Lavender Jelly and a visit from the Fairy Hobmother

Happy Friday friends and fellow bloggers! Before I get on with the tale of my lavender jelly I would love to tell you about my visit from the Fairy Hobmother. I don't know if you are familiar with this mystical visitor who wonders through blogs in the blogosphere...granting wishes...spreading joy.

A few days back after leaving a comment and a wish on Sam's blog My Carolina Kitchen where she blogged about her surprise visit. The Fairy Hobmother who represents an online appliance store granted me a wish with a gift certificate to Amazon.com. Appliances Online who sell dishwashers and other white goods is someplace you should visit.

Thank you Fairy Hobmother (called so because in the UK where Appliences Online is from a cooktop is called a hob)

And guess what? You can be lucky too, and your wish come true. All you have to do is leave a comment and your wish of what you would like the Fairy Hobmother to bring you...and you could get a visit too.



You might remember my lavender syrup that I made instead of jelly. I actually really liked the syrup, so good on those corn pancakes. Well I let the other jars that sealed set and they finally did it! They are now lavender jelly! and the jelly is so good too! Smiles all around!



The recipes out there are pretty basic and I found this one on What's Cooking America I liked it because it was a smaller amount...just in case it didn't turn out :)

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup dried lavender flowers (culinary)
Juice of 1 lemon (approximately 1/4 cup)
1 (1 3/4-ounces) box powdered Pectin or 1 pouch (3-ounces) liquid pectin
4 cups granulated sugar

Preparation:

In a large saucepan over high heat bring water just to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in dried lavender flowers, and let steep for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, strain mixture into a deep kettle or pot, discarding the lavender flowers. Stir in lemon juice and pectin; continue stirring until the pectin is dissolved.

Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil; add sugar. When the jelly solution returns to a hard rolling boil, let it boil for 2 to 4 minutes (see below), stirring occasionally.

Boil Times:
2 minutes - soft gel
4 minutes - medium gel

Testing for "jell" (thickness - keep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a half spoonful of the mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If it thickens up to the consistency you like, then you know the jelly is ready. If not, mix in a little more pectin (about 1 teaspoon to 1/2 of another package) and bring it to a boil again for 1 minute
After boiling, transfer the jelly into hot sterilized jars. Fill them to within 1/4 inch of the top, wipe any spilled jam off the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them.

Makes five 1/2 pints.
I also followed the directions that came with the liquid pectin. It also told me in more detail how to fill and seal the jars and re-make the jelly if it doesn't set after two weeks. The recipe was very similar to this one here. I think next time I would cook it a little longer. I wonder if it make a difference that I am at sea level?

You should check out What's Cooking America to see some other great lavender recipes they have.


So now I have making jelly under my belt, maybe I should try some jam! I have some other jam jars that I saved to reuse!

I like it on toast!



My orchid that I though bit the dust...amazed me by popping out some blooms. It was just hanging around (literally) out in my lanai...looking pretty scrawny and boom! It is up against the white wall so I had to create a little contrast.


I know you all are wondering what I will be using my gift card on . Well...just the other day I saw this awesome seafood paella recipe on ADORA'S Box. I had never made paella before and after seeing this I really wanted to try it...but I don't have a paella pan...I even commented that I needed to find a pan...and bingo! Now I can go to Amazon.com and buy one...thanks to Fairy Hobmother.

The Fairy Hobmother is looking to grant wishes so if you leave a wish in the comments it could be granted like mine and other people's wishes were!!! Leave a Comment and good luck!!