Looking for delicious, quick, easy recipes? Look no further. Click here.
Posts with tag lavender

The New York Times Dining & Wine section in 60 seconds: Supper clubs, lavender, fortune cookies

dinner party
Underground supper clubs - half dinner party, half restaurant - are in.

Low alcohol beers gain popularity.

Thinking of opening a restaurant? Think twice. Then think again.

Memories of teenage boy food.

The Minimalist shows us how to cook with lavender without making the dish smell like your grandmother's powder room.

Artisanal cocktails are here. Of course.

Fortune cookies are not Chinese.

Slashfood Ate (8): Loving lavender

Not your granny's herb garden

My windoxbox herb garden from last year -- not imaginary or exciting
It's still not Spring here in Philadelphia. In fact, it's currently about 50 and rainy, but I've been pretending that Spring is here by planning my imaginary herb garden. Yes, my herb garden is sadly imaginary since I'm moving this year, but as a result, it's actually much greener, fragrant and exciting than any live herb garden I've ever grown for real (my thumb is not the greenest one out there). I mean, I love rosemary and mint as much as the next person, but I'm ready for a little more excitement! Here's what I'm thinking:

Chocolate Mint - I tasted this for the first time recently at a Farmer's Market, and it was delicious. The chocolate taste is slight, but definitely there, and I'll definitely be using it for imaginary iced tea, or even in cupcakes and baked goods.

Lemon Thyme - How easy it will be to make a roast chicken or even lemon-thyme frosting with these two ingredients already combined into one! Just kidding -- you apparently can't really count on it for a full lemon flavor, but it still works great for roasting anything, and for great fish and meat dishes as well.

Cuban Basil - The belle of my garden. After seeing/smelling how delightful these leaves are, I couldn't resist buying some for my mom for mother's day. Not so much into it? Check out this long list of interesting basil varieties here.

Lavender - Maybe this would be in my grandmother's garden too, but I just love the scent so much that it's going in my imaginary one as well.

Looking for more exciting herbs like juniper or fenugreek? Check out this list and these hints and tips. And if anyone has suggestions for additions to my imaginary garden, please share! It's imaginary, so no there are no limits!

Lavender shortbread that's...vegan!

vegan lavender shortbread
When I think of shortbread, I think of nothing else but butter. Butter is what gives shortbread that rich, crumbly, crisp-in-some-places texture, so I couldn't imagine how someone could make vegan shortbread -- without butter.

But vegan food blog Vegan Yum Yum has done it, and has gone the extra step of making it a Lavender Shortbread! The simple recipe has but five ingredients, one of which is Earth Balance, a butter substitute that seems to work quite well for this shortbread. The recipe is on the post.

Gin Notes: Quintessential London Dry Gin

Quintessential (Q) London Dry Gin is 40% abv. / 80 proof is made in a process requiring five distillations of botanicals to produce the gin. Q is based on a 1761 recipe from Greenall Distillery that was known for its clean, smooth flavors, with a few modern changes. While having the normal botanicals like juniper and other traditional fruit, herb, and spices, the recipe was tweaked with the addition of lotus flower leaves and lavender. Part of the velvety smoothness may be from these additions, but I am sure a lot can be attributed to the ultra pure spring water from one of Wales finest springs.

The aroma is a light but heady blend of juniper, complex floral elements and spice notes. While not intense or strong it's a nice scent that makes you want to try a sip. As the spirit sits it opens up and you can sense the floral elements developing strength.

The taste is a smooth and tasty mix of spices and flowers over a mid-level juniper base. This is a nice twist on a traditional London Dry Gin, bringing in more floral notes than the norm in a crisp and clean way.

Q won the Beverage Tasting Institute 2005 award for the Worlds Smoothest Gin and I most heartedly agree that it is very smooth and luscious. It's definitely an excellent gin, one that is best drunk straight on the rocks. It also makes a mighty fine dry martini and has just enough of a unique taste that it also works well with premium tonic water and in fine cocktails.

Food Porn: Green Tea, Lavender, Honey Ice Cream Cupcake

If you enjoy cupcakes and have not yet seen the Cupcake Bakeshop blog, I strongly recommend that you take a look. Cheryl is an amazing baker and comes up with some of the most exotic sounding and beautiful looking cupcakes you'll ever see. Case in point, the delightful cupcake pictured above is made up of a layer of cake, two layers of ice cream and topped off with frosting, making it into a Green Tea, Lavender and Honey Cupcake Bombe - and giving it a name that is as much a mouthful as the cupcake itself. The ice cream layers are lavender and honey, both homemade, and the frosting and cake base are both flavored with matcha (green tea powder), so the whole treat is colorful as well as tasty. As you might imagine, an ice cream cake (with very little actual cake) topped with frosting is quite sweet - but that's how cupcakes are supposed to be, right? Even if you don't want to attempt the whole process of this multi-layered cake yourself, you might want to try one of the two ice cream recipes to add something different to your repertoire.

Tip of the Day

Drying fruit is easy, mostly hands-off and yields a sweet and healthy snack.

Slashfood Features


Seasons
Spring (74)
Summer (300)
Fall (215)
Winter (73)
What is it?
Beef (634)
Bread (81)
Candy (518)
Cheese (582)
Chocolate (836)
Comfort Food (802)
Condiments (263)
Dairy (567)
Eggs (316)
Fish (377)
Fruit (1059)
Grains (623)
Herbs (10)
Meat (358)
Nuts/seeds (313)
Organic (5)
Pork (397)
Poultry (455)
Rice (56)
Sandwiches (33)
Shellfish (191)
Soups/Salads (120)
Spices (322)
Sugar (434)
Tea (7)
Vegetables (1401)
Holidays
Christmas (132)
Easter (37)
Halloween (99)
Hanukkah (56)
Memorial Day (15)
Mother's Day (37)
New Year's (41)
Passover (11)
St. Patrick's Day (14)
Thanksgiving (134)
Valentine's Day (50)
News
Bakeries (151)
Books (810)
Business (1277)
Celebrities (238)
Coffee shops (194)
Edible Gifts (39)
Farming (467)
Fast Food (370)
Food News (558)
Health & Medical (872)
How To (1424)
Lists (834)
Magazines (508)
New Products (1588)
Newspapers (1627)
On the Blogs (2520)
Raves & Reviews (1189)
Recipes (2458)
Restaurants (1467)
Science (741)
Site Announcements (186)
Stores & Shopping (1023)
Television/Film (725)
Trends (1436)
Vegetarian/Vegan (95)
Features
Cheese Course (72)
Diary of a Distiller (30)
Dining at Our Desks (8)
Festive Family Feasts (9)
Guilty Pleasures (83)
Quizzes (22)
Raising the Bar (23)
Taste Test (18)
The Hungry Bride (34)
The Skinny Chef (64)
Tinfoil Swan (24)
Tip of the Day (369)
Wild Edibles (22)
X Marks the Spot (1)
Back to School (14)
Cocktail Hour (130)
Cocktail Revolution (0)
Cookbook Spotlight (568)
Cooking Without a Recipe (5)
Culinary Kids (235)
Did you know? (451)
Fall Flavors (136)
Feast Your Eyes (401)
Food Gadgets (485)
Food Oddities (1035)
Food Porn (892)
Food Quest (177)
Foodie Flicks (65)
Frugal Food (95)
Garden Party (28)
Hacking Food (109)
Happy Hour (212)
Head to Tail (44)
In Sixty Seconds (728)
Ingredient Spotlight (60)
Leftovers (53)
Light Food (189)
Liquor Cabinet (186)
Our Bloggers (34)
Pop Food (146)
Pumpkin Day (12)
Real Kitchens (85)
Retro cookery (154)
Slashfood Ate (206)
Slashfood Talks (4)
Slow cooking (55)
Super Size Me (121)
The History of... (72)
What's On Tap? (42)
Wine of the Week (52)
YumSugar (53)
What Time Is It?
Breakfast (757)
Dessert (1364)
Dinner (1389)
Hors D'oeuvres (318)
Lunch (1041)
Snacks (1128)
Where Is It?
America (2661)
Europe (515)
France (178)
Italy (174)
Asia (550)
Australia (158)
British Isles (875)
Caribbean (38)
Central Africa (8)
East Coast (582)
Eastern Europe (45)
Islands (58)
Mediterranean (131)
Mexico (40)
Middle East (63)
Midwest Cities (230)
Midwest Rural (74)
New Zealand (63)
North America (94)
Northern Africa (21)
Northern Europe (66)
South Africa (36)
South America (101)
South Asia (125)
Southern States (302)
West Coast (936)
What are you doing?
Baking (831)
Barbecuing (112)
Boiling (130)
Braising (21)
Broiling (36)
Frying (190)
Grilling (212)
Microwaving (40)
Roasting (105)
Slow cooking (34)
Steaming (45)
Choices
Fairtrade (16)
Artisan Foods (161)
Local Eating (148)
Additives
Artificial Sugars (42)
High-fructose corn syrup (21)
MSG (7)
Trans Fats (58)
Libations
Hot chocolate (27)
Soda (174)
Spirits (424)
Beer (531)
Brandy (13)
Champagne (118)
Cocktails (471)
Coffee (417)
Gin (115)
Juice (126)
Liqueurs (81)
Non-alcoholic (27)
Rum (103)
Teas (185)
Tequila (23)
Vodka (164)
Water (88)
Whisky (119)
Wine (759)
Affairs
Celebrations (107)
Closings (14)
Festivals (87)
Holidays (285)
Openings (50)
Parties (246)
Tastings (164)

RESOURCES

Powered by Blogsmith

Featured Stories

 

Most Commented On (60 days)

Updates From

Sites We Love

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:

Also on AOL