Simple Spicy Lavender Roasted Chicken Breasts

Ever since I started using culinary lavender buds in my baking, I just love the aroma and have been really adventurous, using them in my baked dishes every now and then. If you bought one whole bottle and do not know what to do with it, give this a try! This rub is easy to mix and the ingredients are mostly from common herbs which are easily available in most supermarkets. It is only mildly spicy because not everyone is accustomed to overly spicy foods. If it is made only for me, I will double up the cayenne pepper!

Utensils Needed:-

1 small mixing bowl
Measuring spoons
Meat thermometer
Stoneware Baking Dish; large enough to hold chicken breasts in.

Wet ingredients:-

2 pieces fresh, raw whole chicken breasts with skins and bones in (cut in half)
1 tablespoon cooking wine (any Chinese cooking wine)**
1 tablespoon canola/olive oil/peanut oil or any edible oil of your choice

Dry ingredients:-

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder (you may add more if you wish to turn the 'heat' up)*
1 teaspoon culinary lavender buds
2 teaspoons onion powder (not onion salt)
1 teaspoon fine iodized sea salt **
1 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1 teaspoon dried crushed tarragon
1 teaspoon pure mustard powder
1 teaspoon dried rubbed marjoram

Method:-

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Place chicken breasts, with skins facing up on the baking dish and arrange in a single layer. Please do not stack them.

3. Drizzle the meats with cooking wine and oil.

4. Measure and place all the dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Combine evenly using one of the measuring spoons.

5. Rub chicken breasts all over with the dry ingredients on both sides; be sure to cover the skins and the bony undersides.

6. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of one of the chicken breasts.

7. Place the baking dish into the oven and bake until the chicken breasts turn a golden brown and the meat thermometer reads 190 degrees F or 87 degrees C for poultry or when the juices run clear.

8. Remove from oven and cover the dish immediately with an aluminum foil to tent the meat for at least 15 minutes before serving.

9. Serve with your favorite carbs and greens! Enjoy!!!

Please note:
*If you do not have cayenne pepper powder in your pantry, you may substitute with dried chilly flakes.
** We can only get salted cooking wines in Toronto. If you are using unsalted cooking wine, you may vary the amount of iodized sea salt to 1-1/4 teaspoons instead of 1 teaspoon.

Joanne's Easy Bake: Easy Vegetarian Banana Oatmeal Patties

Joanne's Easy Bake: Easy Vegetarian Banana Oatmeal Patties: This is an extremely easy recipe for banana oatmeal patties that contains no oil, eggs or flour. Sugar is also optional, which means it i...

Easy Vegetarian Banana Oatmeal Patties

This is an extremely easy recipe for banana oatmeal patties that contains no oil, eggs or flour. Sugar is also optional, which means it is really 'skinny' but surprisingly filling. It was made by trial because I had too much bananas that were ripened till almost brown. Instead of throwing them out, 'waste not want not' is always my motto, so I decided to turn them into patties with whatever ingredients in my pantry. You may make these and chew on them in between meals as snacks!

Utensils
Measuring cups and spoons
Ice-cream scoop (optional)
Baking sheet
Mixing spoon
Cookie spatula
Parchment paper

Ingredients

2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (approximately 4 large bananas)
1-1/2 cups quick cooking oats or minute oats
1 handful of roasted and coarsely chopped almonds
2 tablespoons unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional)

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside until ready to use.

3. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix until evenly combined. It looks like a thick paste.

4. Using an ice-cream scoop, scoop paste onto the lined baking tray. Space out the paste and flatten it to roughly 1/4" thick with the back of a spoon or fork.

5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and using a heat resistant cookie spatula, turn over the patties and return to the oven to bake for another 5-8 minutes until they are dry to touch or nicely brown.

7. Once done, remove from oven and slip them onto a wire rack to cool. Start snacking! Can keep 1-2 days in a lock-lock lunch box. Enjoy without worries of putting on too much extra weight!!!

Makes approximately 12 patties

Joanne's Easy Bake: Easy Lavender Pork Roast Rub

Joanne's Easy Bake: Easy Lavender Pork Roast Rub: Sometime ago, I visited a lavender farm and bought a bottle of English lavender. (Note - French lavender is not edible and never...

Joanne's Easy Bake: Very Easy Korean Street Food - Egg Bread

Joanne's Easy Bake: Very Easy Korean Street Food - Egg Bread: We are very lucky to live in a city where there are plenty of ethnic foods, but sometimes it is not possible to taste street food...

Very Easy Korean Street Food - Egg Bread

We are very lucky to live in a city where there are plenty of ethnic foods, but sometimes it is not possible to taste street foods. I came across Maangchi on Youtube and saw how this Korean street food (Gyeran-ppang) pronounced as 'K run punk' or egg bread is made. My husband says it tastes like a French Toast with an egg in the center. Maangchi uses Mozzarella cheese while I used Havarti cheese because I ran out of Mozzarella. It tastes awesome and it is so easy to make! You can check out Maangchi on Youtube if you are interested in making Korean foods.

Utensils needed:-

One Baking tray
Three 6" x 3" x 2" non-stick loaf pans
One Mixing Bowl
One wire whisk
Measuring cups and spoons
One small heat proof bowl for melting butter
One silicon spatula

Ingredients:-

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch of salt
4 large eggs
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter - melted
1 stick of Havarti cheese (3-1/2" x 1/2" thick) and cut equally into 6 smaller pieces

Method:-

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place all the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Crack one egg over the flour mixture, add milk, vanilla extract and melted butter to the flour mixture.
Whisk to combine into a batter.
Place all 3 loaf pans on the baking tray.
Divide batter equally among the loaf pans.
Place 2 pieces of cheese into the batter in each loaf pan; space the cheese pieces out from the middle of each pan so that there is enough space to crack an egg in the middle between the cheeses.
Crack one egg into the batter in each loaf pan, right between the cheeses, in the middle of the loaf pan, so that the egg when cooked, will be in the middle of the loaf.
Gently place the baking tray into the oven.
Bake for 13 - 17 minutes depending on how well done you want the eggs to be. 17 minutes will fully cook the eggs while 13 minutes will give you half boiled eggs.
Remove from the oven. Loosen the breads gently from the loaf pans using a silicon spatula and serve while warm.
Enjoy and have a wonderful breakfast!

Makes 3

Easy Lavender Pork Roast Rub

Sometime ago, I visited a lavender farm and bought a bottle of English lavender. (Note - French lavender is not edible and never ever use it for cooking as it has camphor). Wanted to use it for cakes, but I know my children will not be ready to try this adventure of mine. So, instead of letting it sit in the spice cupboard, I decided to use it for my pork roast today. It turned out pretty well and it is worth the try! In fact, lavender green tea is also my cup of tea.

Utensils needed:-

2 Baking dishes - 1 for the roast and 1 for use as a water bath
A meat thermometer
A small bowl for mixing the rub

Ingredients for the pork roast:-

Approximately 3 lbs pork rack roast
1 teaspoon iodized sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 tablespoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon dried English lavender buds or culinary lavender (flowers only)
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup filtered cold water
2 cups water (for a water bath) to be placed in the oven while roasting

Method:-

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Rinse and pat dry pork roast with paper towel.
Place roast in the baking dish which is large enough to contain the roast but not too large to leave a lot of extra space to prevent excessive evaporation of water and meat juices.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
Rub the roast with the dry mixture, making sure that the bones and even the underside of the roast is completely covered with rub.
Drizzle canola oil over the top of the roast.
Tear some pieces of aluminum foil and wrap the ends of the bones to prevent burning. Place some small pieces of foil over parts of the roast that is more likely to burn when roasting.
Insert the meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast.
Gently pour the cold filtered water into the baking dish (do not pour over the roast).
Place roast into the preheated oven together with the water bath, side by side.
Roast until the temperature reaches the 77 degrees C or that requires for pork or veal to cook.
Remove from the oven once it is done and cover roast with a large piece of aluminum foil to tent the roast for 15 minutes.
Remove butcher string, cut and serve with rice or salads.
Enjoy!!! Happy Easter!!!