Herbes de Fauquier

I’ll admit that I am addicted to lavender and had to be weaned off after the month of June (it bloomed early this year). As a young child I used to camp during the summer weeks at a lavender farm in the Northern part of the Provence. Tucked away in a pretty valley with grape vines, lavender and the river la Drôme.

This is where I learned to make Fusettes de Lavande (fusette means spindle). The lavender was growing right behind our tent and the scent of a fresh cut bouquet would relax us instantly. I feel so lucky to actually live on a lavender farm, Deborah Williamson invited me and my daughter to stay with her while job hunting in the region. Not sure if I want to leave though!

During the season I teach people how to make what we call here lavender wands. Some of my older wands were 15 to 20 years old and after a gentle squeeze the lavender scent would re-appear like it was made yesterday.

Now that the field is empty and our harvest is drying I had to come up with a new activity and it didn’t take long to figure out what else I could do with lavender: cooking! Yes, lavender is a wonderful aromatic herb, its works well in cookies and on the grill. Since we are growing many other herbs in our garden I decided to try to make my own Herbes de Provence mixture.

First I did some research and asked several French friends about the original ingredients and it seems like with curries, there are many different recipes. Back to the herbs I personally like I started to dry our marjoram, basil, sage, thyme and rosemary. In the mean time I found this little history I would like to share.

Aux Anysetiers Du Roy was first a restaurant located in the old Paris quarters, L'Ile Saint-Louis, near Notre Dame de Paris. The building is classified as the historic monuments in Paris and it dates from the 17th century. At one time it was a cabaret. The restaurant specialized in Provencal cooking, using olive oil, aromatic herbs, garlic, etc. It was the first restaurants to grilled meats seasoned with Provence Herbs, as the Lombard family originally came from Provence. It was a fashionable to frequent restaurant in the 60s, where you could meet celebrities who would often sign the crocks as souvenirs. At the end of his or her dinner, each customer received a small gift: the small Herbes of Provence crock, special blend prepared by Louis Lombard, who was the first to include lavender flowers in aromatic herbs. The crocks are made in a small village in the Drôme, near Valence (south of Lyon). Aux Anysetiers du Roy creates their own recipes such as special blends of aromatics herbs and spices. The crocks are filled up by hand. It is a craftsmanship production, original and exclusive. Today Anysetiers du Roy produces fine foods, mostly herbs and chocolate fondue, in their signature herb pots and these are made from their special secret recipes, perfected over the decades.

As my daughter watched me drying the herbs and crushing them in my new “for herbs only” coffee grinder, she decided to make her own mixture. She named it: “Marunca” and it contains fennel seeds, sage, mint, tarragon and bay leaves. We used it on a tomato cucumber salad the other night and it was delicious!

After I finished my first Herbes de Fauquier as I named my mixture I got inspired to make more and other mixes. It is so much fun making them and naming them! I have an Asian and Moroccan version in mind and can’t wait to try them! Another interesting way of incorporating herbs and spices is to combine them with either salt or sugar. Lavender sugar is awesome to add to a tea or sprinkle on your cookies. Add a favorite herb to a good quality course salt and grind it together for some punch to any dish!

I love it when I can engage my daughter in kitchen activities, she is so much more willing to try new foods and she learns a lot about ingredients and preparation techniques. We are blessed to be able to grow herbs ourselves and we order them from Farmer Girls as well. Farmer Girls usually carries 10 to 15 different types of fresh herbs. It is “thyme” to make your own mixture!