lavender Archives - Linda Nelson

A LITTLE PILLOW TALK

March 14, 2018

No, not that kind of pillow talk! I’m talking, little pillow talk. Literally.

A few years ago, I whipped up a few miniature pillowcase prototypes. I had done the calculating to sew them to scale and used some not-so-pretty fabric for my trial run. And then, I packed up my ugly little creations and put them away.

During yesterday’s slushy snowfall, those little pillowcases came to the surface of my thoughts, and I was motivated to make them again. Only this time, I wanted to make pretty ones.

©Linda Nelson 2018

Their finished size measures 4.75″ x 7″, a “mini me” version of a standard size pillowcase. Aren’t they sweet? They’re sweet smelling too! There’s a little surprise hidden inside each pillowcase – a little lavender pillow sachet, the lavender harvested last season from two plants I have growing in my garden, and which yielded me about four cups of dried buds.

©Linda Nelson 2018

Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret – there’s another surprise hidden inside…..

©Linda Nelson 2018

The pillowcases are reversible!

©Linda Nelson 2018

Well, I hope you enjoyed joining me in a little (scented) pillow talk.

©Linda Nelson 2018

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HELLO FOLKS, IT’S ME, LINDA………..

August 30, 2015

………..the gal who would rather avoid culinary crafting at all costs. Well, I stepped out of my comfort zone yesterday and wowed my guests with a few homemade summertime treats.

©Linda Nelson 2015

We started the evening off with hand shook margaritas poured over ice. The recipe provided on the Cointreau’s back label is excellent. I tweaked it slightly by adding one teaspoon of Goya’s blue agave organic sweetener to each serving, and the consensus was to forego salting the rims of the glasses. These winner cocktails were the perfect accompaniment to a fabulous guacamole and chips starter, courtesy of one of my guests. My other guests, a fantastic husband/wife team in the kitchen, whipped up the makings for some gold star worthy tacos.

After another round of “Linda’s Margaritas” we finished our festive meal off with my homemade peach-mango granita accompanied with lemon-lavender shortbread. I divided the shortbread dough into sixteen equal pieces, rolled each into a ball, and then flattened them into mini pancake shapes. I found this method easier than trying to slice through a four-inch log.

The granita recipe is a combined variation of quite a few that I researched via the internet. Here’s my version –

LINDA’S PEACH-MANGO GRANITA

Dissolve 1/4 cup sugar in 1/2 cup hot water to make a “quickie” simple syrup. Puree syrup with 2 large ripe peaches (peeled and chopped), one jumbo very ripe mango (peeled and chopped), 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour puree into an eight or nine-inch deep dish casserole and freeze for four hours, scraping and stirring the puree with a fork every forty-five minutes. Be sure to thoroughly scrape the sides of the casserole dish each time, so as to prevent an undesirable texture to the icing process. Serve and enjoy!

©Linda Nelson 2015

The summer is not over, folks…….. it’s still a very granita season.

HELLO FOLKS, IT’S ME, LINDA……….. Read More »

“L” IS FOR…….

July 31, 2015

…….. lavender!

©Linda Nelson 2015

And, for today’s post, I’m sharing with you a fun and simple way to display those heavenly scented flower buds which so many of us love. I harvested mine just a few weeks ago.

©Linda Nelson 2015

My shrubs might produce another crop of flowers before the season is over, though it probably won’t be as flush as the first. We’ll see.

Anyway, it’s always nice to have a stash of dried lavender buds on hand for making delightfully scented gifts, such as these salt-n-pepper shaker and tea strainer pomanders!

I particularly love the clamshell action of the tea strainer pictured above.

Aren’t they just darling? They’d make for fabulous luncheon party favors, don’t you think? I found the little shakers at a thrift store for twenty-five cents each, but happened to have the two tea strainers already on hand. What I especially like about using these types of vessels is that one can conveniently refresh the buds with a few drops of lavender oil, if needed.

I picked this jumbo shaker up at a yard sale just this past spring. I couldn’t resist. Funny thing, I don’t even use salt on my food. But, I sure do love lavender, and making lavender shortbread cookies is definitely on my to-do list.

I painted the cap of one of the shakers with a few coats of blue nail polish, then lightly buffed it with super fine sandpaper. Prior to painting it I sanded the cap to dull the sheen, thus creating a better paint adhering substrate. Nail polish adheres well to stainless steel provided the object will not be subject to regular wear and tear.

What ways do you enjoy displaying dried lavender? Perhaps the examples shown above might inspire you in some way.

Now, sit back, and smell the sweetness.

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