Lavender awaits the jam

As springtime bursts into glorious verdure throughout the city and leaves erupt into canopies of vibrant green, we all dream of summer's bounty and plan to this year, finally, for real, complete that DIY gardening project in our window/fire escape/roof/backyard. Our dreams are collective, as can be seen by the plethora of plants and little seedlings that have started to arrive at the Greenmarkets.

I pranced through rows of baby plants, imagining my fire escape ensconced in morninglories while I plucked ripe tomatoes off the lush vines that swayed beside my open window. Ah, to dream!

For me, daydreams lead to jam. I got a hankering to play with blueberries and start planning for the delicious, hot days of August. Lavender is a flavor that I love to add to my blueberry pie, so I decided to add it to some blueberry jam. It's good. But lavender is expensive, and easy to grow, so I decided this was one ingredient I could go super local with. My man runs a rooftop farm in Brooklyn, but he was noncommittal about planting me some lavender. I solved the problem by buying some organic seedlings at the Greenmarket. Aren't they pretty? They smell and taste delicious, and make me instantly relaxed! I've been testing recipes in the kitchen this week and perfecting my ratios.

Now we'll just have to wait until August to taste the results!