A Season for Lavender

A Season for Lavender

A few months ago, after reading a small article in this newspaper (*) about a lavender farm in Laupahoehoe I called the owners and expressed an interest in visiting and 'talking story' about cooking with lavender.

The Waipunalei Lavender & Coffee Farm on Stevens Road is the joint project of husband and wife team Dwight and Pua Tokumoto. At the time of my call, the Tokumotos were busy trying to finish building their home on the farm and we decided to delay our meeting for several months, until things settled a little bit.

My visit to the farm was well worth the wait.  It took place on a recent beautiful day, the kind that still makes me pinch myself when I realize I live in this wonderful paradise.

The first thing you notice when driving up is the openness of the house and the wide slate-paved lanai, all reminiscent of a Spanish hacienda. With a spectacular view of the ocean down below and the surrounding fields, the lanai was also the setting for the wonderful lunch prepared by my gracious hostess, Pua Tokumoto.

Meeting Pua was a very pleasant surprise. She is a friendly and very outgoing dynamo of a woman. Born in New York of Puerto Rican descent, she speaks French and Portuguese besides Spanish and English and in no time at all we were speaking Spanglish!

Pua's career has been quite as interesting as she is. She fell in love with hula and danced with halau when still a teen in New York. She moved to the islands 30 years ago, sight unseen and continued dancing, both Hawaiian and Tahitian hula, while studying to become a lawyer. She later decided that she did not really want to become a lawyer, but acquired several degrees in the meantime.

After their marriage, Dwight and Pua moved to the mainland for several years and settled in the San Jose area of California, where Dwight taught and Pua was a school principal for many years.

Dwight just retired from many years of teaching Special Ed, both in the mainland and most recently at Hilo's Union School. Dwight is now a full time farmer and part time musician who plays with Darlene Ahuna.

The Tokumotos were the founders of the very successful Tahiti Fête in San Jose 15 years ago and most recently in Hilo. The next Tahiti Fête in Hilo is scheduled for October 2005.

The recipes that follow are from the menu prepared by Pua and served for lunch during my very enjoyable visit. Mahalo for being such wonderful hosts, Pua and Dwight…I enjoyed the tour, the lunch and the sparkling conversation!

Pua tells us that the best lavender for cooking is Provence (Lavandula intermedia) or English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia officinalis) since the taste is milder and has a lower camphor
scent. The remarks in quotations are Pua's.

Lavender Salad Dressing Vinaigrette
"This creamy organic lavender dressing is fabulous on fresh salad greens. Make in small batches to insure freshness. Substitutions are noted". Mix all ingredients and shake well before using.

1/3 cup olive oil or canola oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice or lime juice
1/3 cup of vinegar or wine rice
3/4 cup of sour cream
1/3 cup of honey
1-1/2 teaspoon dried cooking lavender buds
1 teaspoon finely ground "Herbes de Provence"
Garlic to taste
Optional: Tamari

Grilled Lavender Avocados
"A whole new way of enjoying avocados! Serve with Lavender Margaritas and use a spoon to scoop out the warm velvety flesh. I also grilled the avocados on my stovetop". Yields 6 servings.

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature (not margarine)
1 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoons Tequila
1/4 teaspoon dried finely grounded cooking lavender buds
1/2 teaspoons Hawaiian salt or sea salt
3 ripe but firm avocados

Beat butter well until smooth then add the lime and lemon juice, tequila, salt and lavender until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use. Cut the avocados in half leaving the skin on but
removing the pits. Trim the ends and grill face down for 4 minutes or until the grill marks appear on the fleshy part of the avocado. Turn over each avocado and scoop about 1 tablespoon of the butter mixture into the hollow middle and continue grilling for about 10 minutes or less, until butter melts and the avocado is soft. Scoop butter mixture around the exposed areas of the avocados.

Lavender Iced Tea Sangria
"Serve icy cold at afternoon parties and during cocktail hour. Lavender teabags may be ordered at fine tea and coffeehouses or at Murhie's". Source http://www.munchies.com Yields 4 servings.

4 cups water
4 large strawberries, hulled & cut in half
4 lavender black tea bags
1 peach or apple, peeled, pitted and chopped
4-5 Tablespoons sugar or to taste
1 orange, peeled and chopped into 3/4 pieces
1 cup dry red wine

Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep for 3 minutes, then remove tea bags. Pour tea into a pitcher and add sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Cool, cover and refrigerate.

In a bowl, mix the peach or apple, strawberries, and orange. Divide among four 16-ounce glasses and add ice. Add the wine to the pitcher and pour into the glasses.

Fresh Lavender Lemonade
"A wonderful and refreshing drink! Mahalo to my Laupahoehoe neighbor, Anna Wilbur who gave me a dozen huge Hawaiian lemons from her orchard."

1/2 cup lavender infusion (see below)
1 cup water
12 large lemons (or 16 medium ones) to yield 3 cups lemon juice
1-1/2 cups sugar
5 cups cold water
Optional: a few drops of red grenadine

To make lavender infusion, add 1 tablespoon of dried lavender to 1/2 cup of boiling water, steep for 20 minutes. Strain and set aside.

Bring one cup of water and sugar together, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Allow syrup to cool.

Microwave 5-6 lemons at a time for about 1-1/2 minutes, until just warm to the touch. You can also set your lemons out in the sun until they soften and warm. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a pitcher. Remove the seeds but leave in most of the pulp. Repeat with the remaining lemons. Allow juice to cool, stir in syrup, lavender infusion and rest of water. Add a few drop of grenadine for a pale pink color. Serve over ice. Makes about 2 quarts.

Herbes de Provence Lavender Salmon Filets
"I like to use Dean & DeLuca "Herbes de Provence" for this recipe. This marinade can also be used as a salad dressing by substituting 1/2 cup of lemon juice for orange juice and increasing the olive oil to 1/2 cup."  Yields 6 servings.

1-1/4 cups orange juice
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried lavender
2 Tablespoons "Herbes de Provence" or 1/2 teaspoon each crushed
savory, rosemary, thyme, basil
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Optional: 1/2-teaspoon fennel seeds, 1/2 teaspoon tarragon
Hawaiian salt and ground pepper to taste
1 Tablespoons capers
6 salmon filets about 1/2-inch thick

Preheat oven to 400oF.

Combine and blend ingredients. Refrigerate for at least two hours. Pour over salmon filets and let soak for at least one hour, sprinkle capers over the salmon before cooking. Bake in oven for approximately 11 minutes or until center is done. Do not overcook.

Lavender Almond Cranberry Coconut Coffee Cake
"A taste of the islands meets a taste of lavender. I like to serve this cake with my homemade Lavender Guava syrup".  Yields 10 –12 servings.

1 cup milk
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon orange liqueur
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 cups of chopped almonds or macadamia nuts
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
1 Tablespoon dried cooking lavender
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 Tablespoons grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 350oF. Grease and flour a 9" cake pan. Place milk in small saucepan, warm briefly, add lemon juice and set aside until milk looks curdled.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Finely grind the lavender buds and add to mixture.

Place butter in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in brown sugar. Add egg, continue beating, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl for 5 minutes or until fluffy.
Beginning with dry ingredients, alternately beat in the flour and milk, add liqueur, cranberries and 1/2 cup of the almonds. Pour into the prepared cake pan.

In a cup, mix the cream and egg yolk; pour over the batter. In a small bowl, mix the coconut, granulated sugar, orange zest, and the remaining chopped almonds. Sprinkle over the batter. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until center springs back when touched lightly. Let cool for 30 minutes before cutting.

(c) Sonia Martinez

(*) Originally published on November 30, 2004, under my weekly column "Come Join the Feast" in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald of Hilo, HI