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Discover Lavender Newsletter
March 2006
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in this issue
-- Celebrate Lavender on Vashon Island
-- Royal Lavender Conserve
-- Pure Lavender Honey
Greetings! Welcome to the first issue of the Discover Lavender newsletter. Lavender fascinates us with its floral fragrance, its stunning purple flowers and its fascinating history. In this issue, you will receive early information about the Vashon Lavender Farm Tour. You will learn about Queen Elizabeth I's passion for all things lavender - especially her favorite, Lavender Conserve. Last, but not least, you will be introduced to pure lavender honey - sweet and delicious! |
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Celebrate Lavender on Vashon Island ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vashon Island's fourth annual Lavender Harvest
Celebration will be held July 15 and 16 this year. Do
NOT miss this event. I attended last summer and
enjoyed the serene beauty of the farms and
discovered new ways to cook with lavender. Kris Dews
and Denise Kitchel - gifted culinary presenters -
created roasted lavender salsa, lavender lemonade
and lavender pear coffee cake (my personal
favorite).
Kris has discovered a totally new way of using
lavender to enliven savory dishes. She prepares
fresh, easy, and delicious food.
Denise, the queen of pastries and desserts, prepares
lavender scones, shortbread and even granola. Both
Kris and Denise offer samples.
Vashon Island, just a pleasant 15 minute ferry ride from Seattle, offers a rural venue for this event. Bring your camera to capture the glory of the lavender fields in full bloom. |
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Royal Lavender Conserve ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Queen Elizabeth I, the ultimate Victorian
trendsetter, adored lavender. Especially
passionate about lavender conserve, the queen
commanded the sweet condiment be a staple on her
dining table.
The recipe for lavender conserve was published for the first time in 1655 in a book titled The Queen's Closet Opened. Here's the recipe: "Take the flowers being new so many as you please and beat them with three times their weight of white sugar after the same manner as rosemary flowers; they will keep one year." |
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Pure Lavender Honey ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pure lavender honey is created by honey bees
gathering nectar exclusively from
lavender fields. My first taste of lavender honey will
stay in my culinary memory forever. Sweet, slightly
floral, the taste transported me from a gray rainy
March day to summer. Lavender honey is pale amber
like the color of sunlight. (To learn more information
about honey, check out the link to the Honey Association's
web site.)
Lavender honey enlivens a cup of tea. Try a teaspoon on a pink grapefruit for a special taste sensation. Anther easy idea: top fresh strawberries with a tablespoon of lavender honey. You can buy pure lavender honey over the Internet at the on-line gift shops of lavender growers. I personally recommend Lavender Honey from Olympic Lavender Farm located in Sequim, Washington. Beekeeper, Morris Clemmer, puts his hives on the farm. His lavender honey is in high demand. You can purchase this honey online using the link to Olympic Lavender Farm. Give yourself a sweet taste of summer! |
