This time of year is filled with all kinds of deliciousness! There is no doubt that you like your traditional Thanksgiving and Holiday foods. But maybe you’d like to try something a little different without rocking the boat too much. Or perhaps you are just plain bored with your typical dishes, but are doing things on the fly last-minute…like me…and don’t have the time to figure out something creative and new? Either way, I’ve got you covered!
Culinary lavender is the perfect way to change up your traditional holiday dishes without having to create a whole new lineup of food items. So dust off the bottle of lavender spice mix you bought at the farm last summer and give these 5 ways to use culinary lavender a try this season. And don’t worry if you can’t squeeze it in for your turkey dinner tomorrow, Christmas is right around the corner.
Pretty in Purple Turkey
Try using Herbes de Provence on your turkey. Replace whatever spices you’d typically use with this beloved French combination of herbs. One easy way to do this is to pour melted butter all over your turkey and then shake a generous amount of Herbes de Provence over it and finish with several shakes of salt. This also works well on chicken or cornish game hens.
TIP: Be sure to get a culinary lavender (Lavendula angustifolia and not a Gross type (Lavendula x intermedia) lavender when baking or cooking, or you will likely not enjoy the bitter taste of the camphor in your dishes.
Lavender Roasted Veggies
Roasting veggies is easy! Cut up your vegetables, toss in a bowl with olive oil, generously shake on some Herbes de Provence Salt, and add a small amount of granulated garlic. Stir until well-coated. Then roast on a sheet pan with parchment paper at 425 degrees until golden brown and heavenly smelling, about 10 to 15 minutes. You may want to stir or flip your veggies halfway through your roasting.
Love Me Some Stuffing
Stuffing makes for a great medium for culinary lavender. Again, try swapping out your traditional stuffing spices for Herbes de Provence. Or try halving your regular spices and filling the rest with Herbes de Provence. This subtle switch-up will be a delightful change for your guests.
Whipped Cream with a Hint of Lavender
Making your own whipped cream and adding an infusion of culinary lavender to it is a safe way to try our lavender on desserts without having to commit to the whole pie! Before you whip your cream, infuse it with lavender by gently warming it on the stovetop first. Take two cups of heavy whipping cream and gently warm it on the stove over low to medium heat. Turn off the heat before it boils. Add 1 tsp of culinary lavender buds and let it steep without boiling for 10 minutes. Let it cool to room temp, strain, and then whip with a blender until stiff peaks form. Serve over any dessert, in a pretty dish, with a sprinkle of lavender buds on top.
TIP:
- Use on pies of all flavors; pumpkin, cherry, apple, and chocolate cream.
- This lavender-infused whipped cream is good in coffee and hot cocoa, too!
- Making homemade ice cream? Use this infused cream instead of regular cream.
Visions of Lavender Sugar Dance In Their Heads
This one is easy peasy. Fill a quart-sized mason jar with white sugar (approximately 4 cups) and then add ¼ cup of dried culinary lavender buds to the jar. Put a lid on it and shake until the buds are evenly distributed throughout the jar. Let sit for a week or more. After a week you can use this sugar to replace the sugar in any recipe for a hint of lavender. If you’d like your lavender buds smaller simply take ¼ cup of sugar and the ¼ cup of lavender buds to a food processor and pulse until the desired size is reached. Then add this to the jar of sugar and shake to distribute the buds.
TIPS:
- We suggest finishing off whatever you make with this lavender-infused sugar by sprinkling a few lavender buds on top.
- Try scones, chocolate chip cookies, pie, pumpkin bread, donuts, or even candied nuts. This is also an easy homemade hostess or Christmas gift.
- Don’t have the time to make this sugar? Try our Wayward Winds Lavender Sugar instead!
That’s it! Five easy ways to give your traditional holiday meals a lavender twist. We hope you find love, joy, and peace this season.
Kristen
