Here are two delicious lavender recipes we wanted to share for the month of May — Lavender Shortbread and Lavender Lemonade.  Let us know if you try them out and what you think!

And remember — a little lavender goes a long way!  It is always better to start with less and add more as you go.

Lavender Shortbread

Our first recipe comes to us from Mountain Mama Cooks - a lovely Lavender Shortbread that is light and fresh while maintaining an elegant appeal.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender
• zest of one lemon
• 1 cup (two sticks) butter, room temperature
• 2¼ cups all purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• course sugar (optional)

Directions:

In a food processor, pulse powdered sugar, dried lavender, and lemon zest until lavender flowers and lemon are well incorporated. Add softened butter to the food processor and cream with the sugar. Add flour and salt. Mix just to combine.

Remove dough from food processor and on a large piece of parchment or waxed paper, gently form dough into an 8-inch log. Gently roll the paper around dough to create a smooth log (dough will be sticky). Chill dough at least 4 hours or up to a few days.

When ready to bake, heat oven to 375˚ F. Slice chilled dough into ¼-inch slices. If desired, roll or sprinkle in a course sanding sugar. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before serving.

Lavender Lemonade

Our second recipe comes from Munchin’ with Munchkin.  This refreshing drink blends tart and flowery flavors for a cool springtime treat.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp dried culinary lavender
• ½ cup sugar
• 2½ cups water
• 3 lemons, juiced
• 2 cups water

Directions:

In a medium pot, combine 2½ cups of water with sugar and lavender. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Cover, and let stand one hour.

Strain out the lavender with a sieve and place liquid in a large jug. Add lemon juice and additional water; stir well.

Refrigerate until cold. Serve with ice cubes.

Serves 4-6.

For an extra-sweet lavender-themed treat, try our imported French Lavender Honey!  Bon appétit!

The First Friday Art Tours are a great way to see both local and international artists. Open to the public, local stores showcase different artists and often have goodies out! Founded by the Santa Cruz Institute of Contemporary Arts, the tour happens rain or shine every month.

Stop by this Friday and sample some of our wonderful Black Olive Cream, on fresh bread from Gayle’s Bakery!

This Friday we’ll be featuring local painter Bonni Carver as our guest artist. Bonni paints murals and watercolors, and we carry her greeting cards in our store. Here’s a little more about this 1st Friday’s Featured Artist…

Born and raised near Buffalo, New York, Bonni has lived most of her life in California. As a young woman she moved to San Francisco where she attended the Academy of Art (now the Academy of Art University) and the Art Institute of San Francisco. After traveling in Europe and through the United States, she made the Central Coast her home. Local artists/instructors Darien Payne, Howard Ikemoto, Tobin Keller, Dennis Collins, Robin McCloskey and Ron Milhoan have nurtured and fed her art making process. Studying watercolor in Provence, France with Barbara Nechis proved to be a catalyst for a year long European painting trip she embarked on in 1997. Attending Charles Reid’s workshops have strongly influenced her approach and encouraged her to paint the figure. She has been an ongoing Open Studio participant, and exhibits her work throughout the Central Coast and Northern California. Her paintings grace homes in England, Holland, Switzerland, Germany and Norway as well as those in  New York and San Francisco.

Painting murals and working on watercolor canvas have broadened her artistic scope. She was a contributing artist in the historic mural project for the city of Watsonville in ’09. She has painted murals in Basel, Switzerland, has conducted art classes on international cruises, has been artist-in-residence at Yosemite National Park, taught a watercolor session in Shenzen, China, has chronicled a trip to Israel, and is currently composing tailor-made books of pen & ink and watercolor sketches for individual events. She led a watercolor group in San Miguel DAllende, Mexico in the spring of 2010, participated in the Santa Cruz County plein air Land Trust exhibit in 2010, and will be participating in the Santa Cruz Bank’s ode to the Cabrillo Symphony in 2012. Bonni has been teaching art for the past 13 years through Watsonville Aptos Adult Education, and has conducted workshops personally and for the Santa Cruz Art League, the Pajaro Valley Arts Council, and the Aromas Hills Artisans. She is available for commissions, unique books of your event, and workshops in your area.

Stop by this Friday, and meet Bonni in person at our store!

Visit Bonni’s website at www.carverart.com

Laissez les bons temps rouler… or let the good times roll!

That’s the official slogan of Mardi Gras, meaning “fat tuesday” or “fatty/greasy tuesday”. Celebrated in many countries, including the US, France, Italy, Brazil, Germany, Sweden and Belgium, Mardi Gras actually began in Venice, Italy.

With the rise of the Catholic Church, Roman and pagan traditions and holidays were incorporated in the Christian faith. With the weather changing and the first thaw, it was a celebration of the spring equinox. Rich food and wine were consumed in great quantities, also celebrating surviving through the harsh winter months!

In Venice during the Renaissance, the city was akin to today’s Las Vegas. Not only a cultural melting pot, but a political and business giant.  Carnevale, which gives us “Carnival” in English, was establish by the city to attract tourists for one last hurrah before Lent (a 40 day period of prayer and fasting, ending on Easter Sunday). Mardi Gras falls on the Tuesday before Lent every year, when Catholics had to give up meat. Also called Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday is the day to get all of your cravings out before Lent! Traditionally, meat, milk, eggs, pancakes, and other rich foods were consumed as well as wine.

Mardetí grasso became the French Mardi Gras, which has now become an French-American tradition as well. In Nice, France, the carnival is the largest winter event on the French Rivera. Tens of thousands flock to see the spectacular tall floats, flower floats, “big  heads”, dancers and musicians. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has arguably the largest celebration with Samba parades!

Most commonly celebrated in New Orleans, as well as many other cities, Mardi Gras was brought to the States in 1699 with the French explorer Sieur d’Iberville. Persevering through both World Wars, the Great Depression, and Prohibition, Mardi Gras has become more and more elaborate and celebrated. The three official colors are le violet (purple, for justice), l’or (gold, for power), and le vert (green, for faith).

Have fun today, and remember, laissez les bons temps rouler!

For Valentine’s Day, we thought we should explore “la bise”- the French greeting tradition! “La bise” is a kiss on the cheek between family, friends, and colleagues. How many kisses to give? Who initiates? It depends on which part of France you are in, and your relationship to whomever you’re greeting. Be prepared for at least two kisses!

In Provence, people generally kiss two to three times: left, right, left, or starting with the right. In Paris, four kisses are customary. When greeting family and close friends, anyone may initiate “la bise”. Depending on age, social standing and professional status may change who initiates “la bise.” For example, you never want to initiate la bise with your boss! In general, if the person is older or more senior, let them initiate “la bise”. Woman-to-woman and man-to-woman greetings are always started with “la bise” but man-to-man greetings can be a hand shake. Once you are on more familiar terms with somebody, “la bise” will become the proper way to greet and say goodbye.

The proper way to kiss is lightly touch your cheek to the recipients cheek, while making a kiss noise (air kiss). The more distant the person, the less body contact. When in doubt, hold still and let the French person do the “bises”, or shake your hand. Watch this news clip for more information!

Today is La Fête de la Chandeleur! The French Catholic holiday, also known as Candlemas or “Hypapante” in Greek, is a feast (mainly of crêpes) to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary after the birth of Jesus. It was originally a Roman Pagan festival celebrating Pan, the son of Hermes. To celebrate, people would parade the streets with torches in hand.

It was is 472 that the Pope decided to Christianize the holiday. Now, instead of celebrating the mischievous goat horned god, February 2nd would commemorate the day Jesus was presented at the Temple for consecration (40 days after his birth). The torches have since been replaced with a candlelit procession during mass, giving the holiday the name Candlemas.

For the feast, crêpes are the traditional celebratory dish. It is customary to have your fortune read as well- hold a coin in your writing hand and a crêpe pan in the other, and flip the crêpe in the air. If you catch the crêpe (this requires a bit of skill!) your family will be prosperous for the remainder of the year. There are many superstitions around “jour de crêpes” (pancake day). Here are a few:

À la Chandeleur, l’hiver cesse ou reprend vigueur
On Candlemas, winter ends or strengthens

À la Chandeleur, le jour croît de deux heures
On Candlemas, the day grows by two hours

Chandeleur couverte, quarante jours de perte
Candlemas covered (in snow), forty days lost

Interested? Or just love crêpes? Here’s a recipe for Crêpe Suzette to get you started!

Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water
3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 lb unsalted butter (2 sticks)
2 orange peels
1/2 cup orange juice
4 tablespoons Orange liqueur & Cognac (or Brandy)

Directions
Put 1.2 cup of sugar and orange peels into a food processor. Stir for one minute. Add 4.5 oz of butter and process. Add slowly 1/2 cup of orange juice. Add 3 tablespoons of Orange liqueur. Cover and refrigerate.

Prepare the pancake mixture: Place in processor milk, egg yolks, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon liqueur, flour and 5 tablespoons butter. Process for one minute at top speed. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Put the orange mixture in a saucepan and heat for one minute, then move to the pancake skillet over moderate heat.

Place one pancake in the skillet. Turn it cautiously. Fold in half, then half again. Continue with the other pancakes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of liqueur and 2 tablespoons of orange liqueur in a saucepan. Pour over pancakes. Ignites- cautiously!! with a match and serve immediately.

Enjoy food snacks and beautiful art by local artist, Marcella Evensen at Petite Provence this Friday!

The First Friday Art Tours are a great way to see both local and international artists. Open to the public, local stores showcase different artists and often have goodies out! Founded by the Santa Cruz Institute of Contemporary Arts, the tour happens rain or shine every month.

This month, at Petite Provence, we will be showcasing Marcella Evensen, a California native. After graduating from San Jose State University, Marcella traveled to Europe to see the great artwork she had studied. In Perugia, Italy, she attended the Instituto di Belli Arte (the Institute of Beautiful Art) specializing in the intaglio method of printmaking. Intaglio is a printmaking technique where the image is incised into a surface which then holds ink. Marcella also took classes in painting and drawing.

After returning home, she finished her studies needed for teaching. After her recent retirement, Marcella started painting and with the help of her husband, set up a pottery kiln in her backyard. She started combining her painting with the pique assiette technique (which is the style of mosaic that uses pieces of broken ceramics in the design).

Marcella’s work is inspired by her travels, and most recently, travels to the South of France! She has been working on new designs using actual clay impressions from Paris, Cabrieres d’Avignon, Gordes, Bonnieux, and Arles.

Come stop by and meet Marcella this Friday, February 3rd! She will be our Capitola shop (5-6 Bay Ave, Capitola) from 5-8. We will have cookies and cider out, and take a look at her hand painted wall plaques we carry!

Try This To-Die-For French Chocolate Mousse Recipe for Valentine’s Day!

There are a lot of great ways to say “I love you” (or je t’aime as we like to say) for Valentine’s Day but there’s one thing that you can never go wrong with: chocolate.

Currently, in our Capitola Store, we’re handing out cards with every purchase that feature some of our favorite classic French recipes. In honor of our love for chocolate and to inspire you to make a dish that will surely impress your chocolate-loving sweetheart, we’re featuring mousse au chocolat.  Since we know that not all of you can make it to the shop, here’s the recipe! Bon appétit!

Ingredients:

- 6 ounces (170g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

- 6 ounces (170g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

- 1/4 cup (60ml) dark brewed coffee

- 4 large eggs, separated

- 2/3rd cup (170g), plus 1 tablespoon sugar

- 2 tablespoons (30ml) dark rum

- 1 tablespoon (15ml) water

- pinch of salt

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Heat a saucepan of water. Set a bowl on the top of the saucepan and melt the chocolate, butter, and coffee, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set it aside.

3. In another bowl, which you can nest in the saucepan of water, whisk the egg yolks with the 2/3rds cup of sugar (saving the other tablespoon of sugar for a later step), rum, and water for 3 minutes, or until the mixture is thick.

4. Remove from heat, and place the bowl of whipped egg yolks in the bowl of ice water and beat until it’s cool and thick. Fold mixture into the egg yolks.

5. In a separate bowl, beath egg whites with salt until frothy. Continue until they hold their shape. Whip in a tablespoon of sugar and beat until thick and shiny. Add vanilla.

6. Fold 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder of the whites until just incorporated. Don’t overdo it, or the mousse will lose volume.

7. Transfer the mousse to a serving bowl or divide into small serving dishes. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours until firm before serving.

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What French recipes would you like to see featured on our blog?

Bread is so enormously important to the French that a shortage even spurred a revolution! Beginning primarily as a homemade staple, as towns and villages grew, families without ovens began to take their bread to small local boulangeries (bakeries) to have the dough shaped and baked. These small bakeries soon transformed into larger business, and home baking decreased. The boulangeries used large brick ovens fueled by wood or coal. To this day, some small bakeries still use these methods.

French bread is regulated by weight and price, and also ingredients! Only four ingredients are permitted for French bread- water, flour, yeast, and salt. Amazingly, all the different types of French bread only use these ingredients. (Ascorbic acid and rye flour are also permitted). The different types of bread are created by kneading techniques, manipulating rising times, and with the use of specialty brick ovens.

“Une Baguette”, the most popular style, is about 60 cm long and weights 500 grammes (about 24″ long, and a little over one pound). Some hints for eating bread the right way in France- if served family style, you are expected to tear off a piece, if you do cut it, make a diagonal slice. Although you should avoid slicing vertically, people do slice horizontally for sandwiches.

Many bakeries around France are restoring the traditional methods of baking- and some are trying new ones! While reading our friends Julie Mautner’s blog, www.provencepost.com, I came across an interesting piece about a baker just outside Paris who has installed a drive-through boulangerie! Open 24 hours a day, you can purchase hot tasty baguettes. They are partially baked before entering the machine, and once ordered, the baguette is baked to a crisp, delicious perfection. Click here to read the full story.

Just like France, in Santa Cruz,  we are fortunate to have many local bakeries, wineries, and fresh produce! A neighborhood favorite is Beckman’s Old World Bakery, founded in 1985. They pump out 15,000 loaves a day. Located in the Seabright Station Cannery, the fresh aroma of bread scents the morning air, leaving you hungry for a fresh roll. Founded by Peter Beckman, a German expatriate and apprentice baker, Beckman’s started in his kitchen and now has expanded to supplying 300 grocery stores and farmer’s markets all throughout Northern and Central California.

Another local favorite is Gayle’s Bakery in Capitola. Started by Gayle & Joe Ortiz in 1978, Gayle’s was a small bakery serving only ten items. Now serving over 500 different items, it is a mecca for foodies and a neighborhood meeting spot! Gayle’s is known for not only their delicious cakes, pastries, and other yummies, but their fresh baked bread. In 1980, in Paris, the couple was searching for a bakery to study when they ran into the French Federation of Bakers headquarters. They were ushered right up to the President’s office! Gayle and Joe then studied bread baking and pastry making under different chefs. It was on this trip that Joe really understood French bread, and luckily for us, brought the knowledge back to Santa Cruz!

Who knew that bread should be “paired” for the ultimate sandwich! For PB&J- try 100% Wheat, or Whole Grains California Black (a personal favorite). Craving a grilled cheese? The best combos are 3-Seed Sourdough and Whole Grains Great White. For French Toast (to be explored another blog!) cook up some Whole Grains Apple Cinnamon, Whole Grains Walnut Cinnamon, or Francese Baguette. To see more fun sandwich and bread pairings, visit Beckman’s blog.

Fleur de Sel de Camargue is not defined by being just merely a “seasoning”, but a refined condiment adding a surprise to any dish. Literally translating to “flower of salt”, Fleur de Sel is hand raked and harvested from Camargue (south of Arles, in the Bouches-du-Rhônes region) in July and August. Like cream, Fleur de Sel rises to the top of the salt evaporation ponds where is it is meticulously raked using only wooden tools.

The name “flower of salt” is derived from the aroma of violets that permeates from the salt as it dries, leaving you with a delicate and delicious flavor. Fleur de Sel has a moist texture and may have a slight pink or grey hue. The small young crystals have a high mineral content, and complement dishes ranging from fresh salads to poultry. Try sprinkling on bread with unsalted butter, or add a pinch to meat just cooked.

Much loved by top chefs and foodies everywhere, Fleur de Sel is said to be best used by adding to food just before serving. During this special holiday season… why not try it in a dessert? Caramel, chocolate, and salt… how can you go wrong with those flavor combinations?

Give out something sweet this holiday season with this recipe from Bon Appétit for Caramel- Dark Chocolate Truffles.

Ingredients
•    20 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, divided
•    1/3 cup sugar
•    2 tablespoons water
•    2/3 cup whipping cream
•    1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel
•    1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
•    Additional fleur de sel

Preparation
•    Place 8 ounces chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is smooth. Remove chocolate from over water.
•    Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, occasionally brushing sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Increase heat; boil until syrup is deep amber color, brushing down sides and swirling pan occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Stir over very low heat until caramel is smooth. Mix caramel and 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel into melted chocolate. Chill until truffle filling is firm, at least 3 hours.
•    Place cocoa in bowl. Using 1 tablespoon truffle filling for each truffle, roll into balls, then roll in cocoa. Arrange on baking sheet. Cover; chill overnight.
•    Line 13x9x2-inch baking sheet with foil. Place remaining 12 ounces chocolate in medium metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is melted and smooth and thermometer inserted into chocolate registers 115°F. Remove bowl from over water. Working quickly, submerge 1 truffle in melted chocolate. Using fork, lift out truffle and tap fork against side of bowl to allow excess coating to drip off. Transfer truffle to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles. Sprinkle truffles lightly with additional fleur de sel. Let stand until coating sets, at least 1 hour.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Read More Here

Stringing up lights, hanging the front door wreath, getting your special candles out for the menorah… how does your home decor alter to reflect the holiday season? This year, we included live topiaries into our store design.

Just like Grandma’s recipe for chocolate chip cookies, traditions (and secret recipes!) can be passed down through generations. Is your treasured recipe a family heirloom?

Each year we have the opportunity to not only preserve our holiday traditions, but create new ones of our own. Your holiday table is the perfect example of where to integrate your age-old traditions and heirlooms with creative fresh additions. It may be something subtle like an angel on the base plate, or start a topic of conversation with a beautiful new tablecloth!