New Hood River Search Page

Hey,
I finally did what I have been talking about doing for...well for some time now. (OK, so I been a lil busy)

Here is the New Reference Page for Hood River:

The full list of any and all things: Hood River, Oregon. Hood River Oregon's bookmark page. What to do, what to see, when to go, how to get there, where to stay, what to expect, how much should I bring...

I hope you enjoy this page. If you know of someone, or a site that needs to be on this page, email me the information so we can add them to it. This page is under some aggresive promotion, so let us know soon!

P.S. Check out the many sites for some outstanding pictures and even live cams of Mt. Hood, and Hood River.

Almost Christmas!

>aFrom Hood River Lavender Farms:

The picture is a shot of our New Security System.




3 more days to Christmas! I hope everyone is ready for a nice relaxing and beautiful weekend. We are still open this Sat. and Sunday, from 11-3pm for last minute shopping.

Our gift shop is full of lavender, flowers and beautiful gift items. We have lots of culinary lavender items, organic perfume, lavender tea, jelly, gourmet culinary salt, and much more. Come on out this weekend.


Call in your order at: 541-354-9917


24 hour shopping on the net: www.lavenderfarms.net


Merry Christmas to all!!!

Gourmet Salt-Sel Gris

Hey everyone,

We are always on the lookout for premium products to show off our high quality lavender. This weekend we added what some consider to be the world's best culinary salt. This salt is hand-harvested sea salt, moist & grey in color due to the high mineral and nutrient-rich clay of the region.

This salt is "moist" & unrefined, and extremely high in minerals & nutrients due to the area it is from and method that it is harvested. "Paludiers" are the tradesman that hand harvested this great salt from Guerande, Brittany, France, using the celtic method of harvesting that has been done for centuries. It is grey from the nutrient rich clay in the salt flats where it is collected. Clean, fresh, with less bitter aftertaste than other salts, it is exceptional on fine chocolates, caramels, salads, roasted meat & veggies, and fish & seafood.

Salt has an important role in Human History, and has changed the coarse of history for thousands of years. Different salts have different crystallization, or textures, which lend different flavors to foods. For example, you would bake with fine salt, but use coarse salts for finishing a dish to complement the food and provide a flavorful crunchy texture.

A pinch of these unique and rare salts, with extra flavor from our certified organic lavender flowers, bring out the best in almost every food, even sweets. You have to experience these Premier salts to understand their power to awaken the palate and how they excite and unite flavors in dishes to the highest degree. Use on a margarita glass to add the clean, crisp, and slightly floral taste of lavender. Great on the table for guests to use and experience their crystal, crunchy and always unique effects on food. Used by many fine chocolatiers as the finish on their gourmet chocolates.

Comes in a glass jar with a wooden spoon and built in spoon holder on the jar.

You can view the product and learn more here:
Culinary Products at Hood River Lavender



We just added this product this weekend, and all ready the sales have been good. Taste the Difference!

Christmas Rush Orders

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are currently entering the Christmas rush period. Please allow extra time for your gifts to be delivered if you order after Dec. 14.

Do something special for your loved ones. Forget practical, and give them something created just for their pampering. Nothing says you care like a gift that is 100% for the receiver and is a taste of luxury. We have just that Gift!

www.lavenderfarms.net

2006: Year in Photos

Just wanted to let everyone know that we finally got the pictures up on the webpage for the year on the U-PICK farm. You can view them here

Be sure to make yourself comfortable, grab your favorite snack/beverage & take your time. There are 10 pages of pictures, the year-in-review.

Snow has fallen, cold has settled in, and we are still shipping lots of orders. Remember us for Christmas presents for the lavender lover that we all know, or anyone who deserves a little more pampering or "D-Stressing" this time of year.

The Holidays can be stressful, and full of anxiety. But they should be about slowing down and spending time, or at least spending thought, for the ones we are close to. Enjoy this magical time of year. Relax. Take some time for yourself, and if you need help with that remember...Lavender is THE HERB & AROMA to help you acheive that needed attitude.

God Bless,
Joe & Diane
Hood River Lavender Farms

Shop Local Oregon!

Well, the weekend is near and folks are shopping all over the malls and on the net. The weather here is not exactly beautiful, but not locking us inside either.

We will have hot tea on Sat & Sunday at our farm. Lavender chocolates, apple/lavender jelly, tons of gift packs, and that perfect Holiday gift for your loved ones.

Come on out and join us for some tea, breathe in the beautiful aroma of our flowers, and shop local this year! Open weekends 11am-3pm.
Hood River Lavender Farms: www.lavenderfarms.net
3801 Straight Hill Rd, Hood River, OR 97031
541-354-9917
visit our other blog at: http://hrlavender.bloglanding.com

Holiday Shopping Hours!

Starting on Nov. 18, we (Hood River Lavender),will be open on the weekend for Holiday Shopping. Hours will be 11am-3pm both weekend days until Christmas. We have received numerous requests as shoppers are wanting to load up on our products.

The gift store will be fully loaded with products, including some new ones made just for Christmas Gifts. We will serve up some of our Lavender Tea while we are open, and Diane has promised to have some of her home-made "goodies" to share with our guests as well.

Keep an eye out for brand new products like: Natural Coffee/Vanilla/Lavender Body Polish, New Culinary Products, and Jasmine/Vanilla/Lavender Spray Perfume.

Visit our "What's New" Page

Our website: www.lavenderdaze.com

Our other BLOG

Promote your site here with FREE Top Keyword Banner & $50 bucks Free Advertising Credits

EXTRA BONUS this Weekend!

The beautiful Autumn weather just keeps on a going here in Hood River. We were able to harvest enough lavender from our wholesale farm to do a distillation tomorrow (Sat)! We are counting it as a weather bonus and quite unplanned for.

So....as if you need another reason to come to Hood River and visit us, here it is:

lbs. of Home-made Chocolate Truffles of many flavors such as Huckleberry, Orange, Mint, and the most decadent Dark Chocolate Truffles you ever had! All made with our certified organic lavender....mmmwhaah

Diane has been busy in the kitchen and we will have Heirloom Apple/Lavender Scones available (while they last), as well as some new free tastings of our Lavender Teas.

If that doesn't get your taste-buds stirred, then I don't know what will. Come on out and celebrate Heirloom Apple Days with us, and take in all the flavors & colors of Autumn.

www.lavenderdaze.com click here to get a map

Heirloom Apple Days Festival

Harvest Delights!
Oct. 28 & 29 Weekend
Handmade Apple/Lavender Chocolates, Apple/Lavender Jelly,Lavender Scones, culinary lavender, Hood River Spice Blend, and varieties of Lavender Tea. We will also have gift packs for the Hollidays including our popular and beautiful Lavender Sampler Gift Crate. This is packed in a mini replica of a fruit crate with our popular 1930's style logo.

Take a drive to Hood River this weekend, enjoy our bounty of fruit, and come check out our new culinary items. Open 10-5 daily,
I-84 - Exit 64 -6.5 miles Hwy 35-follow signs to 3801 Straight Hill Rd.

map

lavenderfarms.net

Awesome Weekend!

What a weekend we had. The sun was bright and beautiful, the air was warm, we had tons of visitors, and the Autumn colors were showing all their glory.

The Lavender tea was a huge hit. The pear/lavender scones got a thumb's up, and lbs. of lavender/chocolate went out to awaiting mouths. It was an awesome weekend.

Next weekend is the county's annual Heirloom Apple Days & Cider Festival. It may even top last weekend's events. This is a great opportunity to try dozens of Heirloom Apples, enjoy a Fall BBQ, get a Huckleberry Shake, or try some marvelous ethnic food and many of The Fruit Loop locations. We will have our own celebration with plenty of products, including some new culinary treats, as well as some lovely gift boxes of pampering lavender products for Christmas or ???

We are still open 7 days/week 10-5pm, and you can always shop our products 24/7 on the net: http://www.lavenderfarms.net/
Have an Awesome Week!

Harvest Festival Sat & Sunday-Oct. 21 & 22

This weekend is the Harvest Festival here in Hood River. There are a number of Farmer's Markets in full swing, arts & craftsman displays, Wineries having release parties, and of course everyone on the Fruit Loop is celebrating the weekend festivities. Lots to see and do, and plenty of belly-pleasers.

We will be offering some new products in honor of the weekend. Come by and sample Diane's scrumptous Pear/Lavender Scones. We also are happy to report that with the cooler temperatures Lavender Chocolates are back in stock. We have Apple/Lavender, Mint/Lavender Truffles, Blackberry Cream/Lavender, and Huckleberry/Lavender Truffles. I can tell you from 1st hand experience that these are to die for (well, someone had to try them). YUMMY!

We also have our popular Apple/Lavender Jelly, and a new item: Hood River Lavender's own Spice Blend. This spice blend is made with 10 of the absolute freshest herbs possible along with this season's Provence Lavender. The aroma literally jumps out at you! This is awesome on Pork, Beef, Lamb and chicken, as well as veggie stir-fries. If you are a bit of a chef, or just a "wanna-be" like me, this spice blend is beautiful on marinated cheeses. Mmwah

The Lavender Tea will be hot and served this weekend in a couple different varieties. Come on out and taste some goodies, wrap your lips around some quality handmade chocolates, and see just how beautiful Autumn is in Hood River. Visit our site www.lavenderfarms.net for a map and more info. The forcast is calling for sunny skies, it really doesn't get any better than this!

Lavender Pear Scones

Lavender Pear Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour (pastry flour is best)
¼ cup sugar ( I use baker’s sugar)
1 TBL baking powder
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1 ¼ tsp Lavender (English lavender or Provence)
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into pieces (5 ½ TBL)
1 cup whipping cream ( I use heavy whipping cream)
1 tsp (heaping) Lemon Juice
1 ½ cups Bosc Pears (peeled & cubed)


Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & lavender. Use a pastry blender and add the cold butter until the consistency is course & crumbly. Add 1 cup whipping cream, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1 ½ cup cubed pears. Stir with a fork just until moistened (DO NOT OVER MIX). Add a drop or 2 more of cream if its too dry. Knead the dough 4 or 5 times in the same bowl, or on a floured surface. Roll out ¾ inch thick & cut with round biscuit cutter (or any cookie cutter). Place each scone about 2 inches apart on parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Brush tops of the scone with a little cream or egg whites. Sprinkle with sugar (and a few lavender-flowers-optional). Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Serve warm with Devonshire cream, jam and hot tea. Enjoy!

Yield 1 dozen scones


Note: We have been enjoying this recipe these days. Its Harvest time for pears, and I can't think of anything better to do with this great & abundant fruit.

Weekend of Oct. 14 & 15

Well, this weekend was both sunny and rainy. Sunny on Saturday, rainy on Sunday, but both weekend days were still beautiful. Sat. we distilled angustifolia lavender from our wholesale farm. It was a combination of over 6 different english lavenders and yielded a beautiful oil.

Sunday the rain came. We were still busy with customers, serving them our own Gorge Wind tea and lavender shortbread. Something beautiful about the first autumn rain, it always smells so clean and with the anticipation of another season on the way. I love it. Pumpkins are ripe, the leaves on the trees turn a gorgeous color, awesome fruit is abundant, and we are stocked to the gills with lavender products and lavender essential oil. Its a time of celebration for sure.

The possibility of the weather clearing has allowed us to postpone our distillation of Rosemary. Warmer temperatures help the Rosemary to grow still, so we will hold off on distilling until it becomes cooler. The plants look good, smell awesome, and I know will yield a beautiful essential oil.
Upcoming events:
Hood River Harvest Festival- Oct. 21 & 22
Heirloom Apple Days- Oct. 28 & 29
We have specials happening on both of those weekends so come on out and visit us.
http://www.lavenderfarms.net/

Rose-Scented Geranium Distillation

The distilling just keeps on a going here on the farm. This Sat. we will be distilling Rose-Scented Geranium. This is a variety known as: "attar of rose" scented geranium. It is very fragrant, lovely, and one that I am excited to be distilling. Geranium is a beautiful flower that yields a beautiful essential oil. It is very good for the skin, used in many cosmetics, and with that added aroma of rose....ahhhh.

Diane will again have her ever popular Lavender Shortbread for sampling in the cottage.

With the gorgeous autumn that we are now into, the consumption of warm beverages takes a striking upturn. Don't forget how wonderful our Lavender Tea would taste on those days when the trees are broadcasting their colors, the air is clean & crisp, the waterfowl is migrating South, and the birds sing their sweet song as they fatten up for winter. Slow down to enjoy the advancement of a new season. Take it all in. It is a wonderful time of year.

The gorge is a beautiful drive this time of year. Hood River is full of beauty, Fruit Stands are bursting from the harvest, grapes are ripening, and we are still blessed with tons of lovely English Lavender available for U-PICK. Come on out and visit us!

Wand Classes-Distillation-pictures

Another awesome day in Hood River! Mucho sun, great temperatures and relaxing around lots of lavender. If you have ever wanted to learn how to make a lavender wand, Diane will be teaching informal classes this weekend on the patio. Sometimes referred as "lavender bottles", this is a very old way of preserving lavender and creating a Victorian self-enclosed sachet. Cost is only $7.00, and that includes all the material.

We will be distilling Buena Vista English lavender again today and on Sunday. Always a lot of fun with an aromatic burst of lavender if you are on the farm. Any time after noon on both days would be a good time to take in some 'sensory-overload'.

This picture above was sent to us from one of our visitors last weekend. Looks like a lot of fun, eh? Bundles of our certified organic U-PICK lavender are only $5/bundle, and there are plenty of English Lavender available. This is the sweetest of all the lavender, and your car will smell heavenly as you leave the farm. Thank you for the picture Natali!

The farm is still open daily 10-5pm. Come on out and visit us!

Buena Vista Distillation on Saturday

The first day of Autumn had the feel of a new season setting in, colder & showers. But it was just a tease. Sun is out today, no clouds in the sky, and the forcast calls for more sun. It is a good thing, I'm not ready to give up on Summer yet.

This weekend, at least on Saturday, we will be distilling one of my favorite angustifolia (English) lavenders. Buena Vista is a real jewel. Good bloomer with a very unique and delightful aroma. Buena Vista is an essential oil that always sells out early.Come on out and visit us and take in the beauty of this flower.

We also have some new items in the Gift Shop. We have the Queen Diva of sachets, a large lavender fuzzy plush bag that holds over 1 & 1/2 cups of our certified organic lavender, and ties off with large fluffy & fuzzy balls. Also, a new Victorian Shoe Sachet that is literally a pretty Victorian shoe stuffed with our lavender. Both of these are really cute. Also more embroidered shachets in pretty white linen. I don't have these on our website yet, but will within a few days.
Get out and enjoy the weekend, if you are up our way stop by and say 'Hi', and have a Happy Day!

Website now in Spanish & French

We just launched our website with the ability to change the language to Spanish & French! With the addition of World Lingo one can simply select Spanish or French and our website is translated into that language. Pretty cool, eh?

Also, for those of you who have not yet heard, there is a new Search Engine company out there in the infant stage. Not a low-impact company, this is Amazon.com's attempt at what Google is doing. Already they have millions of customers, offer amazing tracking info on everyone that is on the web, who viewed your site, links, site info, and more. The best thing is that they are giving away Free Top Key Words! No catches, really is FREE. What this means is that when anyone searches for you keyword, your banner/website is on the Top of the list. Truly is free, nothing to lose, and you can link to your blog. Check it out here

Sadie-the Lavender Farm Greeter

Here is a picture of the one whom everyone comes to visit at our farm (or at least that's what she thinks). This is Sadie- our beloved greeter on the lavender farm. This pic was taken by one of our visitors last weekend. Sadie is always willing to fetch a ball, pear, stick, or anything else you can wing for her. She loves people, kids especially, and she is, of course, our baby.

Distillation of Lavender Today

Well, we were not able to distill yesterday (Sat.) due to wind & rain. Today however, is gorgeous! I harvested enough English Lavender last night to run 2 distillation batches today. If your out and about drop by and awaken your senses.

Mt. Hood looks like it received a lot of new snow in the past few days. Such a magnificent mountain, always looks so much more so with clean white snow on it.

Diane has a new batch of lavender shortbread (YUMMY!) in the oven for samples today, and some lavender lemon-aide to go with it.

Hope the weekend is going well for everyone. The sun is out, sky is blue, and no wind here. Looks like I get to wear my shorts again today.

Porch Talk & Pear Celebration In Hood River Sept. 16 & 17

Thursday the 14th, at 5:30pm we will be presenting a Porch Talk at The Oak Street Hotel. Come by and say Hi.

The Hood River Fruit Loop is presenting Pear Celebration. In honor of the event we are once again having the wonderful Massage Therapist Debra Harkness available on Saturday to pamper our visitors with a soothing massage in the Lavender Field. I don't think it gets much better than that! Diane is going to be making some wonderful Lavender Goodies with our culinary lavender. Be sure to stop by and pick some fresh English Lavender that is currently in its Prime 2nd Bloom right now. We will be distilling English Lavender again this weekend as well. If you live in the city, this is the other side of the spectrum. Fun, laidback, and delicious this time of year. Good escape from the asphalt jungle.

End of an Awesome Week with yet a Bigger Week ahead!

Last weekend was a Blast! We distilled some absolutely Beautiful English Lavender on Saturday. Many times there was a crowd around the distiller "huffin" some precious lavender aroma. The response when our visitors catch the view of our distiller is widely diverse. If it is someone from the South or Midwest the common response is: "Does the Revenuers know you are doin that?" The corn in the garden kinda helps them come to that thought. I have even been asked if I was "brewin' coffee?" Seems Starbucks has caused us in the NW to be labeled. Heck of a large coffee pot.

Sunday was a real kick in the pants. First we cut 20 of my Artemesia Plants (pictured on the left) and hauled them over to the big distiller. What is hard to see is our dog "Sadie" laying in the middle of the Artemesia as I cut them. (Seems dogs like the happy effects of this plant too) Lucky for me I found a volunteer customer who was as happy as me to fire up the distiller. Somehow we crammed all 20 plants into the still and waited anxiously for some output flow. The aroma was incredible! I recruited as many folks as I could to dip their finger in the oil and describe the aroma. The responses were anything from "minty" to "heady" to "cinnamon" to "sage" to "what the heck is this stuff doing to my head?" We put the essential oil from the Artemesia away to rest for a bit, gain our head clear, and then I will send some off to get chemical analysis.

Had a great visit from Dr. Madora and his students from University of Montana, school of Pharmacy on Saturday. Dr. Madora was telling me the medical uses of certain Artemesia for Malaria treatment and intestinal worms. Seems to be a great use in 3rd World Countries. He, nor any of his students (me included) had any idea what chemicals were in the variety that I distilled. The seeds were sold to me as: 'Crammer's Edge Artemesia'. Would love to know if anyone has ever distilled & analyzed this variety.

Distillation of Lavender & Artemesia

This weekend, Sept. 9th & 10th we will be distilling for essential oil once again on our U-PICK Lavender Farm.

The past 2 weeks have been very busy here on the farm with many visitors from all over the globe, and also with the 2nd harvest of many of our English Lavenders coming on strong. Our lavender honey is sold out (already!) until the next extraction occurs sometime in late September. We still have lots of Yummy 'Apple/Lavender Jelly' thanks to our friends at Apple Valley Country Store. Stop by and try a sample of this lovely jelly, and perhaps some of Diane's scrumptious Lavender Shortbread. As always we have organic culinary lavender for you to take home and enjoy this wonderful herb in your favorite recipe.

We are pleased to have Rus Medora and his students from the University of Montana, School of Pharmacy, once again this year. Rus and his students make an annual visit to some of the largest herb farms every year, and we are pleased to be included in their visit again this year. Its always a pleasure for us to visit with Rus, and the students are a great inspiration for us with their interest in our farm and distillation methods.

We are planning on distilling some of our most favorite English Lavenders on Saturday starting around 1:oo. On Sunday we plan to distill some of our own organically grown Artemesia again at 1:00. If you are a lover of the finest English Lavender you will surely want to be here as the aroma permeates the air. Sunday's distillation of Artemesia is a real treat. Known for its use in the spirit Absynthe, Artemesia essential oil has a knack for putting a smile on one's face. The miracle of essential oil in God's creation of plants, and the beauty of distillation to concentrate and seperate the essential oil from the plant is a wonderful thing, and my passion.

Gravenstein Days Weekend

The 1st post and kickoff of our Blog.
This weekend (Aug. 19 & 20) is Gravenstein Days in Hood River. There is a ton of special events going on, and with the re-opening of HWY 35 it assures that the weekend will be fun & busy. We are doing Essential Oil demonstrations both days, as well as offering Lavender Lemonade & Lavender Shortbread for samples. We just finished harvesting our Summer's honey crop of 100% Lavender Honey and will have that available as well. The weather looks great, Lavender is still available for U-PICK, and hope to see you on the farm!