Purple Haze

By mid-Summer, a purple haze of lavender seems to touch the sky.  There's an abundance of lavender in fields, and small gardens, in city parks and balcony urns.  It's everywhere.  In the park next door, the lavender garden is quiet, but not silent. There's a hum of honey bees circling every lavender plant.  Butterflies glide softly past.  Sleepy daze.  

  

By the time lavender looks like most of the lavender in these photos, it is already past the time to harvest the buds for culinary use.  The time to pick lavender for use in recipes, is when the buds begin showing colour, but haven't yet opened into a flower.  The buds contain the fragrant and flavourful essential oil of lavender.  

Lavender is native to Europe, North Africa, parts of Asia and India, and as such, the herb is found in a wide variety of dishes.  I have discovered it in Ratatouille, lamb, Christmas shortbread, and Creme Brulee.  It marries well with lemon, which is why it is added to lemonades, lemon tarts, and lemon teacakes.
   

Lavender is relaxing.  A satin bag filled with dried lavender, and tucked inside your pillow, will induce sleep as easily as a warm Summer day.  'Scuse me while I kiss the sky!  

Photos copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated