I’ll begin with a sweet lavender treat! Everybody loves a shortbread, many perhaps have tried lavender shortbread in our tearoom. So here’s a recipe from the author of ‘The Floral Baker,’ Frances Bissell, who was inspired whilst working… “The terrace of Garsington Manor used to be lined with a dense border of lavender when I spent some time there as a consultant for the opera season menus…”
Garsington lavender shortbread
makes about 30
115g/4 oz unsalted butter, 75g/3 oz/ 1/3 cup lavender sugar, 150g/6 oz/ 1 2/3 cup plain flour, sifted, iced water, if required, caster sugar for dusting
Cream butter and sugar, stir in the flour, and add just enough water to make a stiff pastry. Roll out on a floured worktop to about 1 cm/ 1/2 ” thick. Cut into fingers or rounds. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes at 170’C/325’F and, 5 minutes before removing from the oven – dust with caster sugar. Cool on a wire rack.
Lavender sugar
when making lavender sugar, you need to choose lavender (L. augustifolia, Hidcote) in full bloom and pick off each individual flower with a pair of tweezers for the purest colour. If you simply separate from the stalk the flowers enclosed in the sepals, you will get a greenish sugar. Allow freshly picked lavender to dry for an hour or two. Then grind with preserving or granulated sugar. About 10 parts sugar to 1 part flowers is about right, however concentration of fragrant oils may vary, according to sunlight received. Once you have groung sugar, spread onto greaseproof paper to dry further and, as it dries, break up the clumps which may form if the flowers were damp at all. You can add a couple of sprigs of lavender to a jar. Alternatively, simply layer sugar in a jar with lavender heads.
Store in an airtight container in a dark, dry place. Best used within a year, the flavour can change after that, to something quite spicy, like ginger.
Of course, you can order our lavender shortbread online, before next summer!
Now, a little more about lavender and its healing properties, especially for women! Lavender is often asked for as people have learned of its wonderful qualities and common usage. As a young girl or woman you may be reminded, as I was, of my grandmother’s penchant for lavender so I often thought of it from as something for older women. But it is so much more than that! But there are important aspects of lavender to bear in mind…there are many distillations of lavender in essential oil form. The different varieties will produce not only very different scents but also actions too. For example, most will consider lavender to be a calming and relaxing herb, however this can be very individual to a person, and also spike, or Portuguese lavender, Lavendula latifolia has a much lower linalyl acetate content, making it more stimulating for some. Historically, lavender has strong connections to empowering women, encouraging confidence and strength. Perhaps that’s why so many women are drawn to it.
Lavender maybe a herb to try through different life phases, and conditions that may arise, such as hormonal headaches, yeast infections, post partum, and for hot flashes. It’s also a great stress support at any age.
An essential oil blend to try:
1/2 tsp (3 ml) bergamot oil, 1/2 tsp (3 ml) sweet orange oil, 1/2 tsp (3 ml) clary sage oil, 1/4 tsp (1 ml) frankincense oil, 1/4 tsp (1 ml) lavender oil
Combine all oils into and essential oil bottle, or add around 15-25 drops of blend into roller ball bottle with a carrier oil of choice. May also be used in a diffuser. Try placing a drop or two of this blend into your palms, rubbing them together, and taking two or three inhalations. When we smell essential oils, our olfactory senses are stimulated, and are carried through the limbic system directly to particular nerve centres in the brain, affecting our moods and actions.
One of my favourite tools to work with when life is challenging are flower essences. Lavender flower essence is a wonderful example, when engaging in self, reflection…offering self-awareness, emotional balance and spiritual alignment.
Dried lavender (available from our shop, in person up until Christmas, or online) may be used in many ways, such as a cooling bath for hot flashes…
1 oz (28g) dried sage, 1/2 oz (14g) dried rosemary, 1/2 oz (14g) dried lavender, 1/2 oz dried yarrow flowers (14g)
Yield: 1 bath. Fill a large muslin bag with herbs and add it to your bath.
Another favourite herbal remedy is a salve, for minor burns while cooking, for a sore hangnail, cracks in skin, dab some salve on it! Generally, salves are used for cuts, burns, bites and stings. Our lavender salve is a lovely example. An essential household item!
I hope I have given you food for thought.
We are drawing close to the shortest day of the year here in the northern hemisphere, a time for reflection, of going within, meeting the winter energies. Just remember, when the days seem dark, to reach for lavender essential oil, and know that the winter solstice is when the light begins to return.
Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Best wishes from all the team at Jersey Lavender.
Our bees
Sources: ‘Wild Apothecary Reclaiming Plant Medicine for all’ Amaia Dadachanji. ‘The Women’s Herbal Apothecary’. JJ Pursell