Monthly Archives: June 2023

Limoncello – the Homemade Stuff!

Glass of limoncello

I love limoncello but I have been so disappointed by a lot of what is on sale here.   Quite frankly it can taste so synthetic that it’s horrid!

Not so this recipe with its use of what is fast becoming my go-to trio of lemon flavours – lemon verbena, lemon grass and lemon.   You start off by infusing both lemongrass and lemon zest into your vodka/gin for a week before you add a simple syrup and lemon verbena leaves   After a week your limoncello is ready!   Serve chilled from the fridge   Particularly wonderful on a hot summer’s day but good anytime.   The perfect addition to an Italian meal (or if you are like me – the perfect addition to most meals!)

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Three Lemon Sorbet

Lemon she’ll filled with lemon sorbet on plate

This lemon sorbet uses three types of lemon flavours  – lemongrass, lemon verbena and lemon zest.   Using all three makes for an absolutely stunning sorbet.   I can’t begin to tell you how much of a stunner and how well balanced this recipe is.   Quite frankly, it’s more refreshing than a swim on a hot summer’s day!   If you don’t have any of the lemon ingredients you can just ramp up the quantities of the other two,  but honestly, do try this as it’s written if you can.

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Lemon Verbena Shortbread Biscuits

Lemon Verbena biscuits - iced with white glacé icing

Soft and crumbly, these little lemon verbena shortbread biscuits work well with ice creams, fruit or indeed alongside tea or coffee. They make the most of the herbs you have growing in your garden – in this case lemon verbena although you can vary the herb –  try rosemary, lemon zest or thyme instead.  Or use lavender flowers.

They are super easy to make.  I love the convenience of rolling the shortbread dough into “logs” and slicing off rounds to bake as you need to.    The lemon verbena shortbread biscuit dough can be kept in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for 3 months.  It means that a freshly baked lemon verbena shortbread  is always on hand.  How good is that?

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Garden Sauce

We call this “Garden Sauce” because we use it to accompany so much of our food from the veggie garden.   Here you see it with glorious artichokes   It also goes well with asparagus, sprouting broccoli, courgettes, green beans etc.    Its made with boiled eggs and lots of herbs and is kind of a riff on the classic Sauce Gribeche     I usually replace the anchovies with olives to make it vegetarian but it tastes good with either and with both too!

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Lavender Sugar

Lavender and sugar in a marble pestle and mortar

This lavender sugar recipe is so an easy yo make that as a ‘recipe’ that it doesn’t really need writing down.   But lots of people wouldn’t make it because they can’t think of what they’d do with it!  So here are a few ideas

  • Use it to sweeten homemade lemonade.  Here’s the link for my recipe for  Quick Homemade Lemonade to make lavender lemonade (yes it’s a ‘thing, and it’s delicious)
  • Sprinkle over fresh fruit such as strawberries, oranges, blueberries etc
  • Add to whipped cream
  • Use in cakes or shortbread
  • Add a to hot or iced tea
  • Line the rim of a glass to flavour a cocktail
  • Sprinkle on top of biscuits or scones

Lavender sugar also makes a wonderful small gift if you decant it into small, pretty jars and attach a pretty label.  Great for kids to make as a gift for their teacher or grandparents.
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Elderflower Cordial

Is there anything better than a glass of cold, refreshing elderflower cordial on a summers’ day?  It’s got to be one of the most quintessential drinks of an English June.

A lot of elderflower cordial recipes contain citric acid.  This means the cordial keeps for longer in the fridge and saves on using as many lemons.    I have given you the option to add a couple of tablespoons to this recipe if you want.   Without it the cordial will keep for a few weeks (rather than a couple of months) in the fridge.   I usually put some into resided plastic bottles and store in freezer to avoid this but it does depend if you have enough freezer space!!

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Rose Petal Syrup

Rose Petal Syrup

For some reason rose petal syrup seems to have gone out of fashion – but there is nothing like it to enhance the flavour of strawberries.  It makes them taste like you remember them from your childhood –  luscious, sweet and mouth-wateringly.  I can’t begin to tell you the difference it makes.  The syrup itself smells of the best of summer and brings out the sun in everything you put it on.   Fold a couple of tablespoons into softly whipped cream to transform a Victoria Sponge or meringues.   Pour over vanilla Ice-cream to lift it to a whole other level.

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