Another Green Market Demo

A last minute cancellation Wednesday put me in a position to do the cook's demo at the Geneva Green Market Thursday morning. It's pretty easy/overwhelming/challenging to decide what to do when there are so many choices at the market. I decided to focus on local farm eggs because they are absolutely wonderful and lend themselves to many recipes. So why the berry pictures?

I poured a custard sauce over these beautiful summer berries. A lovely summer dessert and a good demo, if I do say so myself.

Lavender-Vanilla Custard Sauce

2 cups milk (I like to include a good portion of 1/2 & 1/2 or cream)

¼ of a vanilla, cut and seeded

2 t. dry lavender

6 egg yolks

¼ cup sugar

Scald the milk by heating it just until little bubbles form around the edge of the pan then add the vanilla bean and lavender. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and set aside to infuse for 30 minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale yellow and thick.

Strain the infused milk into a bowl, and remove the vanilla bean* Slowly whisk a small amount of the milk into the egg mixture to temper. Add the rest of the milk whisking constantly, the return milk-egg mixture to the saucepan. Cook stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 6-8 minutes. Be very careful not to over cook and allow the custard to curdle.

Immediately transfer the custard to a bowl to discontinue cooking. Let cool to room temperature and then serve or refrigerate. The custard will thicken in the refrigerator, and will keep up to 1 day.

Yield: About 2 cups