Food Gifts

Amongst other things, my recent appendix debacle was a not-so-subtle reminder that I have great, great friends :) I think I only told a few people what was happening (of all the weeks, it would happen when I was supposed to bake the cake for a going away party and spend a pleasant weekend in Wootton Bassett learning how to paddle board! So plans obviously had to be cancelled), but I had get well texts, phone calls and visits the whole time I was in the hospital. It helped so much to stave off the anxiety I was pretending not to feel about everything, as well the inevitable boredom and loneliness that comes with spending a few nights in hospital. The friend network is a great and underrated thing...

Since getting out of the hospital I've had a bit of spare time on my hands, and, as usual, my mind has turned to food. Specifically, what food I could make to say thank you to a couple of friends who I don't think I could have managed without during this whole thing. I'd originally decided on a battenberg - I have a great battenberg recipe, it travels well, and it's pretty enough to be a nice gift - and then today I came back from buying the ground almonds and eggs for the marzipan only to discover that, for the first time in my life, I have run out of icing sugar.

So no battenberg.

Then I stumbled across this while looking for alternate food gifts: lavender sugar! As a lover of all things lavender, I bookmarked this immediately. And then, following a thought process I myself still do not understand, I was making shortbread and sprinkling it with the lavender sugar as it came out of the oven.

Shortbread is incredibly easy to make, and homemade shortbread is so much nicer than store bought. The lavender sugar is surprisingly nice on it - not at all overwhelming, but giving it just that slight bit extra that makes shortbread so dangerous :)


So - no healthy food post, but maybe give this a try next time you're looking for a food gift.

Lavender Sugar
2 tsp dried lavender flowers*
200 g caster sugar

Mix the lavender flowers and sugar in a jar and shake well. The sugar will keep nicely for about 2 months, so unless you know you're going to use lots of it, I'd stick to small quantities.

* Dried lavender can, perhaps unsurprisingly, be bought quite cheaply from amazon, in case you're having a hard time finding it!

Shortbread
260 g plain flour
100 g caster sugar
40 g corn flour
pinch of sea salt
200 g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

Lavender (or plain, of course!) sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F and line a 9 or 10" springform pan with parchment paper.

Mix flour, sugar, corn flour and sea salt together in a bowl. Stir well, making sure to break up any lumps.

Add the butter to the bowl and use your fingers to the rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Tip the mix into the prepared pan and use a spoon to press into an even layer. Prick the dough all over with a fork and score lightly into 8 - 12 pieces.

Bake for 25 minutes, until lightly browned and firm to the touch.

As soon as the shortbread comes out of the oven, sprinkle liberally with the lavender sugar and cut along the scored lines into pieces. Leave in the tin to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.