Lavender

A couple of years ago I saw a cooking class advertised in the local paper and decided I wanted to learn how to cook or at least cook better. When I mentioned this to Don he said he'd go along and we'd do it together. The first class was, er, different. We got to meet the instructor Chef Michael and learned this was not going to be anything like I expected.

Where I was expecting to learn the difference between fry and saute, how to blanch something and what a dutch oven was I learned I learned instead how to cook with things I'd never heard of. We enjoyed that first class so much we've signed up for each session after that and have been going for just about 2 years now.  We've also become good friends with Chef Michael Sigler and his wife Jeanne.

Today wasn't the strangest foods I've ever eaten in that class but there were some things I never thought I'd be eating. We did Natural Cooking and we cooked with things that Chef had picked up on the side of the road, literally. We cooked with cudzu (don't laugh, I'd never heard of it eather), lavendar, roses and dandelions. Believe it or not I actually tried a little bit of everything we fixed and feel a lot closer to Euell Gibbons.  I decided I can't keep this great dish to myself.

• 3 ½ lbs chicken, cut into pieces
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, diced
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• ¾ cup red wine
• ¾ lb fresh black figs, stems remove, quartered
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 tsp garlic
• 1 ½ tsp lavender buds, reserving ¼ tsp for garnish
•  

Sauté the chicken in 1 tablespoon of the oil until golden on the outside. Remove from the pan and hold aside. Without cleaning the pan, add the other tablespoon of oil and sauté the onions, stirring frequently to prevent burning. When onions are lightly browned, add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Add the chicken and cook slowly until done, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken to a serving platter. Turn up the heat and reduce the sauce until it is thick. Pour over the chicken and serve

We served this with some rice and it was rather tasty.