Recipe: Lemon-Lavender Sorbet

I've been wanting to post a recipe from my garden's bounty, but...um...aside from a sprig of thyme here and a few snipets of chives there, I haven't done anything interesting with my garden produce. I've been quite excited about my lavender plants. And, my favorite sorbet at the Dairy Godmother is their Lemon-Lavender flavor. Since President Obama recently visited Dairy Godmother, I fear I won't be able to go back anytime soon!

Luckily for me, my lavender is thriving!

Here's what you need:

******Warning: This recipe takes 2 days to allow for ample chilling******
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 or more sprigs of *culinary* lavender, cut into pieces (About a tbsp. Don't use stuff from a craft store.)
4 lemons, juice & zested
2 tbsp lemoncello (or vodka), optional

Here's what you do:

1. Bring water to a boil. Add sugar & stir until dissolved. Take off heat and add lavender & zest.
2. Chill sugar mixture at least 4 hours, overnight is better.
3. Remove lavender sticks from sugar mixture and add lemon juice & lemoncello to sugar mixture. The lemoncello will help you get a more scoopable sorbet since it won't freeze.
4. Freeze according to ice cream maker's directions. You'll probably need to chill it in the freezer for a few hours after the machine is done so that it's firmer. (No ice cream maker? Use the granita method, but you may want to leave out the alcohol)

ENJOY!