Every year our farm changes and grows just a bit. We become more efficient, find a new passion that we want to incorporate, or maybe babysit a new animal or two. Well this year our newest addition to the Lavender Apple Farm was a Hoop House. These babies are also known as High Tunnels or Green Houses.
Hoop Houses provide an easy way to gain greater control over your weather environment and extend your growing season in a cost effective way. We plan on using ours for herbs this winter. It's also ideal for vegetables, small fruit, and flowers. We plan on now being able to supply our clients with the freshest Lavender Herbs De Provence all year round!
Have you tried any of our blog recipes featuring this delicious herb blend yet? If not, just do a quick search in the search bar and you will find many yummy recipes you can make tonight!
This moody spooky lavender wants to wish you a happy halloween! Doesn't this look like a bunch of witches brooms? (Order your own lavender bundles at www.lavenderapple.com)
Well our cute little grand baby Mimi also wants to wish you a a spooky holiday. Remember to use lavender as a pallet cleanser between all your M&M's and Butterfingers!
Have a spooky weekend!
I love a tasty dish that comes together in just a few minutes with just a few ingredients. This pumpkin seed pesto is a wonderful diversion from a normal basil pesto, its perfect for fall - and a great way to use all those pumpkin seeds you'll have laying around after you carve your Jack-O-Lanterns! The fact that you brown the gnocchi in the pan with the mushrooms at the end, it just makes this dish much more magical than normal boiled gnocchi. I'm betting you and your family will really enjoy it.
Ingredients for Pesto:
1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 garlic clove
salt & pepper to taste
Ingredients for gnocchi:
1 sixteen ounce pkg gnocchi
16 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 cups arugula
Directions:
In a food processor pulse your seeds, cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, water, and garlic until a smooth paste forms. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Cook your gnocchi for 2-3 minutes in a pot of boiling water until they float to the top. While your gnocchi boil, heat your butter in a large skillet. Add your mushrooms and saute them. Once the gnocchi is done cooking, drain them and add them to your skillet of mushrooms. Add your pesto to the pan and cook everything on medium high heat until your mushrooms are sauteed and your gnocchi are golden brown. Add basil and arugula at the end and cook for another 60 seconds.
Full of protein, greens, and a wonderful texture and flavor. What more could you want from a quick easy 15 minute meal? Enjoy!
Tonight we made a mixed grill skillet for dinner. It's very simple and has few ingredients, but it is so good. It's similar to a hash, but without the egg. This would be a perfect hearty breakfast, but it actually makes a wonderfully satisfying dinner as well. It has charred peppers, sautéed onion, juicy sausage, and crispy potatoes. Its a simple and easy last minute dish that no one will feel sorry for eating.
Ingredients:
2 bell peppers, diced, diced (choose 2 different colors to make the dish pretty)
7 red potatoes, diced
1 onion
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried lavender
Salt & Pepper to taste
6 sausages , sliced (We used Aidells Bacon Mushroom & Swiss Cheese Sausage from Costco because its Nitrate free and has great flavor!)
Directions :
In 2 separate skillets add your sausage pieces and cook on medium high heat until charred and crispy. Remove from the skillets and set aside, keeping the remaining grease in the pans. In one of the skillets add your potatoes, salt and pepper them, then cook until golden brown and crispy. In the other skillet add your bell peppers, onions, herbs, and salt and pepper them as well. Cook until soft and caramelized. Add back your sausage and mix the two skillets together.
This simple and satisfying dish is one your family will ask for again and again. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 bell peppers, diced, diced (choose 2 different colors to make the dish pretty)
7 red potatoes, diced
1 onion
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried lavender
Salt & Pepper to taste
6 sausages , sliced (We used Aidells Bacon Mushroom & Swiss Cheese Sausage from Costco because its Nitrate free and has great flavor!)
Directions :
In 2 separate skillets add your sausage pieces and cook on medium high heat until charred and crispy. Remove from the skillets and set aside, keeping the remaining grease in the pans. In one of the skillets add your potatoes, salt and pepper them, then cook until golden brown and crispy. In the other skillet add your bell peppers, onions, herbs, and salt and pepper them as well. Cook until soft and caramelized. Add back your sausage and mix the two skillets together.
This simple and satisfying dish is one your family will ask for again and again. Enjoy!
One of Peggy's recipes that no one can say no to, is her glazed carrot cake. This cake is very moist due to its unique and delicious glaze, but also because of Peggy's secret ingredient: crushed pineapple! Maybe we should rename this Peggy's glazed pineapple carrot cake? Regardless of what we call it, we will always call it delicious.
Cake Ingredients:
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots (4-5 medium carrots)
3 1/2 oz flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Glaze Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
Frosting Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
Grease and flour two round cake pans. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix together your cake incredients. Divide into two and pour into your cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Then prepare your glaze by mixing together all your ingredients (minus the vanilla) in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Then add your vanilla to the glaze and pour it over each of the cake rounds. Let cakes cool. Mix together your frosting ingredients in an electric mixer until smooth. Add extra powdered sugar if you prefer your frosting thicker. Frost the top of one cake round, stack the other on top of it, frost that as well. Serve and enjoy!
Today I wanted to feature a few fun Halloween Ideas using lavender! These bloggers are so creative and I'm happy to introduce you to them.
I just barely found a new blog called The Kitchen McCabe. You can find it HERE. I love these lavender candied apples she is making. I think they would be the perfect spooky treat for a halloween party.
I just barely found a new blog called The Kitchen McCabe. You can find it HERE. I love these lavender candied apples she is making. I think they would be the perfect spooky treat for a halloween party.
Growing up, one of our neighbors always gave out doughnuts on halloween instead of candy. Their house was always one of the most popular places to stop. I think these Lemon Blueberry Doughnuts with a lavender glaze would be a fun treat to give out to the little costumed creatures that stop by your house. Find the recipe from The Seasoned Mom HERE.
And finally Hopeful Homemaker is really using her creative juices when she came up with this Pumpkin Lavender Cake. How cute is this? Recipe found HERE.
Anyway, hopefully all you witches out there are using our lavender herbacious qualities in all of your concoctions and brews. Have a wonderful weekend!