Another Brilliant Singer, Lavender

Britain's Got Talent once again. A 10 yr. old singer with an incredible voice. She stunned the panel who just accepted her as another little girl who wanted to be a ballerina, then she started singing I Could Have Danced All Night. Hollie Steel, is her name, Simon Cowell said she should leave out the ballet dancing bit. I agreed with him although her father said he was so proud when he watched her dance. There are now three big contenders for first place. I missed one but Susan Boyle was anohter of them. If you haven't seen any of these performances, you should check them out on YouTube. Talking to friends at the weekend about lavender which I consider one of the greatest perfumes of the world. This made me think of Herbes du Provence which is - to us - an almost essential seasoning to have available. There is argument about whether it should contain lavender or not, to me, without it, it just isn't Herbes du Provence. As for making soaps and such, I personally would leave it to Yardley's who make the most wonderfully fragrant lavender products - I tried making soap once, it is a pain in the butt. Here is a recipe from The Epicentre Herbes de Provence.

1 tablespoon thyme 1 tablespoon chervil 1 tablespoon rosemary 1 tablespoon summer savory 1 teaspoon lavender 1 teaspoon tarragon 1 teaspoon marjoram 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon mint 2 powdered or chopped bay leaves

Prepartion: Mix together all of the ingredients and store in a tightly sealed container. Makes about 1/3 cup herb mix.

I then searched and found Happy Valley Lavender and Herb Farm. They have several interesting recipes on their site click here including the one below plus links to more recipes. All I need now is some nice fresh lavender. Fresh Lavender Ice Cream * 2 1/2 cups of milk * 1 cup sugar * 4 cups light cream * 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp vanilla extract * 1 handful fresh Lavender angustifolia flowers* *The deeper the colour of your Lavender flowers, the more colour your ice cream will have. I use our deepest coloured "Hidcote " Sweet Lavender. Pick when just freshly opening, not older over bloom for the freshest taste. 1. Gently heat the milk and fresh Lavender together. Do not boil. 2. Strain out the Lavender & stir in the salt & sugar while still hot. 3. Stir in vanilla extract & cream. 4. Chill immediately, minimum 2 hours. 5. Churn or process as your ice cream maker directs, then skip to step #8. OR by hand follow steps #6 & #7~ 6. Pour mixture into a stainless steel bowl and place in your freezer. 7. Every 15 minutes, whisk or beat until icy or thickened. 8. In the last few minutes or just before you remove from the ice cream maker: sprinkle in a few fresh florets of Lavender! Fresh raspberries an option or Lemon peel zest. PS: Dried angustifolia Sweet Lavender can be used, try 3 Tbsp. and add when milk is already heated, time 5 minutes, strain immediately. Then follow as above. Over steeping with dried Lavender makes the taste bitter & the colour grey. If you like a stronger Lavender flavour, use 4-5 Tbsp. dried Sweet Lavender. Have a great day.