Lavendar Harvest

Yesterday we harvested lavender from the five bushes along our driveway.

Lavender Crème Brulee for dessert.  The recipe is originally from the "Girl in the Fig Cookbook" By Sondra Bernstein. "The Girl in the Fig" brings nostalgia from my California days of good food and great friends.

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/the-girl-the-fig-cookbook/9780743255219-item.html?ikwid=girl+in+the+fig+&ikwsec=Home&gcs_requestid=0COjamZyqwbgCFUlv5wodwn8AAA

2 1/4 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 tablespoons dried lavender, plus more for garnish

8 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar, plus about 4 tablespoons sugar for sprinkling

2 tablespoons wildflower honey

Place the cream and milk in a saucepan and add the lavender. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Let the lavender steep for about 15 minutes or until the milk has a lavender flavor. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks, the 1/2 cup sugar, and the honey in a separate bowl until smooth. Whisk into the lavender-cream mixture. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and skim off any foam. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350F. Pour the mixture into 6 ramekins. Set the ramekins in a baking pan and add enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the baking pan with foil and place in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until set. (Test for done-ness by jiggling the ramekins.) Remove the baking pan from the oven and allow the ramekins to cool in the water bath for 5 minutes. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
Before serving, sprinkle the tops with a thin layer of sugar and caramelize with a small torch or under a broiler set on high. Garnish each crème brûlée with lavender blossoms