One of my favorite herbs to use in culinary dishes but also around the house is Lavender..It is such a poetic plant..almost magical..linked to romance, literature and so poetic..... with such a beautiful fragrance..
Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram; The marigold, that goes to bed wi' the sun, and with him rise weeping.William ShakespeareChances are, while either shopping for candles or even possibly body wash you have smelled the scent "lavender." The clean scent with a hint of floral is enough to make anybody who smells it fall in love with it.
Where is lavender from?
It originated in northern Africa and Mediterranean mountains , but now anyone can grow varieties of this plant. From the famous Lavender of Provence to Culinary Lavender, there are many to choose from and any garden shop usually has a nice supply, but choose a variety that grows well in your area.
How do you use it? crush the flowers and make sachets to put in your closets or linen closets. Or use some culinary lavender in desserts or even cold beverages. I bought culinary lavender from Amazon
If you want to put some in a poundcake or cookies, use ONLY culinary lavender. Lavender works well with lemon, so lavender lemon poundcake and lavender lemon biscotti are yummy dishes to experience the aroma of lavender..and fall in love!
Speaking of love, you can also add a drop of lavender oil to your sheets, towels in the wash for a calming, relaxing effect ..my fur baby loves snuggling up to my pillows after their freshly washed with drop of lavender oil!
Next post will be a tiramisu with scented lavender sugar!
For more recipes get a copy of the Gourmand World Award Winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holidays and Special Occasions- 2nd edition
