So you might remember that roughly three months ago there was this competition involving some very tasty Punt Road Cider? Well, the good news is: we didn’t drink the cider! (Seriously big effort, people!)
The bad news? I’ve been totally preoccupied with selling my house, and have been hoarding the stuff at my office, staving off my co-workers from drinking it! So our poor entrants have been left in the lurch as to who will be getting their tasty smackers around the good golden liquid.
Yeah, sorry about that! :S
Anyway, poor excuses aside, it is with much pleasure that I can finally announce the winner of our first ever i8b competition, and the lucky punter who will be walking away with a mixed case of Punt Road’s Pear Cider and Apple Cider!
And the winner is… Karis of Kenmore!
Karis commented on Sarah’s post about the veggie patch, and we were impressed not only by the enthusiasm of the comment, but by the extra info Karis packed into the comment too! Karis is indeed one mad keen herb lover:
“When I started my garden, I was going out everyday to check it. Then my babies started shooting through! I felt like I had pets or children or both! … Apparently borage is really nice in salads if you can suck it up and eat the prickly bits according to my (and apparently Jamie Oliver’s) herb guru Jekka… She has a brilliant recipe for lavender cookies – yes, lavender! Sounds odd I know, but they are amazingly good. I’ve cooked them a few times and tried making different desserts with them. But lavender is my obsession when it comes to herbs…”
You can read Karis’ full comment here. Thanks so much to all who entered, we were so pleased with all of you who got involved, and there were some really entertaining comments – and some downright hilarious ones too (Indy, we’re looking at you!).
A MASSIVE thanks to the team at Punt Road Wines in Victoria. Make sure you give their ciders a go (and their wines, for that matter) — they really are fantastic!
We’ve gotten a lot of great feedback throughout the comp, and we will run future comps over a shorter time period so that we don’t leave you guys hanging so long! And uhhh yeah– we’ll be more prudent with announcing the winners too! 
Thanks again guys, and as always, we welcome any feedback!
In cider love,
Julia & the girls at i8b!
Woot! That’s me! Thank you very much! I really do love cider
I made white chocolate and lavender mud cake and some white chocolate and lavender ice cream…both are delish! Next on the menu is blood orange, rosemary and chocolate ice cream!
Hi Karis,
No worries – we’re very both you and the Cider (it will have a good home by the sounds!). We have sent you an email to organise the pickup of the cider.
In the meantime, if you would like to share one of your lavender recipes with us, I would be much enthused! I have a healthy lavender crop in my new garden, and that mud cake sounds sensational. Perhaps we can do a trade?!!
Cheers,
Julia.
Sorry – very *glad for* both you and the Cider!
Hi Karis!
so glad you won the comp – we were all so impressed by your enthusiasm! A lavendar recipe trade would be awesome – i have HEAPS of lavender flowers on my lavender bush too – they are so pretty i haven’t wanted to cut them, but if i have a good purpose for them i will!
We made some lavender sugar a while ago and were planning to make a pavlova with it. Need to get my bum into gear!
Thanks again and enjoy that cider!
x
Sarah
Been living in the UK for about six months ago. I have tried with the utmost success to fit into most facets of life here. I have developed a taste for pheasant, black pudding and warm ale. Unfortunately cider eludes me, By God I’ve tried every variation including an organic first mash press that I came very close to enjoying, but I just can’t seem to really embrace it.
Love to share my recipes
For lavender cookies, the original recipe comes from Jekka McVicar’s book: Jekka’s Complete Herb Book:
100 gms butter
50 gms caster sugar
175 gms self-raising flour
2 tabs fresh chopped lavender leaves
1 tsp lavender flowers
Cream together the butter and sugar, add the flour and lavender leaves and knead until it forms a dough. Roll it out, sprinkle the flowers over the dough and press in with the rolling pin. Cut into any shape you like.
- I like to add in a teaspoon of vanilla extract (the good stuff, it’s thick and very vanilla-ry).
- Also, the dough is very dry and crumbley, so I tend to add a little water, usually by wetting my hands and kneading the dough until I get the consistency I want.
- You’ll find lavender is really quite peppery, so if you like really sweet cookies they will need some sweetening up, which I’ve tried in the following ways:
Dipping half of the cooking in melted white chocolate then leaving to harden on baking paper…whatever you do, don’t just leave it on a plate to harden!
Making some light purple royal icing and letting it try to form a sweet shiny top (much like Arnotts Tick Tocks – http://bp3.blogger.com/_sES4Oc8T5oM/RprInfx-ynI/AAAAAAAAAKg/gcbYQey-7xQ/s320/tictoc.bmp)
Instead of sprinkling the flowers on the dough. I’ve been patient and candied them, then sprinkled them on the the chocolate dipped side of the cookie.
Or, the really simple sprinkling of either plain or vanillan sugar over the uncooked cookies and then baking them.
Luckily the basic cookie mixture is very simple, so you can add anything you want, like rosemary or lemon balm.
Hope that’s useful!
Karis
OMG – Julia, Catherine – I think we need to invite Karis onto the i8b team!
Only kidding!….. or am i?
Thanks Karis! Great recipe – I’m going to try them this weekend!
Thank you for sharing this with us! x
s