have a delicious couple of weeks!
Can you believe it’s New Year’s Eve!!?!?! Some of you may have already celebrated in your part of the world but here in Southern California we’ve got about 4 hours left until the ball drops.
I came across a very creative end-of-year post over on one of my favorite blogs today… Quiet Life. The idea was so good I thought I’d do something similar here on my blog :) After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! So without any further adieu, please click to see some of my favorite creations of 2008.
January – I hadn’t started blogging yet so let’s just skip this month, shall we?
February - these “truffles” were so good that every time there’s an eating occasion, I’m asked to make them
March – Bread pudding is comfort food to me. There’s tons of variations but it’s a timeless classic that’s always good!
April – My dear friend Beth’s Orange Poppy Seed Bread is so phenomenal you really must make it!!!
May – I created a tutorial on how to make my favorite Buttercream Icing. All these months later I’m still amazed at how much wonderful feedback I get about this icing. While I can’t take credit for coming up with the recipe, I do take credit for giving it wider exposure. If you’re ever in need of a really good buttercream icing, definitely make this one!
June – I made these amazing Red Velvet Cupcakes and paired them with my very own recipe for cream cheese icing that can be piped. I can’t tell you how proud I was of myself! LOL
July – For my birthday I revisited Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for the Perfect Party Cake… my favorite cake!
August – These Garlic Knots are so yummy – I could eat them every single day!
September – Another bread post… honey yeast rolls… at last I conquered my fear of yeasted bread
October – My first attempt at making Pots de Créme… and wow was it yummy!
November - These turkey cupcakes just make ya smile. No, they’re not made of turkey ;-)
December – These snowflake sugar cookies tasted as good as they looked!
Looks like a technical glitch caused a double post of this – to see the full entry simply click here and enjoy the read thanks :)
This seemed like such a good idea when I was in the culinary store the other day. But now that I’m back at home I’m trying to figure out what to make with it. I suppose the first question some might ask is “What is it”? That’s certainly the first question a few family members asked! LOL.
And it can’t be considered a “dumb question” since it more resembles the innards of a drawer sachet than something you’d actually cook with. But the internet is an amazing thing. How did we ever manage and come up with answers to such questions as “how can lavender be used in cooking” before we had the net? Oh, that’s right… we ventured down to the library, dug thru the card-catalogue and looked thru books and encyclopedias ;-) But today we do have the internet and this was a very interesting read for what I can do with my culinary lavender.
I think I’ll try making lavender creme brulee… and maybe lavender focaccia… and maybe this recipe below for lavender shortbread … or the recipe below that for Lavender Chicken Stir Fry. But hey, I’m open minded… if you’ve got a recipe or two in your stash for culinary lavender that you wouldn’t mind sharing, please please please pass it along! I’m eager to try out this new find :)
Lavender Shortbread
courtesy of The Herb Quarterly, spring 2000
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lavender flowers, chopped finely
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
2 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F
Cream together butter, sugar, lavender and mint with a mixer until light and fluffy.
Add flour, cornstarch and salt and beat until well mixed.
Divide dough into two, flatten into discs, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.
Roll out dough to 1/2″ thickness on a floured board. Cut into 1 1/2″ squares or into rounds.
Bake 20-25 minutes on parchment covered cookie sheets, or until golden.
Let cookies cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
When completely cool, dust with lavender-flavored powdered sugar or plain powdered sugar.
Lavender Chicken Stir Fry
courtesy of ranchoalegre-lavender
Ingredients
1/2 cup lavender/rosemary oil (see below)
4 boneless chicken breasts, cubed or cut in strips
5 cups chunked summer vegetables (squash, sweet onion, red peppers, small red potatoes, mushroom caps)
Oil: make a day ahead by placing 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil in a saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons dried crushed culinary grade lavender flowers, 5 large garlic cloves, crushed and 5 sprigs of rosemary.
Warm for 10 minutes and steep for 6 hours. Strain and store in an airtight container.
Directions
Marinate chicken for 3 hours in 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup orange juice mixed with 2 tablespoons honey, and 3 tablespoons of the lavender/rosemary oil.
Place chicken in a saucepan with marinade and cook until browned, stirring constantly.
Add vegetables and cook until just tender.
And again… I’d certainly welcome any and all culinary lavender recipes you’re willing to share.
Have a delicious day :)
Yes… I’m back from a few days of R&R… and it’s my birthday :) And look at the lovely gift that was waiting for me when I returned. Yay!!! Courtesy of my mother who I’m sure has no comprehension of what a food processor is or what it does or why you’d ever want one… but she bought it for me just the same. Mom’s rule!
Oh and sorry for the “bandwidth exceeded” message on all my pics while I was gone. I guess my little blog is getting more traffic than expected and Photobucket wasn’t too happy about it. I dunno how long the problem existed but I don’t think it could’ve been more than a day since I checked while I was gone and it seemed that all was well. But… I’ve upgraded to a “Pro” account now so we shouldn’t have that problem again. Maybe other problems… but not that one ;-)
I’m off to do some more restin’ -&- relaxin’… since… well… it IS my birthday and all :) Maybe I’ll make a cake… and maybe I’ll just relax today and do the cake this weekend. Who knows ;-)
Have a delicious day!
