Enough Lavender to Bale!

In the process of getting Shelby off to a good start with her farmer's market endeavors as the newly formed Oxford Bound Bakery, I've started harvesting items with a purpose that I use to do with a hit or miss attitude.  For example: my lavendar plants are pretty to look at, attract a lot of bees - to my delight- and occasionally are picked for a few sprigs in a bouquet of flowers or a bunch of heads to cook with.

Monday, however, one of the two medium shrubs received a buzz cut much like the shearing of a lamb!  Quantity produced:  21 bunches of drying purple fragrance bundles and a bowl full of leaves and heads also drying and ready to stuff into small sewn pillows for sachets!  I was amazed at how much one plant produced.

That is about all I had time for before heading to work.  I'm certain that the lavendar plant next to his newly butchered neighbor breathed a sigh of relief; certain he was spared the same misfortune.  It's been two days...just enough time for his guard to be down... (insert evil chuckle).

Introducing...Oxford Bound Bakery

Newly released from her first year at Spring Arbor University, my daughter Shelby a.k.a. Alexandra has been busy filling out over 80 applications since this early spring for summer work.  Confirming news reports that this year is the worst for high school and college kids to snag summer positions in almost every job description, Shelby has been unable to land a job...any job so far this summer.

However, she is determined to get to Oxford.  Using her love for baking and her passion for quality, she shall be operating a booth at our local farmer's market to sell her delightful desserts and home grown produce with a bit of handmade whimsey added.  Appropriately, she has named her enterprise "Oxford Bound Bakery" with the subheading, "Keep Calm and Bake on". 

I have been allowed the privilege of food critic, happily tasting my way through cranberry-ginger petit fours, dark chocolate marzipan stuffed apricots, Italian strawberry tarts, divine French macaroons, English strawberry scones, and S'mores cookies just to name a few!  It's a wonder I haven't gained any weight this week! 

Packaging and presentation are not forgotten in the scheme of things either.  Natural coffee filters cut in half and stitched into triangles make perfect packages of home dried lime basil tea.  Just toss the whole bundle into a teapot and steep away!

Shelby's plan is to continue selling at the farmer's market as long as it is viable or until she lands a regular job; either way, I'm proud of our creative and industrious daughter.