Perfect Timing: The Good Fairy Reappears!

Dave and I were talking about making a batch of our raspberry-lavender infused vodka when the doorbell rang and the dogs exploded into a snarling, snapping rage as they scrambled to be the first to disembowel whomever was at the front door. It turned into docile whimpering as soon as they realized that the good fairy had returned, this time with an armload of fabulously scented wands of fresh lavender from her garden. (Corgis know who butters their biscuits or, perhaps, gives them chicken strips) So with a minimum of effort we were within a week of serving some of Dave's famous raspberry-lavender lemon drops. How lucky are we?

Raspberry-Lavender Lemon Drops

For the infused vodka:
2 pints raspberries
1-2 Tbsp. dried lavender flowers
1 bottle vodka (we prefer Monopolowa)

For the cocktail:
2 lemons, juiced
2 1/2 oz. infused vodka (2 scant jiggers)*
1 1/4 oz. simple syrup (1 scant jigger)
3/4 oz. triple sec (1/2 scant jigger)

To make the infused vodka, mash raspberries in large non-reactive bowl. Mix in lavender flowers and vodka. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least one week. Strain through fine mesh sieve or, to remove all residual pulp, strain through coffee filter. Store in refrigerator.

For the cocktail, fill cocktail shaker 2/3 full of ice and add all ingredients. Shake 15-20 seconds. Pour into sugar-rimmed martini glasses and serve.

* For regular lemon drops, use straight vodka.

Makes 2 cocktails.

I Love Lavender

Lavender is one of my absolute favorite things, whether in bath products or mixed with vodka, raspberry and lemon in a martini glass. And because it thrives here in our temperate Oregon climate and does so with almost no work (or water), it's easy to grow right in our own back yards.

This Saturday, July 5, you can visit Debbie Gorham and Bob Applegate's Willakenzie Lavender Farm in Yamhill and have a tall glass of lavender lemonade while you stroll the grounds or pick fresh lavender to take home. Plus there's a friendly herd of alpacas that'll charm your kids while you shop at the farm's store for lavender products or hand-woven shawls, socks and rugs made from wool donated by those very same alpacas.

They'll also be open the next weekend for the Oregon Lavender Festival, where you can tour more than 20 lavender locations and go to an artisan fair held in Yamhill. It's all lavender, all the time, and looks like a great event.

Details: Willakenzie Lavender Farm, Sat., July 5, 10 am-5 pm; free; 19700 NW Adcock Rd., Yamhill; phone 503-662-4297. Oregon Lavender Festival, Sat.-Sun., July 12-13, 10 am-5 pm; free; start at Beulah Park in Yamhill; phone 571-533-7753.

Berry Delicious

When berry season comes around, I'm one of those people you see at the farmers' market hauling flats of berries to the car. Not that it's a bad thing, but when you consider I'm also carrying several bags of produce along, too, it gets to be a bit precarious. But I just can't seem to resist the siren song of those luscious baskets of Hood strawberries, red raspberries, marionberries, blueberries and blackberries.

There's nothing like a great fruit crisp made from equal parts raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, or in the middle of January pulling bags out of the freezer and making smoothies, bringing back the warmth and sunshine of those fleeting summer months. Lately we've been incorporating the bounty of our region's berries into our own infused vodkas, mashing up the fruit in a bowl, maybe throwing an herb or two in with a bottle of vodka and letting it sit for a week or so in the fridge.

My friend Michel came up with a recipe for raspberry-lavender lemon drops using her own infused vodka, and we just made some with the first of the season's raspberries and inexpensive Monopolowa vodka. You can download the recipe and try it yourself at next weekend's barbecues. From the reaction we got serving the first batch to the neighbors, I guarantee you'll be the most popular person at the party.