Lavender Haze—Cookies to Soap

A few weeks ago when I wrote about 70’s fragrances. A gentleman commented that they were annoyed by any fragrance with lavender. I think many men dislike the scent of lavender for some reason. I read recently that lavender oil (and tea tree oil) suppresses male hormones and increases female hormones, but I also read soy products do the same thing. Maybe that's why many men dislike lavender.

I know I fell into that category of disliking lavender for most of my life, until a few years ago when a friend gave me a bar of fancy lavender soap. It was as though I smelled lavender for the very first time.

The fragrance is suppose to relieve stress—maybe I had reached a certain stress level in my life (it seemed like it) to appreciate it’s relaxing fragrance. Who knows? But it started a full-on lavender binge—bathing soap with lavender, shampoo with lavender, dish washing soap with lavender, lavender honey, lavender ice cream, and cooking with lavender.
Mr. Peacock even tortured a house guest with horrible “lavender” martinis (sorry Seema), and Jason asked me, "...not lavender chicken again!?" Since then, I’ve mellowed out on the lavender and limited my use of this distinct scent to only dishwashing liquid, and an occasional lavender cookie (yes, lavender cookies—see photo at top).

A cookbook I acquired in 2004, called Aroma-The Magic of Essential Oils in Food & Fragrance, has a wonderful recipe for lavender shortbread cookies. It’s a classic shortbread recipe, but with just a touch of lavender oil added into the dough. It makes a delicate and fragrant cookie—I love them! (photo above on one of my vintage Vera tablecloths).

Lavender Shortbread Cookies
Makes about 40 to 50 cookies
Adapted from the cookbook Aroma

½ cup white sugar
10-12 drops of lavender essential oil (preferably organic)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 sticks of unsalted butter (8 oz.)
1 large egg
2 ½ cups flour
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons course demerara sugar (for sprinkling the tops)
1 ½ tablespoons dried lavender flowers (my friend Seema gave me some organic lavender grown at Esalen down in beautiful Big Sur, California)

1) In a food precessor, blend the sugar and essential oil for 15 seconds, until well combined. Add salt and then the butter and pulse until well incorporated. Add the egg and pulse. Add the flour and carefully pulse until the dough forms—don’t overwork the dough.

2) Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface and flip the contents from the food processor onto the plastic wrap. Gather the dough together and split into 2 pieces. Roll each piece into a log about 2 inches in diameter and maybe 8 inches long. Sometimes I shape them into long cubes, like sticks of butter. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for about an hour (or up to 2 months well wrapped).

3) Preheat oven 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silipat. Take the cookie log from freezer and slice into ¼ inch thick discs. If the dough is too hard to slice, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Carefully arrange the discs a few inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.

4) Whisk the egg white with a fork in a small bowl until frothy. Brush the top of each cookie with a bit of egg white and sprinkle with demarera sugar and few lavender flowers (optional).

5) Bake until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Your entire kitchen will be in a cloud of lavender and cookie aromas. Let these shortbread cookies cool on a rack. The flavor and texture will improve when they are completely cooled. Enjoy.

The book Aroma, by the way, is an essential book for any cookbook enthusiasts collection. The tagline on the cover says, “Experience the power of fragrance, more than 100 startling original recipes.” Aroma is coauthored by Daniel Patterson, chef and owner of San Francisco restaurant Coi, and Mandy Aftel, custom perfumer extraordinaire and owner of Aftelier Perfumes. This wonderful and beautiful book has some very unique recipes using fragrance—both edible and non-edible (bath salts, colognes, etc…).

You can order organic chef's essential oils (above) and other fragrant organic roducts directly from Mandy Aftel's Berkeley, California store—Aftelier Perfumes.

As I said, I don't think many men like the scent of lavender—do you? Whether you like lavender or not—I hope you have a relaxing weekend and make some lavender shortbread cookies. Let me know if you like them.

Toile and cherry pie...

The farmer’s market in my neighborhood has had many organic goodies this summer.

One of my favorite sellers always lines their produce tables with toile fabric!

It really makes the produce stand-out...and you know Mr. Peacock loves toile!

I usually buy too much stuff—it's difficult to just buy the essentials. The stone fruits (peaches, plums, nectarines, pluots, and cherries) have been especially juicy and flavorful this year.

I recently bought a large amount of Bing cherries with the intent of making a pie.

I like fruit pies, but I don’t like them too sweet or gummy—especially cherry pie. I’ve been on a quest to find the “perfect” homemade cherry pie recipe for the last few years. Canned cherry pie filling is so disappointing—overly sweet, gummy, starchy, fake red coloring, and very few cherries.

Here’s Mr. Peacock’s version of a summer cherry pie using fresh Bing cherries—with no red food coloring. I like using a 9” spring form pan, instead of a pie plate. I like the pie to look a bit rustic.

Mr. Peacock’s Cherry Pie
Makes 6 servings
Preheat oven 375 degrees

2 lbs pitted ripe Bing cherries
juice of 1 lime
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon almond extract (just a little enhances the cherry flavor)
pinch of salt
1 ½ tablespoon of minute tapioca
1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
Pastry for a double-crust pie (your favorite recipe or see below)
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

1) Carefully pit the cherries. I used a deep mixing bowl and simply squished the pit out of each cherry. It is a bit labor intensive, but the process goes fairly quickly. Wear latex gloves if you don’t want your hands to get stained with cherry juice. I washed my hands immediately, but my cuticles were stained a bit. I also suggest laying newspapers on your floor and having paper towels and some sort of spray cleaner nearby—because your work area will get splattered with cherry juice.

2) After you pit all of the cherries, I slightly mashed them a bit with the back of a large spoon to get some extra juice.
3) Pour the sugar, almond extract, pinch of salt, and tapioca over the cherries and gently toss together with a spoon. Let this mixture rest 10-15 minutes.
4) Pour the filling into the prepared piecrust. Sprinkle the surface with the cornstarch and sugar mixture. Sprinkle the cold butter over the top. Push the extended edges of the piecrust over the topping.

5) Arrange the cookie cutter pieces of dough over the top of the mixture and pie crust edges. I slightly overlapped the pieces going in circles from the middle to the outer edges. Sprinkle the top with the turbinado sugar.
6) Place the spring pan on top of a cookie sheet and place in the preheated 375-degree oven.

7) Bake the pie for approximately 40-45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. The filling will still appear runny when you first remove it from the oven. Let the pie cool at least 1 hour and the filling will set. Enjoy!

Pastry for a double-crust pie
(adapted from Gourmet magazine)

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached)
1 tablespoon of sugar
¾ tsp salt
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into a dice
4 tablespoons of frozen solid vegetable shortening (you can get non-hydrogenated at Whole Foods), cut into a dice
1/3 cup ice water (plus 1-4 extra tablespoons)

1) Dice the cold butter and frozen shortening. Place in the freezer.
2) Pour the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor with your regular blade and pulse until blended.
3) Spread the frozen butter and shortening over the flour mixture.
4) Get your ice water handy and pulse the flour and butter, alternately adding a bit of cold water. Continue pulsing and adding water until the dough forms a ball. Once the dough comes together—do not over process.

5) Dump the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap and pat out into a round disc—about 1 inch thick. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

6) Roll out the dough between 2 pieces of lightly floured parchment paper until about 3/16 of inch thick. Drape dough over the spring form pan and gently press into the pan. Cut away excess dough.
7) Roll the excess dough between the parchment papers. Use a cookie cutter to cut as many shapes out of this extra dough. I used a 2” round scalloped cookie cutter.

If you’re not into making your pie (and live in the San Francisco), you can order and purchase a fresh pie from the Pie Truck (thanks Sara). The pie truck is a one-man operation. The pie man, a former architect, bakes and delivers these delicious sweet and savory pies—even on Saturday. Click here for more information about the Pie Truck.

Have a great weekend...and hopefully some pie!

The Boys And Girls Cookbook

These are strange and crazy times—wars, economic collapses, and passing pop icons. One thing that remains constant, however, is the comfort of old-fashioned simple recipes and foods, like apple crisp, chocolate chip cookies, and mashed potatoes.

The Betty Crocker's Boys and Girls Cookbook was one of my first cookbooks as a child. Actually, I think it was a hand-me-down from my older sisters, who were 10 years older than me.

The cover of the book has a boy frosting a cake. Throughout the book there are illustrations of boys cooking by themselves and along side the girls.

This was interesting, especially for the era it was originally printed (the fifties), because it didn’t treat cooking as a female specific activity, like many children’s cookbooks of the time period.

I would spend hours examining the photos and drawings, and of course reading the recipes in this beginner’s cookbook.

I rediscovered my cookbook a few years back, while cleaning out my mother’s home. The pages are well worn and stained. I think I made almost every recipe in the book.

As a kid, I’d pester my mom, “Can I make this…?!” She’d always reply, “If you can read the recipe…then you can make it…”

I always wondered why my creations didn’t look as perfect as the photo. I didn’t know about stylists and art directors back then. My "Enchanted Castle Cake" didn't look nearly as dreamy, or neat, as the photo above.

"A picnic with a pal"...a plaid blanket, sandwiches, and "lumberjack cookies"—giant, the size of salad plates, gingebread cookies with pastel icing.

The book also had "menus" for special occasions like mother’s day, and father’s day. I’d plan my own menus too...

Starting with bunny salad…

...then Meatloaf ala mode.

And for desert—apple crisp...admittedly apple crisp conjures up cozy autumn evenings by the fire, but Mr. Peacock makes this old-fashioned comfort food with summer fruits—peaches, plums, and berries.

Here’s Betty Crocker's Boys and Girls Cookbook recipe for Apple Crisp, which I made countless times as a small child and adapted to a “Summer Crisp.” This recipe is so easy, and is a great starting point for whatever ingredients you have in your kitchen.

Apple Crisp (or Summer Crisp)
Makes 6 servings
Preheat oven 350 degrees

4 cups sliced pared apples (I used sliced peaches, plums, and nectarines with the skins on. You could also use berries, or any combination of summer fruits)
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar (I used a combination of white and brown sugar)
¾ cup flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1/3 cup soft butter.

1. Butter an 8 x 8 x 2” oven safe pan.
2. Evenly spread the fruits in the pan
3. Sprinkle with the water over the fruit (if you’re using juicy plums or peaches, use half the water)
4. Mix the sugar, cinnamon, salt and flour in a bowl. (Sometimes I substitute quick cooking rolled oats for the flour, or use a mixture of rolled oats and flour. You could also add nuts too).
5. Add the softened butter, and mix with a pastry blender until crumbly (or pulse in a food processor).
6. Evenly spread the crumb mixture over the fruit.
7. Bake uncovered for about 40 minutes.
8. It will be hot and bubbly, like lava, when you take it out of the oven. Let it cool for about an hour. It will thicken as it cools.
9. Serve with vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream.

This simple dessert isn’t fancy—but it sure seemed fancy when I was 7 years old. The bubbling fruit with the buttery crumbs is always a comforting treat—especially at crazy times in your life.

What was your favorite treat to make as a kid?

Indian Style Lemonade

Mr. Peacock is very fortunate to have a wonderful produce store, called Golden Produce, in my neighborhood. They always stock reasonably priced organic produce, and much of it is grown locally. Right now they have oodles of small, Meyer lemons.

Growing up in the Midwest, I never tasted a Meyer lemon until I lived in California. Meyer lemons are always described as a cross between a lemon and mandarin orange. I actually think they taste sweeter than a regular lemon, and a bit herbal.

The organic Meyer lemons at Golden Produce have very tender skins and sweet juice. I substitute Meyer lemons, whenever a recipe calls for lemons, and it always makes even the simplest recipe extraordinary!

Last weekend, we had another abnormal heat wave (it's becoming a regular thing) with the temperatures in the 90’s in San Francisco. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky either. Unfortunately when it’s that hot, our apartment gets just as hot inside. As the saying goes….when life gives you lemons—make lemonade. So to quench our thirst from the heat, I made a batch of lemonade, and not just any lemonade either, but Indian Style lemonade—Nimbu Ka Sharbat.

Mr. Peacock loves Indian food, both eating and cooking it. There’s so many variations of recipes for every dish, so it’s an endless journey learning how to cook Indian cuisine. I picked up a little book called, Indian in Minutes by Monisha Bharadwaj, that has simplified, but not Americanized, Indian recipes. I particularly like these recipes from the book: Squash with five spices, cauliflower korma, and the Indian lemonade. The lemonade is so simple, yet very flavorful and thirst quenching...and, I used my vintage milk glass citrus reamer to juice the citrus fruits.

Indian Style Lemonade
Makes 2 servings
This recipe is so simple, but the flavor is very sublime!

1/2 cup of lemon juice (I used a combination of Meyer lemons, limes, and oranges)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoons of salt (yes salt!)
1/2 teaspoon of finely ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups cold water

Combine all of the ingredients, making sure the sugar dissolves. Add the cold water. Serve in glasses, filled with ice. Enjoy!

Mr. Peacock wonders if Indian lemonade was the inspiration for Gatorade. I’ve never been a fan of Gatorade though—too sweet, too salty, and too artificially colored. Indian lemonade is much more about the flavors. The addition of salt and pepper may seem strange, however, they subtly accentuate the flavor of the citrus juice. If you’re fortunate to have access to Meyer lemons, use those, but regular lemons are also good. Treat yourself this weekend and make some homemade lemonade!

Orange Julius at the Mall

In 1966, a brand new mall opened less than a mile from my house. The mall was named, Villa Italia, and it heralded a new age of indoor retail for the fast growing suburb where my family resided—at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The developer of the mall, or “The Villa,“ as my family called it, used the Galleria in Milan for inspiration. I've been to the Galleria Vittorio in Milan, and believe me, Villa Italia was not anything like that shopping mall. The Villa had faux terrazzo and cobble stone floors, a variety of columns, lots of arches, and statues of Roman figures sprinkled throughout the development. For a kid, the grand scale of the mall combined with the old school Caesars Palace styling seemed very glamorous. When it was snowing in December, my mom would take me to visit Santa.

Above: A press photo from the opening day of Villa Italia, 1966. There's a Roman statue stuck on top of a Corinthian column in the background.

On hot summer days my mom would let me walk by myself to The Villa (aerial view at right), and it always seemed so far, because you had to walk up and down a large hill—but was actually just blocks from our house. Nowadays, I don’t think parents would let their kids at that age walk to a mall by themselves, but it seemed very safe at that time in the quiet suburbs of Colorado. I would frequently go by myself, but sometimes I would meet friends and hang out. I would spend hours at Bauble Mart (the bead shop), Land & Sea (seashells and rocks), and The Villa pet shop (looking at fish and parakeets). The day usually included a pit-stop at Taco House (I think it was $1.25 for three cheese enchiladas), and if I had any money leftover—a refreshing Orange Julius drink.

Above: A few vintage photos of Orange Julius shops—but not at Villa Italia.

The Orange Julius at The Villa was like a small snack bar you would find on a 1960’s Southern California beach, with large bins of fresh oranges. It didn’t seem like a huge corporate chain to me as a child. Our local newspaper, had a weekly insert for children called, The Mini-Page, which had news articles, games, puzzles and recipes. I was so excited when they ran a recipe for an “Orange Julius Frappe” that you could make in a blender with frozen orange juice. I still make it sometimes, when the weather is super hot and in the 90’s—like the past couple days.

I haven’t been to an Orange Julius since then, but I’m sure it wouldn’t taste the same as it did during my childhood. I think the original Orange Julius beverage had an egg or egg white in it to make it extra creamy and frothy. Here’s my simplified version of an Orange Julius drink.

Mr. Peacock’s Easy Orange Frappe
Makes 2 servings
This ridiculously easy recipe can be very satisfying when the temperature is hot.

1 1/2 cups of milk (I used low fat milk)
1/2 cup of cold water
¼ cup of frozen orange/pineapple juice concentrate—do not dilute
pinch of salt (important, it intensifies the flavor)
A few ice cubes
Optional: scoop of ice cream, a spoon of protein powder, a spoon of sugar—if you like it really sweet

Place all ingredients in the blender. Blend on the highest speed for about 3-5 minutes, until it is super frothy. Pour into glasses and serve immediately. Enjoy!

As a child and teenager, I had so much fun at The Villa. Many of my friends (and myself) worked at various shops at this “Roman” themed mall, at some point during our teenage years. Villa Italia mall thrived for over thirty years, but was demolished in 2002. A new faux urban village, with commercial and residential spaces, was built in its place—and used as a model for other faux urban villages in the USA. I wonder if teenagers hang out at this “urban village,” or stay home on their computers. Where did you hang out as a teenager?