Lavender has been used in the culinary world for centuries and is enjoying a bit of a renaissance, with today’s creative chefs looking to this member of the mint family to spice up cocktails and savory dishes as well as add delicate elegance to sweeter offerings. You can dress up a summery pitcher of lemonade with lavender simple syrup – one part water, one part sugar and fresh lavender flowers brought to a boil and cooled. Pretty lavender flowers are also fantastic to freeze into ice cubes. Or how about making a super easy lavender sugar – deliciously sprinkled on fresh fruits or as an elegant gift dressed up in a jar. Just toss lavender flowers in sugar, let it dry out, then process in a CuisinArt! Don’t forget – lavender is a favorite for busy bees… plant some in a pot and help out our native pollinators!

If you love lavender as much as I do, be sure to check out The 15^th Annual Sequim Lavender Festival, happening Friday, July 15th through Sunday, July 17th. Vendors will be serving up lots of lavender inspired eats such as crab cocktail with lavender spiked salsa, lavender wine, Little O’s Mini Donuts sprinkled with Lavender Sugar, lavender dessert crepes, hand-crafted funnel cakes with lavender infused honey and cream and  lavender cotton candy! There will be a street fair as well as lovely walking tours of seven different lavender farms! Sounds sweet to me!

There’s  so much you can do with this fragrant flower.  Have fun experimenting and I hope you will try out the recipes below for Lavender Lemon Soda from lavender queen Kathy Ghert and my recipe for Succulent Summer Stone Fruits with Lavender Infused Honey Syrup! –Kathy

Photo by Brian Smale, from Discover Cooking with Lavender

Lavender Lemon Soda
This recipe is from Kathy Gehrt’s book, Discover Cooking With Lavender, it’s great to make for a crowd and is excellent with a splash of vodka or gin for those that imbibe.

Makes 4-6 Servings

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp fresh lavender flowers

1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
25.3 fluid ounces sparkling mineral water
Ice cubes

Combine water, sugar and lavender in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over gentle heat. Remove pan from stove and let mixture steep for 5 to 10 minutes. Strain out flowers and chill the syrup until you are ready to use it.

Combine lavender syrup with lemon juice and pour 1/2 cup of this liquid into an ice-filled glass. Fill the glass with sparkling mineral water and stir. Serve immediately.

© Kathy Gehrt, Discover Cooking with Lavender, Florentia Press

Succulent Summer Stone Fruits with Lavender-Infused Honey Syrup
A great way to use up that lavender from the big plant in your yard. This syrup is easy to make and is just the thing to give fresh fruit a special touch, Make extra lavender infused honey syrup to give as pretty gifts. Seal in small bottles and tie a fresh lavender flower to each bottle.

Makes about 6 servings

Lavender-Infused Honey Syrup
1/2 cup high-quality honey, preferably local
1/2 cup water
8 fresh lavender flowers, unsprayed, and rinsed (or use 1 tablespoon dried)

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About 4 cups assorted fresh, ripe stone fruits, prepared as follows before measuring:
Peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into wedge
Large apricots, pitted and cut into wedges
Plums, pitted and cut into wedges
Nectarines, pitted and cut into wedges
Dark or light sweet cherries, pitted

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Fresh lavender flowers for garnish, optional

To make the Lavender-Infused Honey Syrup: In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the honey, water, and lavender flowers. Bring to a low boil over medium heat, being careful that the mixture does not foam up. Simmer slowly for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture is like thin pancake syrup. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Strain into a glass jar, cover, and reserve. The syrup will keep, covered, at room temperature for 2 weeks.

To assemble and serve: In a large bowl, toss the fruit first with the lemon juice, then with the Lavender-Infused Honey Syrup. Serve in pretty glasses or fruit dishes, garnished with fresh lavender flowers if desired.

Recipe © Kathy Casey

Ever since I was young, I’ve always asked for lemon meringue pie for my birthday instead of a regular birthday cake. Cake … I can take it or leave it. But pie – I love it!

There are so many versions of my beloved lemon meringue. And with so many recipes floating around, some get fancy with “lemon curd” as their filling – It’s not for me. Others masquerade as lemon meringue in grocery stores with florescent yellow fake filling – giving my fave a bad name!

My favorite recipe is just like my Mom used to make but with a few updated twists. The recipe uses fresh lemon juice and lovely yellow lemon zest, which really ups that delicious tartness we love in a citrus pie filling. The crust is speckled with chopped toasted hazelnuts … and I also like to indulge a little –it’s my birthday, why not?– and use lard in the pie crust. It makes it so much flakier and gives it that old fashioned flavor. A little corn starch in the filling helps it set just right for that picture perfect slice of pie when you cut into it. The lemony goodness then gets a layer of fresh raspberries – and all that gets topped with a cloud of fluffy meringue.

I so look forward to a big slice every May 19th! I know your mouths are watering, and mine is too – I can’t wait to have a slice! – Kathy

Enjoying a slice!

Kathy’s Birthday Lemon Meringue Pie with Fresh Raspberries

Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup lard or vegetable shortening
2 Tbsp. butter
1 – 2 Tbsp. ice water

Filling & Meringue
1 cup + 1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
6 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
4 eggs, separated
1 1/2 Tbsp. finely minced lemon zest
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

To make the crust:
Mix the flour, hazelnuts, salt and sugar together in a large bowl. Add lard or shortening and butter and, with a pastry blender or clean hands, combine until mixture forms pea-sized particles.

Add 1 tablespoon of the ice water. Stir the dry mixture with a fork, mixing until liquid is just incorporated. If dough is too dry, then add more water, 1 to 2 teaspoons at a time.

Form dough into a ball and flatten out slightly to a big disk, fold over each side into the middle, so there are 3 layers. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for 20 minutes.

After dough has chilled, press the portion into a flat round disk. On a lightly floured surface roll out dough into a 1/8-inch-thick circle that is about 1 inch larger all around than a 9-inch pie pan.

Place crust in pie pan and crimp the edges. Prick crust all over with a fork to prevent puffing while baking. (If pastry puffs, carefully reach in oven and prick pastry again where puffing.) Bake for about 8 – 10 minutes until golden brown then remove from oven and cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, to make the filling:
In a heavy sauce pan whisk together 1 cup of the sugar, cornstarch, water and lemon juice until well combined and cornstarch is dissolved.

Place over medium heat and stir constantly until mixture is thickened and lightly simmering.

Mix together the egg yolks in a small bowl with a little of the hot mixture to temper the eggs, and whisk quickly into the simmering mixture. Cook about 1 more minute, stirring constantly, until totally thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in lemon zest and butter.

Cool, stirring often. When filling has cooled slightly, pour into the cooked pie shell and arrange raspberries on the top.

To finish pie:
Make meringue by whipping the 4 reserved egg whites with cream of tartar in a mixer on medium high speed until frothy. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, a little at a time with mixer on high. Continue beating until stiff and glossy but not dry. Pile meringue on pie, sealing meringue onto edge of crust to prevent shrinking of the meringue.

Swirl with a spoon for a decorative, peaky top and bake in the 400-degree preheated oven for 6 – 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Place on a rack to cool.

Recipe © Kathy Casey Food Studios®

My upcoming article for DList Magazine, out on the stands next month, talks about “putting up” and preserving, and why Kim O’Donnel, the founder of Canning Across America, thinks we should all try canning at least once! Here’s my personal favorite jam recipe – Strawberry Lemon Poppyseed Jam!

Happy canning! -Kathy

Strawberry Lemon Poppyseed Jam
Makes 14 half-pints.

3 quarts (3 pounds) stemmed local strawberries
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. finely minced lemon zest
1 box MCP pectin
8 cups sugar
2 Tbsp. poppyseeds

Place strawberries in a 6- to 8-quart, heavy-bottom saucepot and crush them with your CLEAN hands, leaving a few nice chunks for texture. Add lemon juice and zest. Add the pectin and stir in.

Place over high heat and bring to a FULL ROLLING BOIL (a boil you can’t stir down), stirring constantly to prevent scorching. (If mixture starts to scorch, turn down heat a bit.) Stir in the sugar and poppyseeds and, as soon as the full rolling boil takes place again, start timing and cook jam for 4 minutes.

Then remove from heat, skim the jam and fill jars as above. Process jars in boiling water bath for 10 minutes (with this method jam will keep for up to 1 year stored at room temperature), or cool and refrigerate jam for up to 3 months.

Recipe ©Kathy Casey Food Studios®.

Basic Jam-Making & Canning Processes
Check jars for nicks and cracks, then wash and rinse thoroughly. Place canning jar lids and rings in a pan of water, bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Let sit in hot water until ready to use. NOTE: Always use NEW lids when canning.

Boil clean half-pint canning jars in a covered water bath canner or a large saucepan filled with water for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand in hot water until ready to use. When ready to use, place sterilized jars on a clean dish towel before filling (this will prevent cracking).

Fill sterilized jars with hot jam to 1/4-inch from tops. Release air bubbles by poking jam to the bottom with a non-metallic spatula. Wipe off jar rims and top of rim so that no jam is there to deter a tight seal.

Cover jars quickly with lids, then screw on rings.

Have water bath canner going at a full rolling boil. With tongs, place jars in rack in water. Bring back to a full boil and cover. (Water should be at least 1 inch above jars.) Start timing now according to recipe.

After processing is completed, remove jars onto a clean dish towel to cool. After they start to cool, you may hear a “pop” that is the lids sucking down and making a vacuum seal. After jars have cooled overnight, check seal by poking lid with finger to see that the center is down and will not move.

Important Note:
Some jams will set up quickly — others may take up to 2 weeks to set. And some may just end up being soft set, depending upon Mother Nature and the sugar content of your fruit.

As the weather gets colder and colder, we see less of the sun and start longing for the warmth of summer. What better way to chase away your winter blahs than with some tangy winter citrus? From oranges to clementines to ruby red grapefruit, there is a citrus for every taste. Grapefruit, mostly thought of in its glass-of-juice form, is much more than that in the culinary arena. For one thing, it’s versatile—you can eat it just naked and on its own for a refreshing and bracing breakfast starter or go totally the opposite, topping it with a splash of Campari liquor and allspice-scented sugar then broiling till bubbly, for a sophisticated breakfast or brunch. In addition, grapefruit’s unique taste makes it a good foil for other textures and flavors. For example, grapefruit pairs naturally with lush avocado in salads. When thinking up other recipe ideas, we thought grapefruit could be a great stand-in for lemon, so my tasters and I tried it in Chicken Piccata with Grapefruit, Pine Nuts and Capers… and loved it. This dish has grapefruit juice in the sauce reduction and also has fresh wedges squeezed over the finished dish, giving it a bright flavor pop.

Continue reading on Amazon’s Al Dente Blog.

Today is National Lemonade Day, so celebrate with a tall glass of your favorite variety of fresh-squeezed lemonade! I have a superr fun receipe below, just for the occasion. My friends at Paramount Citrus sent us these super cute aprons to wear today, so of course my staff put them on for an impromptu photo shoot!

My assistant, Jill, loving lemons and loving life

Be sure to go to Paramount Citrus’ “Squeeze the Day” Facebook page – Paramount Ctirus will donate $1 (up to $10,000!) to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for each person who “likes” the page over the next month.

Raspberry Lemonade
For a delicious variation, toss in a pinch of dried lavender or a couple of flowering sprigs of fresh lavender when you cook the syrup. This ’ade’s also fabulous with some gin or vodka added.

Makes 1 drink

2 ounces Raspberry-Lemon Syrup
4 ounces chilled soda water

For garnishing
Lemon wheel
Fresh blackberries

Fill a tall glass with ice. Measure in the syrup and soda water. Stir. Garnish with a lemon wheel and a few fresh Raspberries.

Raspberry-Lemon Syrup

Makes 1 1/2 cups, enough for about 6 servings

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh raspberries, or substitute frozen
1 tablespoon thinly sliced lemon zest (see Tip)
1 cup fresh-sqeezed Paramount Citrus lemon juice

Combine the ingredients in a small heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain through a very fine strainer, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids and let the syrup cool to room temperature. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate, for up to 7 days, until needed.

Tip: With a potato peeler, cut off only the yellow part of the lemon skin. Peel it off in long strips, then cut the strips into thin slivers (julienne).

Recipe adapted from from Sips & Apps, © 2009 by Kathy Casey

With their crisp, cool and refreshing qualities, melons evoke the essence of summer pleasure. We enjoy them simply chilled and eaten as hand-to-mouth wedges, as colorful melon-ball skewers for utensil-free eating at outdoor barbecues, or injected with tequila, vodka or rum for libationary delight.

When I asked friends and coworkers for some fun melon-eating stories, there were plenty: half-cantaloupes filled with vanilla ice cream or cottage cheese for an old-fashioned lunch; family picnics where rotund green watermelons were cooled in nearby streams; and seasoning rituals, such as a Mexican friend’s lime, salt and chili powder.

Ripe, juicy and cold melons are of course delicious when eaten just naked—but they perform well when starring in recipes, too. For those of you who have never tasted pickled melon, here’s a recipe for Sweet, Sour & Spicy Melon Balls. For a nice light supper on a hot day, pair these with some thinly sliced prosciutto, a green salad dressed with a fruit-vinegar vinaigrette, and a great loaf of bread.

There’s nothing like summer’s fresh melons to cool you off. Enjoy them while you can!

Sweet, Sour & Spicy Melon Balls

Makes 3 pints

3 cups cantaloupe balls (see Chef’s Notes)
3 cups honeydew melon balls
3 large sprigs fresh basil
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
3/4 tsp red chili flakes
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp kosher salt

Toss melon balls together. Fill three 1-pint, wide mouth jars with the melon balls, tucking a basil sprig into each jar.

In a non-aluminum saucepan combine all the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

When mixture is cool, evenly pour over the jars of melon balls, filling to top and being sure to cover the fruit completely. Cover with lids and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating. The melon balls will keep for about 2 weeks, refrigerated.

Chef’s Notes:

• Use ripe but firm melons.
• To make melon balls: Cut melon in half and scoop out seeds. With a melon ball gadget, scoop out balls. (I used the large size baller.)

© 2010 Kathy Casey Food Studios – www.kathycasey.com