Honey Lavender Ice cream

Lavender is the new smell and flavor doing the rounds chez Zachs. i am hooked and am hoarding it for tough times. and good times. and fun times. It's amazing what a sniff of these babies can do to you, it's pretty amazing. When we were traveling in Turkey, this was one of the exotic things that caught my eye and i had to have a bunch.  The smell and flavor are heady, flavorful and in-your-face refreshing. It's very precious and am guarding it with a lot of love (and armed ferociousness). So stay tuned for more recipes involving this brilliant flower.

 

The honey lavender ice cream is one of the first things that came to my mind. David Lebovitz has a recipe in his 'The Perfect Scoop', and keeping that as inspiration, i went ahead and scaled down the number of eggs and also referred to Kitchen Fervor, her recipe is brilliant. Honey gives the ice cream gorgeous flavor and texture, plus honey and lavender are a combination made in heaven. The outcome was this brilliant, creamy and luscious ice cream that i'm licking and finishing off as i write this.

P.S: Resist the urge to add heaps of lavender and stick to the recipe. The flavor will kick in, trust me.

1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons dried lavender
2 egg yolks
1 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh cream

Bring the milk, cream, honey and lavender to a gentle boil. Once it starts boiling, take it off the flame and let the lavender steep for at least half an hour or an hour if you have that kind of time.
Strain the mixture and return it back to the flame - turn the flame on simmer.
In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and add half a cup of the milk mixture to the yolks. Keep whisking, and add it back to the saucepan on the flame and continue to stir. Continue to cook till the custard thickens and coats the back of your spoon (approximately ten minutes). Strain to remove lumps if any and set aside to cool.
Pour into a flat bottomed tray or air tight container, cover it with a cling wrap and freeze.
Have fun with the newest cool thing! :)

Honey Glazed Pork Ribs

"Little pig, little pig, let me come in!"
"Not by the hair on my chinny-chin chin"
"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and blow your house in"
This is one of my all time favourites, and i continue to believe in my mantra of "simplicity".
Ingredients:
Pork Ribs - 15 nos
Oregano - 2 tsp
Honey - 4 tsp
Black pepper - 2 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
Orange Juice - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

Marination:
Mix the above mentioned ingredients with the ribs and leave them over night (or at least 8 hrs) to marinate.

Process:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree.
Place the ribs on the tray and cook for 30 mins. Make sure you turn the ribs at least twice.
The pork fat will begin to melt and cook the meat to perfection. Each time you turn the ribs, make sure you glaze with honey and a pinch of pepper.

This is one lip smacking dish that you would love to get your hands dirty with. This is served best with some mashed potatoes and a glass of wine.