Category: Cook with Lavender

I got curious about making a tooth brushing powder with some lavender, of course. I read up on some ingredients and then tried my first batch.

1/8 C Baking soda (neutralization and scrubbies)
2 drops peppermint essential oil (flavor and a whole host of benefits)
2 drops lavender essential oil (anti-microbial)
1/8 tsp of Equal sweetener (Aspartame, while somewhat questionable for health is powdered, but glyercine would make a paste and sweeten it – depends on what you want)

It didn’t taste all that good, but after brushing with it my mouth feels really fresh and clean. Let me know if you try anything like this, and we’ll all get some great ideas for DIY lavender tooth paste/powder recipes.

Update (4/27/2015): Looking back at this we can’t recommend the recipe because there is probably too much essential oil in it. Use extracts rather than essential oil (Peppermint & Lavender extracts) and use Vegetable glycerine rather than artificial sweetener. That way you are using ingredients that are clearly safe.

Here is a recipe that is getting a surprising amount of positive comments. Thought you’d like to try it out!

Lavender Applesauce Cake

3/8 C Veg. Oil
2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 C raisins
1 1/2 C applesauce
3 tsp lavender

Icing
6 TBL butter
1 TBL cream cheese
2 C Confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 350º

Blend oil, sugar, eggs in food processor so they are smooth and fluffy.
Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl.

Add applesauce and raisins together with the sugar mixture into the dry ingredients, and mix by hand., just until they are all combined, don’t over mix.

Pour into a 9×13 greased pan (or sprayed with vegetable oil) and bake for about 45 minutes (time depends on the oven, keep checking after 45 minutes).

Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then take it out and finish cooling on a rack.

Use the last three ingredients in the list for the icing. Blend them in food processor until creamy smooth. Ice the cake after it has completely cooled. If you want an additional treat add 1 tsp of Lavender Extract to the icing. Yum!

We have the Culinary Lavender and the Lavender Extract for sale.

I was faced with a huge bag of kale to cook for dinner. For those of you who don’t usually cook with kale it’s sort of like a tough spinach. It has LOTS of great vitamins and mineral, so it’s good for what ails ya, but it doesn’t lend itself to easy, fast meals. Except last night I created a great pasta sauce out of it – here’s the recipe.

3 or 4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion chopped up
3 large cloves of garlic chopped up
1 stalk of celery chopped up

Saute those in the olive oil in a large skillet. While sauteing add

1 1/2 tsp Herbs de Provence
1 tsp ground Lavender

While the onions brown up a little bit chop up the kale, stirring the onions from time to time.

1 produce bag of kale leaves (you know, the plastic ones in the produce section, stuff it with kale leaves and that should be enough)

The kale reduces in size like spinach does, so just heap it into the pan and turn it in the pan, like a stir fry.

After the kale has sagged a bit, add

1/3 Cup of Knorr Alfredo Pasta Sauce Mix (I got it at Costco, but it may be available at regular stores)
2 cups of milk (maybe a bit more if you like thinner pasta sauces)

Cover and let it cook for about 5 or 10 minutes. The Alfredo Sauce should provide all the salt you need.

When it’s done put it over your favorite pasta (that you have already cooked) and enjoy!