Kathy Brown came to visit last week to plan our Alice in Wonderland Afternoon Tea (we have sold 46 tickets already which means lots of baking!!!!) and given our shared passion for cooking with flowers, I tried some new floral recipes on her! Lavender lemonade and lavender and lemon curd cookies. Both were yummy and got a seal of approval.

Lavender Lemonade
1 - 2 tsp culinary lavender (pesticide free)
6 lemons
3 heaped tbsp caster sugar

Peel thick strips of zest from three of the lemons, ensuring that there is no white pith as this will make the lemonade bitter. Place in a heatproof jug with the juice from all of the lemons, the caster sugar and lavender. Pour over 500ml boiling water, stir and leave to cool. Taste for sweetness and add a little more sugar if needed. When cooled, top up with ice and cold water (or sparkling or soda water if you prefer) to serve. The lavender gives the lemonade a really delicate floral flavour and is a pretty pale pink colour - perfect for a summers day (although where summer has gone this week, I have no idea!)