Lavender Jelly

LAVENDER JELLY

1/2 cup fresh Melissa lavender flowers
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 cups sugar
1 three-ounce pouch liquid pectin

Bring two cup water to boil- remove from heat and add flowers- steep for twenty minutes and strain. In heavy saucepan, add infused water, vinegar and sugar, bring to boil, stirring constantly for 10 minutes or until; sugar is dissolved. Add pectin, return to boil and boil for one minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam. Pour in hot sterilized jars and seal.

***As with any herbs you use for food, they must be free of pesticides. If you purchase lavender for use make sure its culinary grade lavender. That way its organic for sure.

Lavender blends well with lemon, almond, blueberries, apple, peaches, nectarine, and chocolate. Experiment but use a light touch so doesn’t taste like potpourri or soap.

Recipes:

Lavender powder Sugar - Simply put 1/4 cup of organic lavender in a pint container and fill with Confectioners sugar. Shake. Tie a small strainer with ribbon around the box to make a nice gift. Tell them to sift the powdered sugar over pancakes etc. or use in recipes calling for powdered sugar like glaze or cookies. A subtle lavender taste. Variation: Snip half a vanilla bean and add to the powdered sugar and lavender.

Lavender Butter- Add a TB. lavender buds to a stick of margarine or butter. Let sit in the refrigerator. Serve with crackers. Or on a small round of toast topped with smoked turkey.

Vanilla or Chocolate cream pie with lavender: Infuse 1/4 cup of lavender in 2 cups of milk overnight in refrigerator. Strain and use milk to make choc. or vanilla instant or cooked pudding following pie instructions. Combine pudding with Dreamwhip and make a delicious pie. Use ready made crumb crust.

Lavender Blueberry Syrup: Infuse 1 TB. lavender in 1 -2 cups blueberry syrup in microwave. Strain and use on pancakes, French toast or waffles.

Easy Herbes de Provence bread: Use Pillsbury bread from the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Unroll. Spray with margarine spray. Sprinkle with Herbs de Provence. Reroll and bake according to instructions.