Lavender Loveliness

It's been rather too cool and windy for several days now and this weather is playing havoc with both my already wild hairdo and my 9-foot beanstalks - time for some stillness and sunshine I think! I haven't spent as much time in the garden as I would have liked in the last couple of weeks but I'm choosing to believe the optimistic forecasts of a gorgeous August. The haze and cloud is good for taking floral photos though as it makes colours stand out so much better than when they are blasted in harsh summer brightness. This breathtaking field of lavender is located not in Provence but in a corner of Kent and I was lucky enough to be standing in the middle of it the other day, breathing in the headily scented air while I snapped away and came home feeling thoroughly restored. If you get a chance to visit Castle Farm near Shoreham it's well worth it both for the beautiful views and the gorgeous farm shop.  See http://www.hopshop.co.uk.  

I trundled home happily with goodies of course - some culinary lavender essence (milder than regular lavender oil) and some dried buds and a recipe leaflet and got baking forthwith. The smell of the shortbread emanating from the oven was fantastic - buttery, fragrant and sugary-warm all at once. You can use the essence for cold drinks, jams, ice-creams etc too and the the combination of citrus and lavender in baking is particularly good.  The shortbread can be served on its own or with strawberries and lavender cream perhaps.  Chocolate and lavender are also a gorgeous combination so I think some floral truffling will be occurring sometime very soon ...

Anyway, to make the shortbread just mix 100g soft unsalted butter with 50g golden caster sugar till creamy.  Add a few drops of culinary essence and some grated lemon zest.  Tip in 100g plain flour and 50g rice flour plus a good pinch of lavender buds and combine into a soft dough. Press it into a 20-inch loose-bottomed cake tin, sprinkle with sugar and mark into 8 slices with a knife. Bake for about 30 minutes at 160C/gas mark 3 until golden.  Cool in the tin and then separate into wedges.  Yum!

Next time I'm hoping my little green beans will be big enough to harvest - at the moment they are tiny, furry, spindly things.  Plenty of time for me to research tasty beany recipes for the weeks to come ...

Happy cooking!

AMT