Lavender Rosemary Biscotti

Excellent Ingredient of the Week
Lavender is a beautiful plant and the scent is so amazing. I love it in my garden, but do I need it in my food? The answer is in the tiniest amounts it's delightful, too much just plain nauseating!

Some basic info:

• Lavender is native to the Mediterranean. One of the major producers of culinary lavender today is Holland. Why use only culinary lavender? Pesticides! Nobody should eat that, and they are used on some crops, so be careful!
• Some folks say that the flowers can be steeped in water and the infusion used as a compress to relieve headaches. It is also used externally as an antiseptic.
• Lavender has become a popular ingredient for cooking for both sweet and savory dishes. Desserts such as Crème Brulee can be lightly scented with lavender. Lavender sugar is easy to make at home: bruise dried lavender flowers and add them to superfine or confectioners sugar. Store in an airtight jar until used. Use a sieve to remove flowers before use. Add the scented sugar to cakes, meringues or other sweets for a delicate flavor.
• Lavender can be purchased at the farmer's market, health food stores and some "gourmet" shops. Do not purchase lavender to be used in cooking from a craft shop unless they specify that it can be used for food.
• Here's a great tip: My friends who ran an artist retreat in France used to put fresh lavender stems into a fine mesh bag and throw it into the dryer to give the bed sheets a beautiful scent.

My favorite recipe using Lavender was created by Susan Purdy and myself and it goes like this:

Lavender Rosemary Biscotti

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups A.P. Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup room temp. butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 T Lavender blossoms
2 T Fresh Rosemary

Procedure
Combine flour, soda powder and salt in a large mixing bowl, set aside. Cream butter and sugar in the bowl or your electric mixer. Beat in eggs and extract. Scrape down bowl. Add flour mix and combine. Then add rosemary and lavender. Gather dough into a ball with floured hands and form to loaves. Place on sheet pan lined with parchment and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. let cool 15 minutes then Slice with serrated knife and place standing up on sheet pan. Put back in oven for 10 minutes, or till lightly golden. Can also be dipped in white chocolate. Store in airtight container.

Nasturtium Vinegar, Rosemary and Lavender Vinegar, and Green Peppercorn Mustard

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Flavored vinegars, homemade syrups, unusual condiments: these are all things I love. Great host gifts, great ways to make ordinary foods extraordinary, great way to feel superior to Martha Stewart. Here are three recipes to ponder:

Nasturtium Vinegar

Ingredients
8 ounces nasturtium blossoms
2 pints Malt vinegar
3 whole cloves
4 whole black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic halved
2 chopped shallots

Procedure
Sterilize 2 small bottles. Evenly distribute ingredients in bottles and top with vinegar. Cork or seal bottle securely and store in a dark cool place for 2 months before using. Shake occasionally. Some people strain out the ingredients and transfer to a clean jar before using, that’s optional. Makes 2 pints.

Lavender and Rosemary vinegar

Ingredients
2 pints apple cider vinegar
2 fresh sprigs rosemary
1 teaspoon lavender blossoms

Procedure
Procedure is same as above but the flavor in this will come out faster so it should be ready to go after sitting in a dark cool place for 3 weeks. Also makes 2 pints.

Green Peppercorn Mustard

Ingredients
3 tablespoons mustard seeds
1/3 cup Coleman’s Dry mustard powder
1/2 cup hot tap water
1/2 cup dry white wine vinegar
1/2 cup dry white vermouth
Big pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon dill seed
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Big pinch dried cloves
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon canned green peppercorns drained
1 teaspoon slightly crushed green peppercorns (add at the end)

Procedure
Combine the mustard seeds, dry mustard powder, hot water and vinegar in a bowl and let sit for at least 3 hours. In a small saucepan, bring to a boil the vermouth, cinnamon, tarragon, dill seed salt and cloves. Strain this into the mustard mixture and stir to combine. Now add the honey and the green peppercorns. Scrape this whole mess into the bowl of your food processor fitted with a steel blade. Whirl to puree. Finally put this mixture into the top of a double boiler and over simmering water. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of green peppercorns slightly crushed. This mixture will thicken as it cools. Put into small jars and refrigerate. This will keep indefinitely.

Goat's Milk and Lavender Flan

The Altitude Adjustment Section
And now for something completely different. You know, goat’s milk is really delicious and it gives a great texture to flan. Lavender, a fragrance few can ignore, is always available at the farmer's market, so when I found this recipe in the El Farol Cookbook I knew I had to try it, and it's delicious.

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup honey
1 cup goats milk
2 tablespoons fresh Lavender blossoms
1/2 cup sugar
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks

Procedure
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a sauce pan, mix the sugar and water, and heat on low to medium heat until it turns an amber color, then stir in the honey. Pour a little of this syrup into the bottom of six, 4-ounce ramekins.

To make the custard, heat the milk with the lavender and cook till it starts to bubble. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and let sit for 10 minutes so the lavender flavor infuses into the mixture. Now strain out lavender bits. Beat the eggs and egg yolks together and pour a little hot milk into the mixture to temper it then add a little more milk and then whisk it all together. Fill each ramekin with the custard mix and place them in a bain marie which you have filled with boiling water.

Bake for about 30 minutes till firm but jiggly. Allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. To serve, run a knife around the edge of the ramekin, put a plate on top and flip over so the flan comes out and the honey syrup drips over the flan. Yum. Garnish with a sprig of fresh lavender. If goat's milk freaks you out, try it with cow's milk.

Lavender Cosmopolitan

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
And now for something completely different ... how about a violet-colored drink with exotic flavors and the scent of Lavender? Oh it's soooo Santa Fe!

Ingredients
1 ounce Mandarin Vodka
1 ounce Parfait Amour — a sweet, violet liqueur made from, and tasting of, Spanish oranges, vanilla, rose, and almond
1 ounce Cranberry Juice
1 slice Lime

Procedure
Rub the rim of a cocktail glass with a lime wedge and dip the glass into sugar to coat the rim thoroughly (if you have it, use lavender sugar — after all this is Santa Fe!). Pour mandarin vodka, Parfait Amour, and cranberry juice into a chilled shaker. Shake well and pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of lime, if you are man enough!