Vanilla Sugar & Lavender Sugar

It's almost spring here in Sydney and the day was beautiful today. Mum was excited that spring is just around the corner and flowers start to bloom but of course she was most excited about beautiful flowers blooming in the courtyard. The topic of lavenders came up and thought, hey, I should try making lavender sugar since all the ingredients were available at home. Sugar in the pantry and lavender flowers in the courtyard. And I also wanted to make vanilla sugar. I made vanilla extract back in Malaysia last month and can't wait to taste the outcome when I go back at the end of November. This would be a rough estimate for both vanilla and lavender sugar.

Vanilla sugar

4 good quality vanilla beans ( I used Queen brand)

1 kg fine sugar

1 1000ml jar

1. Sterilise the jar using hot soapy water for 10 minutes.Let it dry.
2. Place vanilla beans and sugar in the jar.
3. Close it tightly and let it infuse for about 2 weeks. The longer you let it infuse the more fragrant the vanilla sugar becomes. Alternatively if you have dried vanilla beans, DON'T throw them away, grind them and mix it together with the fine sugar.

Lavender sugar

( I dont quite like lavender but I know a few recipes that require lavender sugar so I thought I might try it out)

100g fine sugar

6 fresh lavender flowers

1 sprig lavender leaves

Reusable net bag ( When you buy garlic and onions in the supermarkets, sometimes they come in a net package.)

1. Wash thoroughly the reusable net bag and let it dry.
2. Tie a knot at one side and fill the net with lavender flowers and leaves. Tie a knot.
3. Place the lavender filled net in a container with the sugar.
4. Let it infuse. Lavender sugar can be used after a few hours.