Lavender Oil / Homemde Goodness

I have a lot of Lavender in my garden.... ohh what to do with it. Ice-cream? Definetly. Body Oil... let's try it.



Lavender Oil Recipe: From All4NaturalHealth
  • This can be prepared by filling a jar with lavender stems with leaves and flowers that have been lightly crushed.
  • The high quality almond or olive oil should be poured on top thereafter and this mixture should be allowed to steep for about a month.
  • The jar should be gently shaken daily to ensure that the lavender and oil mix well.
  • After about a month, the mixture needs to be strained through a strainer and the oil needs to be transferred to a clean covered jar.

Using such a method to make lavender oil, within the confines of one’s home, requires no elaborate distilling process and the oil is authentic in its composition; it also serves as massage oil with soothing and rejuvenating properties.

Lavender Ice-Cream

To make this unusual lavender ice cream dessert, store bought culinary dried lavender or freshly picked lavender can be used. Using an ice cream machine does make the process easier, but there is no reason not to make fabulous homemade ice cream in the freezer compartment.

3 Ingredient Lavender Ice Cream Recipe
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 6ozs honey
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lavender flowers or 1 level teaspoon dried culinary lavender
  • ¾ pint double cream


Directions:

  • Place the honey into a heavy bottomed saucepan, over a low heat.
  • Crush the lavender flowers with a spoon, and add them to the honey.
  • Stir in the cream and mix gently.
  • If you have an ice cream machine, transfer the mixture and follow the manufacturer’s usual directions until frozen.
  • If you don’t have an ice cream machine, whisk the mixture until it becomes thick. Put it in a shallow container suitable for freezing, cover, and place in the freezer. After half an hour, take it out. It should have started freezing from the outside edges, but not be fully frozen in the middle. Whisk to break down the ice crystals and make it smooth. Put it back in the freezer and repeat after another half an hour. You may need to do this a total of three or four times until the ice- cream is frozen through and smooth, with lavender speckles.


Ice Cream Serving Tips:
Move the ice cream from the freezer to the fridge about half an hour before serving, and it will be the perfect texture.
Serve small quantities of lavender ice cream in a shallow wineglass or dish, with plain shortbread,and garnish with a fresh sprig of lavender, for a dessert with a difference!
To Store the Lavender Ice Cream
Put lavender ice cream into a suitable container with about half an inch spare at the top to allow the mixture to expand.
Lay a sheet of clingfilm against the surface of the ice cream and close with an airtight lid. Store it in the coldest part of the freezer.
Note: Using Home Grown Lavender
It’s best to pick the flowers in the morning after the dew has dried. The lavender flowers will be at their best and the scent will be wonderful. You can use any of the varieties, but English Lavender is particularly good because of its sweeter scent.

Champagne Sorbet Recipe

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups sparkling wine or champagne
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon of lemon and or grapefruit zest
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh grapefruit juice
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Method

1 Put champagne, sugar, corn syrup, and zest into a saucepan. Bring to a vigorous boil so that the sugar completely dissolves, remove from heat.

2 Strain into a stainless steel bowl (will help cool down faster), add the grapefruit juice and lemon juice. Chill completely. To do this, either place bowl in a larger bowl half-filled with ice water, and stir until champagne solution is completely cold, refreshing the ice in the outer bowl if necessary. Or you can cover with plastic wrap and chill in your refrigerator over night. I put the bowl in the ice compartment of our freezer for a couple hours, because it fits, chills quickly, and is far enough away from the other food in the freezer.

3 Process the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the ice cream maker directions. Transfer mixture to a storage container and freezer in your freezer until firm, at least 6 hours.

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe

Ingredients
  • 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
  • 3 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2/3 cup to 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want the result, and how sweet your strawberries are to begin with)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 1/2 cups full fat yogurt (if use low or non fat, then add 2 Tbsp cream)
Method

1 Place the strawberries, lemon juice, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Use a potato masher to mash up the strawberries as the mixture is heating. As soon as all of the sugar has completely dissolved, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

2 Stir in the milk and yogurt, until completely incorporated. Place the mixture in the refrigerator, and chill for at least an hour, preferably several hours, until completely cold, before proceeding.

3 Process the mixture in your ice cream maker 20 to 25 minutes; if you don't have an Ice-cream maker then put the mix in a tub in your freezer but remove it every 10-15 minutes and stir vigorously with a fork - this stops ice crystals forming. It will take longer to freeze this way but the results are just as tasty.

Not sure this instruction is necessary - Eat immediately or keep in freezer until served.

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe

Frozen blueberries work great for this recipe.

Ingredients
  • 3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (about 1 1lb)
  • 3 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup to 1 cup of sugar (depending on how sweet your blueberries are, and how sweet you want the result to be)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups full fat plain yogurt (if using low or non-fat yogurt, add 2 Tbsp cream)
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
Method

1 Place the blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring, until all of the sugar has dissolved. While the mixture is heating, use a potato masher to mash up the blueberries. When all of the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

If you want a smooth result, you can process the cooled mixture in a food processor, or skip, in which case you'll have pieces of blueberries which can add flavorful texture to the frozen yogurt.

2 Stir in the yogurt and milk until completely combined. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for several hours (or overnight) until completely cold.

3 Process the blueberry yogurt mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions (usually about 25 minutes). If you don't have an ice0cream maker, put the mixture into a plastic tub and place in the freezer, remove every 10-15 minutes and stir vigorously with a fork. It'll take a little longer but taste just as good.


Serve immediately (it will be soft) or let it firm up a bit by freezing it for several hours. Makes about 1 quart but won't last long!


Onion Tart Variation with Goats Cheese & Tomatoes

A variation on the Rustic Onion Tart recipe, so read the recipe first:-

Instead of a circular tart, make a rectangle and just fold the edges up enough to stop everything spilling out over the edge.

Spread a tablespoon of Green Pesto over the uncooked pastry and then add the carmelised onions, the rougly cut tomaoes and instead of Swiss cheese add chunks of Goats Cheese (or Feta works well too).

Cook as per the Rustic Onion Tart recipe.

Rustic Onion Tart Recipe

Ingredients
  • 1 Packaged, flat pie crust/pastry - I pick mine up in the Frozen section in the supermarket although you could just easily make your own pastry
  • 3 medium sized red onions
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2TBsp Sugar
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • Salt
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 3/4 cup roughly grated [Gruyère Swiss] cheese
Method

1 If you are making a crust from scratch, prepare the dough and let it chill in the refrigerator while you are cooking the onions; otherwise let the pastry fully defrost from your freezer.

2 Peel and slice the onions.

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3 Heat olive oil and butter in a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan on medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onions and sprinkle a little salt over them. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, until the onions have softened and are translucent. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the sugar and cook for an additional 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are well browned. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for 10 minutes more, until onions are completely caramelized. Remove from heat.

4 Preheat the oven to 450°F. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes before rolling it out. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 10-inch diameter. Remove the crust dough to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

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5 Place all but a couple tablespoons of the cheese in the center of the dough. Spread to within 1 1/2 inches from the edges. Add the caramelized onions, layering them on top of the cheese. Fold the edges of the crust dough over so that a small circle of onion is still showing in the centre of the tart. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the tart.

6 Place in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 10 minutes at 450°F. Reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4.