The lavender is blooming!   It’s spring and hopefully the severe weather is over.  I’m sure that summer is right around the corner.  The temperatures may soar (okay, they will soar) but at least the atmosphere will become more stable and the gardens will grow with all the recent rain.

With summer come festivals of all types.  Sand Springs has an herb festival, Stillwell has a strawberry festival, and Stratford has a peach festival all revolving around when these items ripen and are ready for harvest.  The newest festival to me is the lavender festival.    http://www.lavendervalleyacres.com/id41.html.  They have lavender soap and lavender lemonade just to name a couple of things.

I’m a big fan of lavender.  It smells good; you can bathe in, it or even eat it.  It has been used for century for its medicinal purposes.  It is known to promote calmness and is a perennial plant – it will come back in your garden for years to come.

In my “novel in progress”, The Beach House, Meg grows lavender and other herbs in her garden.  Sam Taylor, the chef at Le Chez has a fondness for fresh herbs in his cooking.  He plans to make Lavender Cherry Sauce for a special dessert at Le Chez just for Meg and Alex.  Here is the recipe.

Lavender Cherry Sauce

 Ingredients

•  1/4 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon  snipped lavender
• 2 cups pitted cherries
• Fresh lemon juice
• Angel food cake or ice cream
• Toasted sliced almonds

Preparation

Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar, lavender, cherries, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Simmer until cherries are warm. Spoon over sliced angel food cake or ice cream with a few toasted sliced almonds.

Try some lavender in your cooking and see if you like it.  Or if you’re not into eating it, just grow it in a sunny, well drained location where the wind will blow through it and into your open windows. After all this is Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains!  Ahhhhh. Let me know what you think of the Lavender Cherry Sauce or come up with your own recipes.  I can’t wait to hear back from you.