Idea's for your Lavender harvest!

Easy Lavender Body Powder

2/3 cup arrowroot powder
2/3 cup corn starch
6 tbsp. white clay*
3 tbsp. dried lavender
*Clay available at most health food stores

Grind whole Lavender flowers in a clean coffee grinder to desired fineness. Use a glass bowl, mix arrowroot powder, cornstarch and Lavender. Optional to add a few drops of essential oil to boost scent. Stir.

Store in a glass sealed container. Nice as a gift in a shaker bottle with holes in the top.


Lavender Wands
Lavender favours, or faggots, were originally used to scent linen and other stored fabric and clothes. They were often used to mark the dozens, and the half-dozens, in piles of linen in a bride's dowry chest, and it was usually the children who were set to work to make them. Nowadays, they make nice small gifts, either individually or in a "bunch" to put in a vase.

YOU WILL NEED:
Freshly gathered lavender stems, about 30cm. (12") long and 1 metre of narrow ribbon.


METHOD:
Take an uneven number of stems of lavender, 15 is about right. Tie these together tightly, with the end of the ribbon, just below the flower heads. Turn the bunch upside down and carefully bend the stems back over the flower heads, one by one. Start to weave the long end of the ribbon in and out of the stems, as there is an odd number it will have a basket effect. Shape the head as you go, pulling the weaving tight as you get to the bottom of the flower heads. Wind the ribbon round a couple of times, and slip knot the end. Use any remaining ribbon to make a bow. Trim the ends of the stems level. You can bind these with the ribbon too, and make a loop to hang up the "favour".



Frances' Secret Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookies!…

Makes approx 3 dozen

1/2 cup real butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
*** 2 Tbsp. dried Sweet Lavender flowers (3-4 Tbsp. fresh flowers)
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 cups white flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 generous cup good chocolate chips
Bowl 1: Blend butter, sugar & Lavender until smooth. Add egg, milk & vanilla in next.

Bowl 2: Blend oatmeal, flour, and baking powder together; add in your chocolate chips to this dry mix.

Blend both mixes together to form soft dough.
(If it is too sticky, add a bit more flour.)

Place by teaspoons onto baking tray.
Set oven @ 350° F
Bake 10 minutes for soft cookies, 15 mins for crisp ones.

OPTIONAL: Add 3 or 4 pieces of crystallized ginger finely chopped OR zest of one orange. OR: 1 cup nuts, raisins, coconut OR dried sweetened cranberries.
FOR A CHOCOLATE dough base: Add ½ cup of cocoa powder in with flour & sugar and decrease the chocolate chip amount slightly.


Lavender Harvest Fudge

2 cups (12 oz.) good chocolate chips (for special occasions use Belgian chocolate!)
1 tin (300 ml) sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbsp. dried Lavender flowers (3 Tbsp. fresh)
- measure, then grind finely, use a clean coffee grinder
Melt everything together in a double boiler. Add 3 tbsp. butter. Stir until smooth and melted.

Pour into a pan lined with wax paper (approximately 9" x 9"). Cover with Saran Wrap. Chill overnight.

Cut into 1" squares. Wrap like "sweets" in twists of wax paper. Decorate with a sticker smiley face!

*Recipe can be doubled, use 9" x 12" pan. Stripe it using white chocolate for top layer and dark for the bottom.

**Optional: Sprinkle fresh Lavender on top layer to decorate!