On my safari book shelf on the right, I've will be adding a new book available in April that is written by the propagator of my plants and the owner of Lavender at Stonegate Farm in Oregon, Sarah Berringer Bader.  The 'Lavender Lover's Handbook' focuses on the best varieties for cooking, crafting and growing.  This beginner's guide assists the grower by explaining the color, fragrance, size, and foliage of each plant, in addition to basic pruning, spacing, and planting requirements.
We in the lavender growing community are excited for the release of this book on our favorite herb.  Sarah is an amazing business woman and very generous with her time and knowledge.  Until I can get a few copies, you can purchase from Sarah at the Lavender at Stonegate website.

Well it is nearly official.  The US Lavender Growers Association hopes to begin accepting membership within the next few months.  The Dues and Membership guidelines have been worked out and now the Policy and Procedures and Vision and Goals are being formalized.  It won't be long until we have a national organization whose mission is 'to support and promote the United States lavender industry through research, education, networking and marketing'.  Many fine people have been working hard to make this organization a true asset to all of those growers, researchers, retailers, manufacturers and marketers of lavender and lavender products in the United States.  Follow the progress on Facebook, www.facebook.com/uslavender or at the website http://www.uslavender.org./

I know on Valentines Day the color of love seems to be red, but not for us lavender folks, the color of love is, what else, lavender.  Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Culinary Lavender - Cooking and Baking with Lavender

Lavender is a very versatile herb.  It has a thousand and one uses, but few know about the spectacular taste that can be achieved with just a little bit of lavender when cooking.  From sweet to savory dishes, lavender can be used to enhance and add a special flavor that will have your guest saying, "mmm, I taste something different in here.  It is so good, what is it?"

Lavender is used in Herbs de Provence, a blend of herbs usually including savory, thyme, basil, fennel and lavender (but marjoram and rosemary are often substituted in the mix).  Herbs de Provence is used to infuse oils or to season meat or fish before cooking.  The cultivar, Provence, lavandula x intermedia, is often used for more savory dishes with the softer sweet lavenders, Melissa and Folgate, l. angustifolias, used for lighter dishes and baking but it is all up to an individuals palate what tastes good.  The one thing to remember is a little goes a long way.  Too much lavender and the taste becomes bitter and not agreeable at all.  A hint of lavender is what you want to achieve.

For baking I use a lavender extract.  To make the extract take a 2 oz of vodka and steep 2 teaspoons of dried lavender buds in the vodka.  Shake every day for seven-ten days and then drain off the liquid and throw out the lavender buds.   Strain again through a coffee filter to get any debris from the buds.  The extract is a coffee brown in color, so don't expect purple extract.  Use in place of vanilla in butter cookies.  Yum!  Or make a lavender sugar by putting 2 tbls of crushed lavender buds in 1 cup of white sugar and setting aside in a seal container for two-three weeks and letting the lavender permeate the sugar with flavor.  Sift out the buds, if you like, and subsitute lavender sugar for the plain sugar in recipes for cookies, cakes, scones and so much more. 

I'll post more about cooking with lavender in future posts with recipes, but if you want to know more,
Kathy Ghert as authored a wonderful cookbook on lavender with over 75 recipes on breads, drinks, savory and sweet dishes all cooked using lavender.  Contact me for more information or to purchase this book.

Mild Winter In Deep Creek Lake

What a mild winter we are having in Deep Creek Lake.  Normally the lavender are covered with a foot or more of snow, but not this year.  It seems there is a constant dusting, but with high 40s and low 50s predicted for the next few days even that evidence of snow will be gone.  Normally, the ice fishing on the lake is in full swing, but the lake isn't even frozen yet. 

Without the normal cold and snowy weather, my mind races to spring. I am planning out where our 500 new plants will go in the front field come May.  In the future, a gazebo will be placed in the center of the field for u-pickers and artists to take a break and sit and enjoy the beautiful lavender blooms.  In the front field we will have about eight different cultivars, some pink, some dark purple, some lighter lavender in various shapes, sizes and bloom height.  I am hoping the bloom dates will be varied as well for a longer u-pick opportunity when we eventually open to the public.  The back fields will be more of the standard Provence and Gross for a generous field of beautiful purple at bloom time..... at least that is what I am thinking today.  Everyday I learn more about lavender so plans may change.  For now it is keeping my mind busy and excited about spring.  Now I need to get those vegetable seeds started.....Man/Woman can not live on lavender alone.

New Frugality for 2012

Once January rolls around and those Christmas bills start coming in, the idea of a fresh start and saving more money in 2012 comes to the forefront.  Since I am out of laundry detergent, I decided to make some lavender laundry soap.  I have made liquid laundry detergent before but I left this batch as a powder.  Here is the recipe I used.  I sort of used the recipe from Mother Earth News as a guide.

2 cups of baking soda
1 1/2 cups of borax
1 cup of washing soap (I used Arm and Hammer)
1 bar of Ivory soap grated finely
1 1/2 tsp of lavender essential oil

Mix all together and use 1/8 of a cup per load. 

This should cost about 0.05 cents per load as compared to Tide which runs about .15 cents per load. 

Next I am going to make lavender dishwasher soap.  I bet when the hot water hits that in the dishwasher the lavender scent will fill the room!

At the Beginning.....

Welcome to the Deep Creek Lavender blog. This is an exciting adventure in so many ways.  Via posts we will keep you informed of our progress and places where we can be found with Deep Creek Lavender products until the farm opens to the public....not to mention a thing or two about growing and using lavender.  Stay tuned!

Today I have been making lavender cake pops to sell at the craft fairs to benefit Rising Hope Perinatel Bereavement Program a program here in MD that helps parents who find out that their unborn child will not live through the prenancy or will not live long after birth due to genentic problems or birth defects. They 'provide palliative and hospice care that will help parents adjust to the reality of their infants’ mortality while honoring their desire to acknowledge every minute of his or her life'. My sister, Mary, started this program and it will help many. What an amazing program and what an amazing sister I have.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/howard_county_general_hospital/services/mothers_and_babies/rising_hope.html

Yummy Lavender Cake Pops