Annie Greer Baggett’s number-one goal when she opened Sunshine Lavender Farm at her home in Hurdle Mills 14 years ago? To get people to eat lavender. You can buy culinary lavender and herbs de Provence through her website. Chef Ashley Christensen gave her some great advice years ago that Annie has repeated constantly over the years: “If a recipe calls for rosemary, you can use lavender instead. It works every time.”
Here are some of Annie’s favorite ways to incorporate lavender into her diet:
- Roll a log of local goat cheese in culinary lavender, and then serve with crackers.
- Swirl a fresh lavender stem in a glass of wine or Champagne.
- Lavender and chocolate go very well together. Consider that when you’re making ice cream or brownies.
- Lavender and citrus make for a great combination. Annie loves lavender in her mom’s orange pound cake and in lemonade.
- Incorporate lavender into honey (Annie’s husband, Dale, is a beekeeper), and then put the honey into your tea or on a biscuit.
- Don’t forget about savory dishes, especially salad dressing and grilled items!
