Lavender Design + Cuisine: March 2020

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Plant-Based Recipe: Decadent Chocolate Almond Lavender Cookies

Decadent Chocolate Almond Lavender Cookies

Gift for Family & Friends

Greetings Chocolate, Lavender and Cookie Lovers!

Infuse your kitchen with the luxurious aroma of bitter-sweet chocolate and delicate, floral lavender. These decadent Chocolate Almond Lavender Cookies are a culinary delight, offering a simple yet elegant baking experience. With a taste as refined as their scent, they make a memorable and delicious gift for family and friends!

Let's dive into this recipe and start baking up some joy!

Ingredients: (Makes 30 cookies)

1 Stick plant-based sweet butter, melted and set aside to cool to room temperature.
1/2 Cup oat milk or freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 Cup sugar
1/3 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Cup pastry flour

1/2 Cup Almond flour
1/2 Cup almond slices
1 Tsp. organic culinary lavender flowers (finely chopped to release their essential oil)
1 Tsp. Orange zest
1/4 Coarse sea salt to sprinkle on cookies

Instructions:

1. In a food processor mix oat milk or orange juice, orange zest, melted butter, sugar and chopped lavender flowers. Let it stand for 15 minutes for the sugar to dissolve.

2. In a bowl mix flour, cocoa powder and then run them through a sifter to make them well incorporated. Then, gradually add to the mixture in the food processor and pulse a few times, until they form a coarse mixture.

3. Add almonds and pulse 3 more times.

4. Empty the mixture on a lightly floured flat surface, gather up the dough and knead 2 or 3 times. Next, flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 375 °F.

6. Take out the cookie dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured flat surface (1/2 inch thick), cut out cookies with a 2 inch round mold and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Next sprinkle a few sea salt, to make these cookies even more decadent.

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

8. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool for an hour before packaging them as gifts.

Indulge in their pure deliciousness on their own, or elevate the experience by letting their flavors mingle with a smooth, warm tea, or a robust coffee.

Happy Baking!

Chef Ellie Lavender
Plant-Based Mediterranean Chef
Culinary & Wine Pairing Instructor
Event Caterer
Lavender Design + Cuisine

Join my network on Facebook & Instagram to receive recipes and information

on upcoming chocolate, culinary & wine pairing classes and special events!

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Delightful Black Lentils Salad Recipe!

Black Lentils Salad
Pic. 3

Pic. 2

Diced Veggies & Sliced Scallion
Pic. 1

Ingredients

Black Lentils

Black lentils have a delicate flavor and slightly firmer texture than green lentils, which make them perfect for salads. This delightful Black Lentils Salad is delicious, highly nutritious and very easy to make. You can always substitute rainbow carrots with fennel and cucumber or any other veggies to your liking.

So, let's get started with the recipe!

Ingredients, pic 1 (serving size 4)
1 Cup black lentil beans
1 Bunch rainbow carrots
4 Scallions
1 Meyer lemon
1 Tsp. dried Herbes de Provence
2 Tbsp. Meyer lemon juice
1 Tsp. Meyer lemon rinds
1/4 Cup olive oil
1/5 Tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions:
1. Soak lentils in a medium saucepan for 30 minutes, drain the water and give lentils a rinse.
2. Pour 2 cups water over the rinsed lentils and cook for 30 minutes over low-medium heat until the water is evaporated.
3. Set aside lentils to cool for an hour.
4. Peel and dice rainbow carrots and thinly slice scallions, pic. 1.
5. In a bowl toss diced rainbow carrots and sliced scallions, pic. 2.
6. In a different bowl mix cooled lentils, herbes de Provence, chopped cilantro and sea salt.
7. Transfer the lentils on a serving plate and sprinkle the diced rainbow carrots and scallions, pic. 3.
8. Drizzle olive oil and Meyer lemon juice and garnish with Meyer lemon rinds, pic 3.
9. You can also add some vegan crumbled feta cheese to make this salad even more delicious.

I love the above salad assembly process, instead of mixing all ingredients together, because it preserves the ingredients colors, textures and makes the salad even more beautiful. This delicious salad is perfect by itself, but even better with a glass of beautifully aged and fruity Pinot Noir.

Enjoy!

Chef Ellie Lavender
Vegan Mediterranean Personal Chef
Culinary & Wine Pairing Instructor
Lavender Design + Cuisine

Join my network on Facebook & Instagram to receive recipes and information
on upcoming chocolate, culinary & wine pairing classes and special events!

5 Easy Steps to Kick off Spring Cleaning of Your Home!

Spring will arrive on Thursday Match 19^th and it’s the season of renewal, manifestation and celebration. It’s the time to take bold steps and manifest your dreams. A good spring cleaning of your home can do wonders for your personal energy; it will nourish and strengthen you. The keywords are spring cleaning & decluttering and the goal is get rid of everything that does not serve you anymore.

Step No. 1 - If you are looking to improve your health, get rid of all the items that are cluttering and blocking the energy flow in your kitchen (especially your cupboards, fridge and the freezer). The state of your kitchen is the state of your health, so do yourself a favor and thoroughly clean and declutter your kitchen!

Step No. 2 - Bring three new pots with vibrant green plants to refresh the energy in your home. If you plan to place them in the kitchen, go for lush and aromatic herbs, such as basil, rosemary and mint. Focus on your front entrance, as well as your kitchen, as both are strongly connected to your health.

Step No. 3 - Thoroughly clean and declutter your bedroom and bathroom, get rid of anything that you haven't used in the past 6 months. Clear the space under the bed (do not store stuff under your bed), clean all the windows, refresh and redecorate your bedroom and bathroom.

Step No. 4 - If you would like to welcome a new love relationship into your life, make space, and I mean actual, physical space, for this new person to be in your home. Clear out your closets for a better flow and more space. You literally have to create an open flow of energy in your home to be able to attract and manifest more of what you are looking for. Spring cleaning time gives you great opportunity to do just that!

Step No. 5 - Now that your home is clean and clutter-free, ensure it stays that way. Use the one-in, one-out rule. For example, every time you buy a new item, give an old one away.

Happy Spring Cleaning & Decluttering!

Ellie Lavender
Certified Feng Shui Practitioner
Interior Designer
Lavender Design + Cuisine

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