June 18, 2014

Vanilla Lavender Infused Peaches

Today is an exciting day for our small, young business the zen of slow cooking. Our first wholesale customer, Elawa Farm, is merchandising our zen blends on their beautiful store shelves. Tucked in neatly beside tangy mustards and delicious preserves, fresh produce and flowers, our blends compliment the variety of organic vegetables being grown in the 2 acre garden on the property.

From my urban garden roots in Chicago to Elawa Farm in Meg’s neck of the woods, both these spaces represent a desire to build a community space for enjoyment and from within which to learn. The significance of its surrounding natural environment coupled with the complex farm architecture make Elawa a unique setting to be preserved.

Acquired by The City of Lake Forest in 1998, the original Elawa Farm garden was lovingly restored through the dedication and hard work of Marion Cartwright and Deedee Borland.

From this 2 acre growing space come bountiful crops of tomatoes, herbs, salad and micro greens and root vegetables all harvested by local volunteers and sold in the Garden Market housed in the Wagon Shed.

A portion of the organic produce is donated to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, another organisation helping to feed our hungry neighbors by providing nutritious meals to those in need through innovative programs and partnerships.

Elawa really took on a life of its own and now has a full sitting board, gourmet chefs and cooking classes, gardening and photography events, not to mention the market itself.

While we were measuring up the shelf space for our blends last week, I was on the look out for some early summer produce to transform in my slow cooker. Lettuce and radishes are delicious as-is and don’t fare so well slow cooked, however the Elawa Farm culinary lavender caught my eye.

With that, we have a seasonal Vanilla Lavender Infused Peach dessert. It also gave us the opportunity to use some of Nielsen-Massey‘s Vanilla Bean Paste (another local business in Waukegan) which we’ve been baking with since Matt Nielsen generously gave us a factory tour earlier this year. This simple summer dessert can also be transformed for a savory dish. Just swap out the lavender for rosemary, add a pinch of salt and pepper and you have a delicious peachy sauce to accompany grilled pork chops.

Prep Time 8-10 minutes
Cooking Time 5 hrs LOW or 2 1/2 hrs HIGH
Servings 4-6

Ingredients

4 peaches, halved and pitted
3 tsp honey
1/2 cup orange juice (not from concentrate)
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp Nielsen-Massey vanilla paste/1 vanilla bean, split or tbsp vanilla extract
2- 3 tsp culinary lavender