That is my lavender plant…in a lavender pot. I’m growing it from seed!
I posted on Twitter over the weekend that I was making lavender-infused simple syrup and ooh la laa, you’d think I’d just casually dropped that I was making Spanishe Windtorte! You guys, there’s a reason it’s called “simple syrup,” and that’s because it’s SO GODDAMN EASY TO MAKE. Adding the lavender makes it slightly more complicated, yes, but you can do it! If I can do it, YOU CAN DO IT. Here’s how I made it. Hold on to your butts, because it’s SO EASY, you’re gonna lose your SHIT.
Ingredients You Will Need:
2 cups water (liquid measure)
2 cups sugar (dry measure)
3 Tablespoons edible lavender
Equipment You Will Need:
a pot that can hold 4 cups of liquid
a mesh strainer (to remove the lavender flowers when finished)
a container to hold your finished product (I’ve repurposed this empty bottle!)
Now here’s where you have to pay super-best-friends close attention: BUY EDIBLE LAVENDER. It must be culinary or food-grade stuff. Don’t just be putting any old lavender into your food, kiddos! I don’t want to get blamed for anyone getting sick like “mew mew mew Meghan told me to put lavender into simple syrup like this” and here’s where I must be absolutely clear: in fact, I’ll put it in bold. ONLY EAT THE EDIBLE LAVENDER. You can buy it off the Internet! Or in a health foods store! I got mine in Palm Springs at a cafe that had a grocery store attached and served the most delicious rice paper wrap burritos…I digress. My culinary lavender looks like this, for reference:
Okay, now let’s get cracking.
Put that trusty pot on the stove and pour your water in it. Stir in your sugar. Measure out your lavender and put it in. Now, bring things to a boil and stir it until the sugar is all melted into the water.
Turn off the heat and let the whole thing cool down. Now, grab your mesh strainer to get the lavender out of your mixture. Hot tip! I put my basket over the same measuring cup I used to measure out the water (yay Pyrex, you saw it in the picture!) and poured it into there, and from there into the bottle.
See? SIMPLE. SIM-PUL. Couldn’t be simpler. Now, if you can’t find lavender, you can skip it and just make plain simple syrup, it’s still life-changing and delicious. But the lavender tastes SO GOOD in coffee and cocktails, like — oh here, bonus recipe! —HIPSTER VODKA LAVENDER LEMONADE!
For HIPSTER VODKA LAVENDER LEMONADE, You Will Need:
a Mason jar (duh)
2 oz of vodka
One half lemon, squeezed
Lavender Simple Syrup, to taste
water or, even better, plain seltzer (SodaStream for life!)
Measure out 2 oz of vodka on the side of the Mason jar! So simple! lol word of the day much? Squeeze half of the lemon in, and then add 2 ‘dashes’ of simple syrup (or more, if you like it sweet!). Fill the rest of the way up with cold water or seltzer and ENJOY this springy, herbal delight!
In conclusion, am I a genius? Nah. Maybe? Yes! But you don’t have to be as genius as me to make something as simple as lavender simple syrup. You’re welcome. Enjoy responsibly.
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