Lavender Tea

    Well I had the pleasure of meeting La-Te-Dah of Gracious Hospitality. She was on a trip with her dear friend Bonnie and was coming through my neck of the woods. Now anyone who reads Gracious Hospitality know two of La-Te-Dah's passions are tea and lavender. Which happen to be two of mine, so I had to give her a lavender tea. It is so fun meeting a fellow blogger. But one always wonders, will they be like I think they are. Well La-Te-Dah was as sweet and generous and kind as I thought. We immediately hit it off and would have probably talked till late in the night, if we could have. She is one of those bubble people who immediately makes you feel accepted and comfortable. She has a large heart and smile to go with it. The girls and I had soo much fun getting to know her and Bonnie. They both homeschooled, so it was also so nice to meet fellow HSers. Thank you La-Te-Dah for taking time out of your very busy trip and come to my house for lavender tea.

    I served La-Te-Dah and Bonnie lavender/rosemary tea, biscuits with lavender honey, lavender chocolate mousse and espresso hazelnut cookies. I have been meaning to create a lavender chocolate mousse and was soo glad to have the tea as a perfect opportunity to try it.

    This is my same easy 60 second chocolate mousse, just tweaked, again. Essentially you are infusing the cream with lavender and then adding that to chocolate mousse. You could do this with other herbs and spices by the way. 

                                       

Lavender Chocolate Mousse

makes 5 small ramekins

 

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup bittersweet chopped chocolate or chips

1 egg

dash of salt

5 stalks of fresh or dried lavender or 1 TBL. lavender buds or cheaters method *

(make sure your lavender has not been sprayed with pesticides)

In a sauce pan add heavy cream and lavender, stalks and all in pan. Push lavender down in heavy cream. Bring cream to just boiling and pull off heat. Let sit an half an hour and strain out lavender.

In a blender add chocolate, egg, salt and sugar. Heat cream again in sauce pan again until just hot. Quickly pour cream over chocolate and blend for one full minutes on high. Remember to put cover on blender, so you do not get covered in hot cream. Pour mousse into small containers and fridge at least 3 hours. Best served if you pull out of fridge for a good 1/2 hour to let soften a bit and will help bring out the lavender flavor.

* Cheaters method: if you do not have dried or fresh lavender, lavender oil will work. You have to make sure you are using food grade lavender oil. You will only need 3-4 drops. That oil is potent. At lest add a drop or two, then taste. You can always add more but never take out.

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Comments

[Bonnie]

Just a note of thanks to Clarice for taking me in with our dear friend La-Tea-Dah for the lovely Lavender Tea. For all your fellow bloggers, they truly missed a wonderful experience of kindred friendship, gracious hospitality, and delectable dining. Tea with Clarice and her delightful daughters was warm and refreshing. I have to say that her Lavender Chocolate Mousse was the best I have ever eaten. The rich brown “melt in your mouth” dessert was a rare treat. Her Lavender tea poured from a delightfully rare pot served with her excellent biscuits, lavender jam and honey on a table of enchanting appeal was as if we had stepped back a century or two and were taking tea with royalty. Thanks again and looking forward to trying out your recipe of Lavender Chocolate Mousse.

[farmlife4014]

That turqouis cup is absolutely stunning! Wish I had a whole set just like it.
Glad your tea turned out so happily.
God bless.
Terri

[tongue in cheek]

What a sweet place to take tea!

[Debbie]

What a beautiful table and scrumptious menu!! I really do want to try your mousse recipe, Clarice, and am going to print it out now.
Love the new fall look at Storybook Woods!

Debbie

[Jody]

What a beautiful tea table Clarice. I wish I could sit down there and enjoy it with you.

Jody

[Mrs.Staggs]

Clarice, your tea table looks beautiful! I love the way you've mixed up all the different bits of china. So pretty.
Your visit with your blog friend sounds like a truly lovely way to spend a day.
Take care.

[June]

How very lovely and so carefully prepared--I would love to be an attendee at your tea party. Anything to do with lavender is like honey to a bee for me. Thank you for sharing your ideas and your recipes.

[Isabella in the 21st Century]

A nice Autumn look for the blog too!

[Isabella in the 21st Century]

Oh how gorgeous! What a lovely idea to these it around lavender...such a wonderful herb. I imagine your guests loved it!

[LaTeaDah]

I love the new autumn 'look'! So cool to decorate a blog.

:) LaTeaDah

[LaTeaDah]

Clarice, it is so much fun to read about OUR tea on your blog! Such wonderful, warm memories. The food was fantastic! I'm still raving over the rich and creamy lavender chocolate mousse! You are such a gracious hostess, making your guests feel welcomed and right at home. My visit to the home of Storybook Woods will always be a highlight in my 'memory bank'. Thank you SO MUCH for a delightful time! It was pure delight meeting you and your darling daughters (and your dear husband as well). I hope we can do it again some day!

LaTeaDah

[donetta]

What a lovely table you set. Such gracious hospitality. I am so happy to hear that all of you had opportunity to share life in a few steps on a shared path.

[Meg]

What a lovely table setting. Love the vintage hankies. I didn't know one could do so much with lavender! Even cook?

[Rosemary]

What a fun thing to have happen.
How nice to meet a blogging friend.
What a lovely tea that you made for them.
Thanks for the recipe.
Rosemary

[Kelli]

How wonderful to meet a La-T-Dah and her friend, Clarice! I love how you had a lavender tea for them. The menu sounds delicious and your table is decorated beautifully!!

Hugs,
Kelli