...simple lavender simple syrup

I have discovered somewhat recently that I am craving sweets a heck of a lot more than I have in the past decade or so (thanks hormones?). And when I say craving sweets, I mean something like eating 3 s'mores in a row while camping, eating Swiss chocolates in the evening (or throughout the day, thanks to the large box of chocolates we received as a wedding gift from friends abroad) and adding simple syrups to my morning coffee. But these things are actually all related! Well the camping trip and coffee I mean, although probably the hormone thing as well. You see, we went camping because I needed to go to the Sequim Lavender Festival. Yes, you read that right, I needed to. It was just something I had to do. I have been wanting to go to the place that celebrates one of my favorite herbs for years and we finally had the chance last July. If you've never been to Sequim and you also have a similar (nearly unhealthy) love and appreciation for lavender, than I couldn't recommend more a trip to Sequim and a walk through the lavender fields. The buzzing hum of the bees, the sweet, light smell of lavender in the breeze. It basically writes the poetry for you. And with so many farms to visit, and each one having a little something unique, there's surely a farm for everyone. (We found my happy place at Martha Lane Lavender, which besides the great name, is under new management, but we got to meet old and new over the festival weekend and loved to witness the passing of the torch so-to-speak). We picked our own lavender bouquet and drank lavender lemonade that tasted like happiness. My wonderful husband took this amazing picture of me soaking it in. I would have moved in right then and there if we could.

Give me Lavender Fields...forever and ever and ever.

It was everything I could have possibly wanted. The rest of the festival was nearly as amazing, but something about picking your own bunch of lavender can't quite be beat. We had many lavender treats: ice creams and sorbets and lemonade, even a hard cider with lavender. However, one thing we noticed perhaps more than I would have liked was the number of vendors serving brand-named, artificially colored (and likely flavored) lavender simple syrups! We had an awful experience with a coffee stand and something so gross we actually threw it out. Here we were in the midst of the most breathtaking fields of lavender and at the Festival itself (in downtown Sequim) I counted at least 3 vendors with Lavender simple that came from a commercial bottle (and it's not even good). The good news is that Martha Lane and other farms do make their own lavender extracts and syrups, so I had plenty of market research to go into my own production. Among my weekend purchases I decided I wanted to get a bag of culinary lavender so I could make yummy things like my own herbs de Provence and lavender tea, and simple syrup, obviously. And true to it's name, its SIMPLE.

I've been on a bit of a simple syrup spree lately after I made some ginger simple syrup a couple weeks ago, and then some black raspberry simply syrup we used for cocktails. (Is three enough to be considered a 'spree'?) It was easy enough to adapt a recipe I found on Pinterest (thanks internet) and make it better suited to my sweet-craving but not overly sweet taste buds.

Here's how you do it:

In a pot combine 2 tablespoons culinary* lavender buds and 1 cup of water. Bring it to a boil and add a scant 1 cup of sugar. Stir to dissolve and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or so and then remove from heat and let it all steep (and cool) together for at least 1 hour. After an hour (or when you return from the Farmer's Market) strain the lavender from the syrup and pour the best tasting lavender simple into your container of choice (I love using the bottles they sell at the Co-Op for bulk liquids with the spout, but a mason jar works just as well, maybe you have a leftover sauce bottle, use that!) If you aren't like me and proceed to consume it in rapid succession I'd recommend refrigeration to extend its shelf-life. It should last 2-3 weeks or more.

Excluding a pot, heat-source, a wooden spoon and water this is all you need.

Now what? Well, in case you don't just want to spoon it into your mouth, although I don't know why the heck not, with its lightly floral, sweet taste, bursting with freshness. Then here are some super simple ideas for your super simple syrup:

Easy Lavender Lemonade: 1 part simple syrup to 1 part lemon juice to 14 parts water (i.e. one tablespoon each, and about 7 oz of water. Of course, if you like sweeter lemonade add more simple (if you don't want to over do on the lavender but want more sweet you can add regular simple syrup or honey or agave), and if you prefer a French-style fizzy lemonade use sparkling water. I usually use a bottled organic lemon juice, but of course fresh squeezed likely tastes the best!

Lavender "Latte": One of the best things we ever bought at IKEA was one of their tiny milk frother-things. I don't use it a ton, but when I'm feeling fancy it is the easiest way to make my morning pot of coffee into something almost sinful. I especially love using it when I'm being more nutrition focused and mixing my half and half with almond milk. Using this fancy toy I froth together the milk and a teaspoon or so of the simple syrup (again, its all about your taste buds, I like just a hint of the sweet most of the time). Then I pour in my coffee and sometimes I try to make those pretty designs but usually I just take a big sip of delicious and go sit on the couch. You can find it here if you're curious. This is not a paid promotion, although if IKEA decided they wanted to sponsor me that'd be cool. I just love how easily this thing works.

Lavender Sundae: Really good vanilla ice-cream + drizzle with lavender simple syrup. Maybe throw a shortbread cookie on there. And voilà!

Lavender Lemonade with a sprig for garnish cause sometimes you wanna feel fancy, obviously.

Basically anything you might make a little sweet, you could try lavender-sweet instead. I am thinking my next endeavor is to make a lavender caramel sauce, it'll probably start out much the same as my simple syrup. I'll let you know how it goes.

Stay tuned as hopefully I continue to "make" and maybe this next time I'll remember to take progress photos of the process.

*What the what is Culinary Lavender?? I did a little sleuthing on this, and it seems that really most any lavender will do. Some lavender marketed at culinary has somewhat less essential oil than those they use primarily to extract oils to make fragrance, apparently. But from what I can find, most of the packaged culinary stuff is of the English variety. In my experience the culinary lavender sold tends to be more carefully picked than bulk lavender (which considering the markup makes sense). However from what I have read it also seems like you could grab a few sprigs from your bush in the yard and dry them and use them just as well, it just may taste a bit different). This article has some information on lavender and how to properly cure your own for culinary use. And this article has information on several lavender varieties and their taste profiles.  Culinary lavender can also be found online and at various retailers. I definitely recommend a local vendor if/when its available to you! Lavender can grow in nearly all of the US (zones 5-9) but does particularly well in the more arid parts of the west (who would have thought Washington State would fall into that category?)