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Roasted Peaches And Lavender Ice Cream With Lemon Salt Shortbread Cookies

Roasted Peach Lavender Ice Cream


The first days of the Summer here in the South always bring back memories of my youth spent in Provence and Les Grandes Vacances (Summer vacations) spent in the Alps. The scent of lavender, rosemary, thyme. Juicy cut cantaloupe and proscuito salad. Fresh sardines and trouts over a makeshift barbecue pit dug in the earth. Scrumptious fingerling potatoes cooked in the ashes afterwards. That smoky taste was unbelievable.

White Peaches


Summers then and Summer now, wherever I find myself, are synonymous with the same scents and flavors. Lots and lots of peaches, cherries, apricots, plums, ice creams, sorbets, fresh and juicy pies. Days were filled with bike rides, hikes, swimming in the river, building tree house and fortresses. No toys necessary. Just friends.

Roasted Peach Lavender Ice Cream & Lemon Salt Shortbread Cookies


The anticipation of going back to the same summer vacation spot and see who was coming that year again. Even today, I have my brother to tell me who is still stopping by. Yes, thirty something years after their first falls and sometimes first kisses, now that children have become parents of their own, they find themselves continuing the traditions. It’s good. It’s actually awesome.

Roasted White Peaches With Lavender


The beauty of being in the present is that I can look up from my work table, cut open a peach and be transported right where I need to be. The look, feel and smell are all I need to create the photo story that calms or inspires me. I am easy. If anything, this past year has taught me to be in the moment. To let it unravel what I need to see.

I did not want to let the season pass by without making some time for peaches and ice cream. And why not combining both if I could…

Roasted Peach Lavender Ice Cream & Lemon Salt Shortbread Cookies


Stone fruits always make me reach for a complimentary fragrance. Lavender, rosemary, thyme, cumin. Grilled peaches and a few cumin seeds are just incredible together. It changes with my mood but as a Provencal, I think my instinct is to reach for the jar of lavender buds. It almost makes me hear the cicadas in the background. Almost… That and a glass of rose and well, I am just about set!

Roasted Peach & Lavender Ice Cream


This ice cream is really the best of all worlds right now. Juicy peaches, lavender, plenty of creamy goodness. I served it with easy lemon zested shortbread cookies topped with a little sprinkle of lemon salt I brought back from Portland last year. The contrast was perfect. A nice balance of flavors, sweet, salty and creamy.

Roasted Peach Lavender Ice Cream & Lemon Salt Shortbread Cookies



Roasted Peach and Lavender Ice Cream With Lemon Salt Shortbread Cookies:

I went for white peaches for no other reason that they were the most ripe ones at the market one morning and I did not want to wait any longer to make ice cream. Use any stone fruit you like best. Do not worry if you can remove the pits before you put them in the oven, both skins and pits will yield under your fingers once the fruits are roasted. Cook, peel, mash and throw in with the ice cream base which is nothing more complicated than milk and cream and a little sugar or honey.
Best is to prepare the fruit and ice cream base the day before you plan on churning it.

Ingredients:
For the ice cream:

6 peaches
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon dried edible lavender buds
1 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup whole coconut milk
1/3 cup honey

For the shortbread cookies (makes about twenty 2-inch round cookies)
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
2 egg yolks
1 cup millet flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup milk (optional)
Lemon salt (optional)(or make your own by added lemon zest to coarse sea salt)

Instructions:
Prepare the ice cream:

Preheat the oven to 400F.
Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits.
Place in large roasting pan, cut side up. Drizzle with the honey and lavender. Roast until golden brown and soft, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely and peel the skins off the peaches (you can roast them the day before if you want). Reserve.
In a large saucepan set over medium heat, cook together the cream, milk coconut milk and honey until they barely come to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Refrigerate until cold.
When both fruit and ice cream based are chilled sufficiently, mash the peaches with a potato masher or a fork (no need to puree fine), add them to the base and process the ice cream according to your ice cream maker manufacturer’s instruction.
Freeze until set.

Prepare the cookies:
In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter, sugar and egg yolks together on medium speed until creamy looking. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds with the back of a knife and add to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix for 10 seconds. Add the millet and sweet rice flour with the mixer still on low speed. If the mixture feels too crumbly add a little bit of milk to obtain a smooth but not too wet dough. Start with one tablespoon at a time.
Gather the dough into a bowl and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
When ready to bake, turn the oven to 350F and position a rack in the middle.
Roll the dough in between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll to about 1/4 to 1/8-inch thick. Cut cookies out in the dough and place them on a parchment lined baing sheet. Sprinkle with lemon salt.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden.
Serve with the ice cream.

Berries Sorbet & Lavender Shortbread Cookies Sorbet Sandwiches

Triple Berry Sorbet


Since Winter never really got here, we are and have been in Spring like mode for quite a few weeks over here. Local seasonal produce has been changing rapidly. Peas are sprouting, winter squash are disappearing. Asparagus are in, wild blackberries and raspberries are popping out in by the marsh behind our house. Strawberries are just a couple of weeks away.

Berry Heaven


Along with the produce, my whole being makes a little switch. In that time in between mosquitoes and scalding heat, I wake up and immediately open up the windows, I go to bed without pulling the mosquito screens. I continuously check for the progress of the seedlings I planted. Impatiently.

Berry Sorbet and Lavender Shortbread Sandwiches


You can feel a natural tingling in the air, to everything and everyone at Spring is approaching. It always gives me inspiration and energy. At home, it means a thorough clean out of the studio and re-organizing equipment and files. Recycling, giving, de-cluttering. Making a space that allows my thoughts to grow even wilder.

Lavender


In the kitchen, recipes change less than the ingredients they use but soups tend to get lighter and colder, salads take on many more fresh herbs and sprouts. Cakes, cupcakes and such make ways for lots more custards, creams and sorbets. A lot more berries are popping in desserts and sometimes in salads lately.

Hautes Alpes


This time of year always make me long for home. The valleys and mountains of Provence and the Hautes Alpes where I grew up. Lavender, thistle, thyme, rosemary. Picking blackberries and raspberries on the side of the roads with my parents. Making lots and lots of blackberry tarts for my dad. Watching my mom stir a long wooden spoon in a heavy copper jam pot. Watching her pull out her sorbetiere to churn homemade treats.

Berry Sorbet and Lavender Shortbread Sandwiches


I picked enough blackberries the other day to have enough for a cobbler or a tart but I was really craving sorbet instead. With raspberries and blueberries left over from a shoot the other day, I had plenty to make that sorbet I so desired. I made two small batches, one I left with nice bits of fruits in it and one I pureed smooth to sandwich with lavender shortbread cookies.

Hautes Alpes


Lavender, berries, cookies, sorbet. A fabulous trip down memory lane. And lots of nice treats to share with our neighbors.

Before I leave you, I wanted to share with you two little big things that I had the privilege to do this past month. One was to have some of my photographs used as a backdrop during a Donna Karan’s event for her non profit foundation, Urban Zen. I was in good company with fellow photographers Matt Armendariz and Lindsay Morris. You can see pictures of the event by clicking here and a recap of the foundation’s event here.

I am also extremely honored to have been asked by Heirloom Book Bo. to have my photography on exhibit for the next couple of months. The opening reception took place recently and it was an awesome thing to share with friends. You can find pictures and more info about the exhibit here and here. None of this, work and accolades, would be possible without your constant support and appreciation. Thank you!

Triple Berry Sorbet



Berries Sorbet and Lavender Cookies:

Makes 4 cups (sorbet) and about 1 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups water
zest and juice of one lemon

Directions:
In a medium saucepan set over medium high heat, place the berries and the rest of the ingredients and bring to a quick boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Puree until smooth in a blender or food processor and then strain through a fine mesh chinois (strainer). Process in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
You can also let the mixture cool completely and churn without pureeing it smooth. It will give you a chunkier sorbet.

Lavender Shortbread Cookies:

Makes 12 cookies for sandwiches

1& 3/4 cups all-purpose flour or Jeanne’s Gluten Free All Purpose Mix
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons fresh edible lavender
3 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Position a rack in the middle.
In a bowl stir together flour, sugar, and cornmeal. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in lavender. Add milk. Stir with fork to combine and form into ball. Knead until smooth and divide in half.
On lightly floured surface, roll half the dough at a time to 1/4-inch thickness. Using 2-inch square cookie cutter, cut out dough.
Place cutouts 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack. Cool.
To store: Place in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature up to 3 days. Or freeze unfilled cookies up to 3 months.

To make sorbet sandwiches:
Spread about 2 cups of the sorbet in a 8×8 square pan and freeze until firm. With the same cookie cutter used for the lavender shortbread, cut out square of sorbet. Sandwich between two lavender cookies and freeze again until firm.