By Michelle Beck

The Kern County Fair is coming, and now is the time to think about entering the competitions. My cousins have entered various cooking contests since they were in primary school, and have always done well. Last year, the horticultural people convinced me to enter a few of my flowers, and I won some ribbons. It was exciting! There are many categories from which to choose, and they are always looking for entries, so be sure to check it out.

Online registration is available here, which makes it easier than ever to enter items in the Kern County Fair.

Lavender

I love lavender. I love the soapy clean aroma and the feathery leaves. Lavender is drought-resistant and grows very well here. I have a few different lavender plants, including Spanish, English and French, and they are a beautiful, low-maintenance addition to my garden.

A bundle of lavender is a great closet freshener, but it can also be used for cooking. Dried culinary lavender is available in most places that sell spices. For local lavender, try Dries Farms and Tangleweed Farm, both in Tehachapi, or Green Acres Lavender Farm in Atascadero.

Herbes de Provence is an herb blend containing lavender. It is terrific sprinkled on chicken. Look for it in the spice section of most grocery stores.

For a different dessert, try honey-lavender ice cream.

Lavender jelly would make a pretty gift, and lavender lemonade would be a refreshing beverage for a tea party.

It is easy to make lavender sugar. Just use the same technique as making vanilla sugar. Pour some sugar into a jar with a lid (I use a canning jar), drop in some lavender, then shake to combine. In a week or so, the sugar should take on a lavender flavor.

This website has many lavender recipes, including lavender margaritas.

Limes

Speaking of margaritas, my lime tree is covered with tiny limes, but it has been slow to ripen this year. Limes are unusual citrus in that they ripen in the summer instead of the winter.

We always get many more limes than we can use right away, so we juice many of them and freeze the juice. I freeze some of the juice in ice cube trays and store the juice cubes in zippered bags. I freeze some of the juice in one-cup portions to use for limeade. I also freeze some of the zest for use later.

For an easy limeade, combine one cup lime juice, one cup sugar and five cups water.

Lime shandies, which are basically beer mixed with a syrup of lime juice and sugar, are an easy and refreshing choice for a casual summer cocktail.

Key lime pie is one of my favorite desserts, and the pretzel crust in this recipe gives a salty, margarita flavor to the pie.

Lime-honeydew sorbet is a cool after-dinner choice.

These coconut-lime bars are one of my all-time favorite cookies. They are similar in concept and texture to traditional lemon bars, but these are creamier. They easily convert to gluten-free. I just substitute my favorite gluten-free flour blend cup-for-cup with no problem.

These lime sugar cookies also look like they would convert well to gluten-free.

Okra

I didn’t try okra until I was an adult, and I blame my grandpa Jack for that. His mother apparently boiled okra, and he always said it was “like a big pot of snot.” Not exactly a description to make me run right out and try it.

When I was a college student, a friend ordered a basket of fried okra and insisted I try some. I loved it, and it has become a summertime treat for me. I also discovered okra pickles, which are a favorite of mine. Neither are slimy.

To make fried okra, simply slice the pod into one-inch slices and soak in buttermilk for a few minutes. Prepare a shallow bowl with cornmeal, flour, or a bowl of each, depending on your preference. I don’t care for the cornmeal and use sweet rice flour (also called glutinous rice flour, although it doesn’t have gluten) to make it gluten-free for me. Season the flour with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the okra from the buttermilk and roll it in the flour mixture, and then in the cornmeal, if you like.

Heat oil to 350 degrees and fry the okra until golden brown. I have a large cooking thermometer that clips to the pan. We didn’t fry food often, if ever, when I was growing up, and I seldom fry anything now, so I have a little fear of hot oil. Those of you with more experience might not need the thermometer. Fried okra is good with Tabasco, ranch dressing, and a variety of other dips.

Okra is in season now, and is very easy to grow, so I have been slicing, soaking and dredging okra then freezing it in zippered bags. When I am in the mood for fried food, the okra will be ready to go.

Talk of Texas okra pickles are available at most grocery stores. (I like the hot ones.) It is also easy to make your own okra pickles. I use the recipe in the Ball canning book, but this one is very similar.

“And your father smells of elderberries!”

I can never mention elderberries without thinking about that line from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” I am also reminded of the movie “Arsenic and Old Lace” where the little old ladies hide poison in elderberry wine.

Elderberries are a fruit I have only seen in the wild. Elderberry bushes grow in the mountains above Bakersfield and ripen in late August. They are tiny, tart purple berries that grow in clusters on tall bushes.

My mom used to make elderberry jelly when we were lucky enough to find some berries, but this recipe which includes honey and almond sounds even better. (No offense, Ma.) The Pomona’s pectin referenced is available at Lassen’s.

Gluten-Free recipes, pizza and beer

More good news on the gluten-free front! BJ’s Brewhouse apparently offers both GF pizza and beer, and Martha Stewart’s website has a  collection of GF recipes here.

Reading

If you are tired of people rhapsodizing about their spiritual experiences pulling weeds and pruning trees, check out these two memoirs about the darker side of the backyard farm movement: The Bucolic Plague and My Empire of Dirt.

Both are available through the Kern County Library system. Did you know that you can request library books online at www.KernCountyLibrary.org? You can request books from anywhere in the Valley and tell the system where you want to pick them up. This service is free. I happened to be talking to the Bookmobile lady at the Baker branch a few weeks ago, and she told me many people have their requested books sent to the Bookmobile and pick them up when the bus stops at the Northwest Promenade on Wednesday nights.

Our local libraries could use some love. Funding has declined for years and no new branch has been built since 1985, even though the county’s population has exploded during that time. If you, like me, are a frequent patron, you know how crowded the libraries are, and how hard the employees work. I have been appalled and irritated by the number of people I have heard saying how unimportant libraries are when they haven’t even entered a library in years. The next time you are in a library, thank the librarians for doing so much with so little.