FRESH LAVENDER TEA RECIPES

Steps:

• To make lavender tea, add the fresh or dried lavender buds to a teacup.
•  Bring the water up to a boil, then remove from heat for 1 minute.
• Pour the water over the lavender buds and allow them to steep for 5 minutes. Place a plate over the top to keep the steam inside the mug, further infusing the tea.
• Remove the plate, add honey if you want to sweeten the flavor, and enjoy! No need to strain the lavender buds out; most will have sunk to the bottom of the cup.

Steps:

• For the fruit salad, segment the grapefruit and orange, catching the juices in a bowl. Squeeze more juice out of the remaining citrus fruit into the bowl. Set aside the orange and grapefruit segments.
• For the syrup, measure the juice and add water to make 100ml/3½fl oz.
• Peel a large strip of lime zest from the lime, avoiding any of the white pith. Reserve the remaining lime.
• Combine the citrus juice/water mixture and the sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar has dissolved, stirring once or twice. Add the lemongrass, lime zest and ginger and then bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the syrup to cool.
• For the fruit salad, remove the seeds from the pomegranate and slice the banana.
• Peel another slice of zest from the lime using a vegetable peeler, avoiding any of the white pith. Slice it very finely and reserve this for decoration. Set aside the remaining lime as you will need the juice.
• Cut the grapes in half and slice the kiwi.
• Finally chop the pear and apple, pouring a little lime juice over the apple to retain its colour.
• Combine all the fruit in a large bowl or in individual serving dishes or Martini glasses. Pour over the syrup, to taste. You may not need to use all the syrup – any remaining syrup can be used in cocktails or added as a sweetener to herbal tea. Decorate with strips of lime and a sprig of mint.