We hope that all of our lovely blog readers also follow us on Instagram and Facebook. We understand the reality that not everyone is on every platform. So like many of our favorite bloggers, we will try to do a weekly catch up post and share some of our favorite Lavender Apple moments from Instagram here with you lovely readers.
On Instagram we post lifestyle photos and happy moments from our farm life. We hope you will enjoy!
On Instagram we post lifestyle photos and happy moments from our farm life. We hope you will enjoy!
A photo posted by Lavender Apple (@the.lavender.apple) on
A photo posted by Lavender Apple (@the.lavender.apple) on
A photo posted by Lavender Apple (@the.lavender.apple) on
A photo posted by Lavender Apple (@the.lavender.apple) on
A photo posted by Lavender Apple (@the.lavender.apple) on
A photo posted by Lavender Apple (@the.lavender.apple) on
There is a wonderful authentic Vietnamese joint in my town that sells the most delightful bahn mi sandwiches. My husband has been wanting me to recreate these at home for some time but I'll admit, I was intimidated. Today I finally decided to make his wish come true and wow, are these sandwiches good! I'm kicking myself for not trying to make them sooner!
6-8 hoagie type buns
1 carrot, julienned
1 diaikon (carrot sized), julienned
1 cup vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons salt
1 pound lean ground pork
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2/3 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 cup oyster sauce
Black pepper
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
Chopped cilantro as garnish
Simmer your vinegar, salt, and sugar together in a sauce pan until sugar is dissolved. Combine your carrots and diaikon in a bowl and cover them with the vinegar mixture. Allow the mixture to marinate for at least one hour.
Add your oil to a large deep skillet and soften onion. Add your garlic and ginger and cook for an additional minute. Add 1/2 a cup of the vegetable vinegar liquid and simmer for an additional minute. Add your stock, hoisin, oyster sauce, and pepper. Allow sauce to reduce for 10 minutes. Add your beef and pork and break it up into peices and cook it through (about 7-8 minutes).
While your meat cooks place your rolls in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes to crisp up. Slice down the center without cutting them into 2 pieces. Fill with meat, top with the pickled vegetables, cilantro, and peanuts.
This is such a flavorful and memorable sandwich. You will love chowing down in flavor town. Enjoy!
Peggy's nemesis is peanut butter. She hates it more than crocodiles hate the dentist. But luckily you have me guest posting on the blog recently and I'm going to sneak in a super simple peanut butter recipe for you.
Such a great recipe when you are running low on certain pantry staples! Hope you enjoy it.
Sometimes a girl just needs a cookie. And sometimes you don't have butter or flour or milk or brown sugar or baking soda in your pantry. Oops! Well luckily for you I invented this 5 ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe to save the day.
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
Mix ingredients together and chill for 30 minutes to an hour. Spoon onto baking sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. So simple.
Such a great recipe when you are running low on certain pantry staples! Hope you enjoy it.
Quinoa is one of my favorite go to ingredient these days. It full of protein and very satisfying. Plus my toddler loves it, always a win. I used to turn my nose up at crock pot meals, but now as a busy mama, they can be a life saver! Quinoa is one of the ingredients that I think stands up well to a crock pot. This meal is also vegetarian, which makes it not only affordable, but a healthy option for Meatless Mondays!
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups dry quinoa
- 1 can chicken broth
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can corn
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 avacado sliced
Put your oil, onion, pepper, garlic, quinoa, broth, chili powder, cumin, salt/pepper, and both kinds of tomatoes in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours. Add your beans and corn. Adjust salt and pepper as needed. Top with cheddar cheese and avacado. Enjoy!
Valentines day is fast approaching! Are you ready?
I don't know about you, but if you're like me, you can't help but sometimes feel like fresh flowers are a little bit wasteful. All that money spent (especially with the inflated prices around valentines day) just for the flowers to wilt and die a few days later. When my husband first married me, I told him not to waste his money on flowers. If he was going to spend the money, I wanted something more permanent. But as the years passed and I never got flowers, my emotional self was telling my practical self to be quiet!
Well the perfect solution for a woman who loves flowers but hates to see them die a few days later, is a beautiful dried lavender bundle!
We have hand cut our very own organic mountain grown lavender. We hang it to dry in our farm cottage. When its ready we bundle it up, wrap it in tissue paper or butchers paper, and tie it with a luxurious ribbon. It's such a unique gift!
Dried lavender bouquets from the Lavender Apple smell like heaven, but since they are dried, they will last forever! I have several beautiful bundles that are years old that are still placed in vases around my home. I love being able to have real flowers in my house that don't die right after the holiday. If you have a tricky someone to buy for on valentines day, a lavender bouquet is a gift I'm confident she's never received and will absolutely love.
I don't know about you, but if you're like me, you can't help but sometimes feel like fresh flowers are a little bit wasteful. All that money spent (especially with the inflated prices around valentines day) just for the flowers to wilt and die a few days later. When my husband first married me, I told him not to waste his money on flowers. If he was going to spend the money, I wanted something more permanent. But as the years passed and I never got flowers, my emotional self was telling my practical self to be quiet!
Well the perfect solution for a woman who loves flowers but hates to see them die a few days later, is a beautiful dried lavender bundle!
We have hand cut our very own organic mountain grown lavender. We hang it to dry in our farm cottage. When its ready we bundle it up, wrap it in tissue paper or butchers paper, and tie it with a luxurious ribbon. It's such a unique gift!
Dried lavender bouquets from the Lavender Apple smell like heaven, but since they are dried, they will last forever! I have several beautiful bundles that are years old that are still placed in vases around my home. I love being able to have real flowers in my house that don't die right after the holiday. If you have a tricky someone to buy for on valentines day, a lavender bouquet is a gift I'm confident she's never received and will absolutely love.
Another easy 20 minute dish for you today! This creamy rice is reminiscent of a risotto, only much easier and much healthier too!
Lovely, easy, with nice flavor combinations. What more could you want for a great weeknight meal?
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup white wine
salt and pepper
1 pound shrimp, peeled
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
8 springs fresh thyme
1/4 cup fresh parmesan shavings
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat 1/2 your oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, cook your onion until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the wine and rice and cook on medium high heat until the wine is absorbed, this should take about 2 minutes. Add your water and 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper to your pan. Cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, should take just under 20 minutes. While your rice is cooking, toss your shrimp with oil, salt, pepper, the tomatoes, thyme, and garlic. Roast them on a baking sheet in the oven until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 15 minutes. When your rice is done, mix in a little parm or sprinkle it on top as a garnish, serve your shrimp on top of the rice.
Lovely, easy, with nice flavor combinations. What more could you want for a great weeknight meal?