In which Pepi almost Cuts off his Big Toe, and we Have Some Delicious Chicken…

Our intention today was to drive north up and around the island to one of the best places on earth (in my humble opinion) Hanalei Bay. This huge bay of beautiful blue water is fringed with golden sand and a backdrop of green mountains that fold up and around the bay and town of Hanalei. Serious surfers head out to the eastern point of the bay where epic waves rear up out of the water then crash down, shooting tiny little people out the end of the tunnel. Amazing to watch but way out of my league.

I have found my bliss here on past visits with a boogie board and some 6ft walls of blue green ocean that appear out of nowhere before crashing over your head. If you are lucky and time it right, you can harness the power and go for a ride all the way to the beach, If you are not so lucky, you can easily end up ass over tea kettle without a clue which way is up, sinuses full of salt water, a mouth full of sand and with or without various parts of your bathing attire. Both versions have happened to me, but really, it’s all so exhilarating that I couldn’t wait to get back out there.

And so it was with great anticipation that we loaded up the Van and headed out for the day. Our first stop was a grocery store for lunch items. All went well until we dropped some beer in the parking lot. Fortunately there was only one broken bottle but it was a bit of foreshadowing for the day.

We carried on, driving through the most excellent town of Kapaa. I love these Hawaiian towns with their unassuming airs and funky low-key vibe. Just north of town I spotted a hand-painted sign advertising Mango Bread. Another sign right after it said ‘Farmer’s Market’. Those of you who know me know that I have a bit of a thing for farmer’s markets and so one hard-left later and there we were parked at the side of the road. Mel had bought some Mango bread before the rest of us were barely out of the car. It was delicious – just like banana bread but made with mangos instead. Across the street was the farmers market but what really caught my attention was the BBQ. A sign advertised Huli Huli chicken, local boar, roast potatoes and fresh corn. Jacob tried the boar and declared it the most amazing thing EVER but I only had eyes for the chickens:

That’s what I’m talking about!

I ordered two of everything and was just bringing it back to the table when Pepi, on his way back from the car with a load of drinks, quietly asked if anyone had any first-aid supplies as he had cut his foot. Well. Suffice to say I actually wondered for a few moments if he had sliced his big toe off at the first knuckle, such was the size of the slice and quantity of blood. A bottle of lemonade had fallen out of the back of the van, broken, and a shard had sliced in to his toe. We bandaged him up as best we could, ate some chicken and then high-tailed it back to Kapaa to the ER room.

Several internal stitches, 6 external stitches, and two hours later (which we spent frolicking in the waves at the local beach) we were back on the road. Pepi’s foot was still bleeding and we were all feeling bad for him as it meant he couldn’t go in the water for a few days (12 actually, according to the doctor but whatever…)

However, Pepi’s not one to let a near amputation slow him down and he insisted we carry on and I didn’t need to hear it twice so off we went again.

The trip was uneventful except for one moment when, approaching a one lane bridge, we noticed a truck pulled over against a rock face by a police car. As we drove by, the cop dropped his baton as he was getting out of the car, the truck reversed and backed into the police car, and then took off, a line-up of several cars formed coming off the bridge, and several large rocks fell to the road. We drove past with our heads turned practically all the way round. As we drove on, we saw several police cars heading back, sirens blaring. High times on Kauai. Not sure exactly where dude in the truck thought he was going to go though. Dude, you’re on an island. A small island. With one main road. I think they are going to find you! Hello! And the cop probably knows your cousin or is your cousin or something!

Anyway. There is a beautiful valley just before you reach Hanalei where they have grown Taro root for generations. It really is spectacular.

 

At least I thought so. Zoe was more interested in the flowers…

By the time we got to the beach I was happy to see that nothing had changed since my last visit. The waves were still rolling in, the water was irresistible, and the sun shining. I was in the water in record time and soon Zoë and I were being thrashed about by the waves. This beach is notorious for rip currents, however, and so I spent a good deal of my time trying to stop Zoe from being sucked out to sea. I finally ditched her back at the beach and spent some joy-filled moments out with the bigger waves.

Back at the beach, Silas had found a hole…

The sun was setting and so we reluctantly packed up and went in search of dinner which was a rather lukewarm affair, but thankfully uneventful, as was the ride home unless you are a frog of which I managed to drive over two. I couldn’t help it and would advise the frogs not to sit in the middle of the road after dark.

I was glad to climb into my super comfy bed and let the trade winds lull me to sleep.

Top 5 great things about New Year’s Day 2011

Today we made the decision to stay at home and spend the day by the pool. It was tough, but someone has to do it and it may as well be me.

Unfortunately, the bug that had been giving Zoe grief over the past couple days with vomiting and general unpleasantness, made an appearance at 3:26am in the form of an extreme earache. I dosed her up with Tylenol and we were able to get back to sleep. She seemed better in the morning but Mean Mum told her she couldn’t get her head wet for 24hours. This made for an interesting day poolside. All in all it went fairly well and I only had to bark at Jacob 65 times to not splash his sister’s head, and he listened about 39 of those times. Not a bad average if you know Jacob.

Top 5 great things about New Year’s Day:

1. Jacob picked fresh coconuts and hacked away at them with his machete (which he carries everywhere these days) until we all had glasses of fresh coconut water and chunks of fresh coconut. Nicely done!

 

 

2. Watching Silas become more and more confident in the water to the point where he would just randomly jump in which would send all the grown-ups running from wherever to rescue him. Then we would breathlessly tell him that next time he needed to tell a grown up BEFORE he jumped in. He would just dance off and say something like “no I don’t” or “I’m not going to do that”. Good thing he’s so cute…

3. After a day by the pool, we have discovered that it is much too much work to actually make dinner and that the thing to do is to go out. So we jumped in the van and headed out to find some yummy takeout which we planned to take to the beach. Well, nothing with yummy takeout was open, it being after 6 on New Year’s Day, which if we had thought about our smug little plan for more than 30 seconds, we probably would have figured out. So we ended up at the Hawaiian equivalent of a touristy strip mall replete with tiki torches and the requisite smell of BBQd meat wafting through the air. We found something to eat and settled ourselves in front of a small outdoor stage where some Hawaiian men wearing sarongs (hello!)were setting up their drums. They entertained us for a few minutes and then abruptly left. We all hung around waiting to see what would happen and were soon rewarded with the arrival of a Hawaiian dance troupe. Now I don’t know about you but my exposure to Hawaiian Hula dancers has been limited to a lunch hour concert outside city hall featuring the local Polynesian Dancers, which usually consists of 5 or 6 middle-aged woman who mean well and I’ll stop there.

I have seen the odd Hula show here in Hawaii but I can only recall school groups with ukuleles with a few authentic Hawaiians swaying along.

This show at the strip mall, however, was not the local Polynesian Dance club. These girls were great. They came out bedecked in feathers and flowers and pretty much nothing else. The drums started up and they started doing something outrageous with their hips. I cannot explain what exactly they were doing except to say that I think many of the world’s problems could be solved if these girls were involved. We all of us sat slack-jawed as the gyrations gained momentum, finally reaching a fever-pitch of lower body mobility and coordination. When they finally left the stage,  I felt like I had aged about 50 years. If the human body was capable of such flexibility, then I had two choices: to realize there is no hope for me and to quit now and just go straight to a walker, preferably one with a fold-down chair, or to get seriously busy and try and save my body before it is too late. Don’t be surprised if you see me up on stage with the Polynesian Dancers at the next Beacon Hill Band Shell lunch time concert. Just sayin’.

2. Zoe’s Freckle Farm :)

1. Falling asleep with just a sheet on the bed, and the sound of the trade winds blowing gently through the house. Ahhhh. Hawaii.

Road trip: Enter Minivan (with apologies to Metallica although there are definitely some similarities…)

Kauai isn’t a huge island. You can drive from the southern tip to the northern point in under 2 hours. and as there is really only 1 road, it makes it pretty easy to get from stunning location to stunning location. As there is 7 of us, we decided we couldn’t do without some sort of vehicle. Enter the minivan. Not really the hang-loose mobile we were thinking of, but beggars can’t be choosers and we ended up as beggars due to a small misunderstanding in which the vehicle we thought we had rented was actually on a different island. whoops. Anyway, Mel and Pepi saved the day and found another van and picked us up at the airport and all was well.

For its first job, the van took us to Costco for a shopping trip to end all shopping trips. Let me just say here that Costco is exactly the same in Kauai as it is in Victoria which is to say it nauseates me just as much the only difference being that here in Kauai you can purchase a 20 pound vat of Spam and I don’t think I have seen that in Victoria. This is in addition to all the other useless items that can be purchased at any Costco such as the 24 pack of spatulas or the 98-piece ratchet set that has been dipped in molten plastic and good luck getting at anything without slitting your wrists in the process.

Anyway, I digress. Costco served its purpose and hopefully we don’t have to go back anytime soon.

Yesterday, we all piled in again, kids in the back, boys in the middle, girls up front, and headed west to check out some great little Hawaiian towns on our way to the Waimea Canyon.

First stop was Hanapepe, known as the home of Lilo and Stitch (who irritate the hell out of me FYI. Somebody shut that thing up!) but more interestingly for its old west feel. All the buildings have false fronts including the boarded up old theatre. The dusty streets have a deserted feel but if you pay attention you’ll see great little art galleries and sleepy cafes. It was smoking hot the day we drove through, however, so we didn’t stick around long.

Next up was Waimea. Apparently it has some sort of cowboy (known as paniolos in Hawaii) history which I didn’t really pay attention to so I can’t tell you much except to say that it is also home to the best shave ice around. What is shave ice, you say? Well it’s a snow cone drizzled with high-fructose corn syrup mixed with red dye # 6, 12, and 14 with Blue Lake #2 on the side. But it’s pretty delicious on a hot day. Jo Jo’s is the place to get it on Kauai as they have no less than 60 flavours. We all lined up, got our shave ices from the dude with the sweater vest and black horn-rims, and hung out listening to the Beatles. It was great.

 

We all squished back in to the van and headed up the 10 miles to Waimea Canyon. The first time I saw this canyon it blew my mind. Where, exactly, had it been hiding? It’s huge, first of all, and absolutely spectacular. You climb to about 3000ft, park the car, walk up a short trail, and then suddenly there is this huge, unexpected, beautiful canyon. It wasn’t any different the second time. I think 3yr old Silas summed it up nicely when, upon seeing the canyon, asked “who painted that"?

I lasted fairly well watching the kids run around with what looked to me like only a few wires separating them from their death, but soon I began having visions of Jacob’s 6ft frame toppling over the flimsy rail, sliding down the red dirt, and disappearing off the edge and into the canyon followed closely by Zoe and Silas, who both do whatever Jacob does. Those of you who know me, will recall that I’m not that great with any heights over about 6 inches so while this is technically not a height, per se, it wasn’t working for me so I wandered off back down the trail and feigned interest in watching a Lesser Spotted Hawaiian Red-Nosed Booby or whatever it was as it puttered around in the dirt.

We bought some fresh fruit and then headed back down the road to Poipu. A brief stop for coffee/tea along the way revealed a dried up, flattened frog at the side of the road. Boys will be boys, it seems, even when they are 40yrs old, as the ex-frog was soon resting comfortably between the hood and windshield of the van where it stayed for some time until we realized that it was blocking the fresh-air intake. Yuck.

The rest of the day was spent at Poipu beach snorkelling and swimming. Or rather, I should clarify, I spent some time either holding a leaky mask to my face, attempting to put on my flippers while the surf knocked me about, trying fruitlessly to adjust Zoe’s mask so that her nose was not sitting in water, or trying desperately not to lose my patience while she repeatedly pulled off her flippers or snorkel complaining that a grain of sand was rubbing the wrong way. I did see some awesome fish, though, including the native Hawaiian Humuhumunukunukuapua’a which is a lovely little fish with purple lips and what appears to be a Zulu flag on its side. So cute!

Jacob made friends with a couple of local fishermen and before I knew it he was helping them set-up their lines.

Another amazing day for which I am grateful :)

More tomorrow…

Vacation Rental from HEAVEN

I’ve experienced a few vacation rentals in my time. Some places exceed expectations, some are exactly how they look on the website, and some look like something someone stepped in.

We’ve done the condo thing and the hotel thing before and really when your kids are little and you’re just hanging by the pool or out at the beach all day, they are just fine. However, since Jacob has turned into a 6ft tall giant, and Zoe has taken to talking in her sleep, the hotel room doesn’t really cut it anymore. In fact, some of you will recall that I have had less than exceptional experiences in hotel rooms with my kids and family and have sworn on a stack of Bibles Placed by the Gideon's never to do it again. Why can’t they just go to sleep? What exactly is the issue?

Anyway. I digress.

So this time, as there is seven of us including a 3yr old, 9yr old and 14yrs old, we decided to find a house. And let me just say here that we found the most AMAZING house ever.

If you know Kauai then you will know that Poipu, which sounds like it might be something you would find in a healthfood store, is actually one of the most fabulous beaches around. It is very close to the funky town of Koloa and our house is just a hop skip and shuffle from it all.

Built in 1922, the house is originally a plantation manager’s home and so is located on 3 acres. It has been beautifully restored and comes with a pool, a games room, a 4-hole golf course, various fruit trees, a playground, bikes, and did I mention the pool?

I just love this Hawaiian aesthetic and the owners of this house have done a fantastic job of keeping the original character of the home -beautiful wide-plank fir floors, high ceilings, wainscoting, double hung sash windows that all open perfectly, school-house lighting – while adding all sorts of luxurious touches like fluffy white towels, huge comfy beds, all the dishes you need, wifi, etc.

Oh, and there is a pool, too.

The back veranda

 

Amazing master bedroom

 

 

Fruit picked on-site (it’s a pomegranate)

When we arrived, all the fallen Plumeria flowers had been arranged into a heart…

Did I mention the pool?

The back forty with holes 2 & 3.

As I write this, the New Year’s eve fireworks are going off over the beach at Poipu, and Zoe has passed out in my bed. Jacob is taking a dip in the pool under the stars and Silas is giving us all a running commentary of life as he knows it.

Life is good, right now, and I am thankful for everything I have.

Happy New Year!

Top 9 comments overheard in passing on the trip to Kauai (in no particular order…)

9. On the plane:

Me (to the flight attendant): Will we be arriving at 12:30?

Flight attendant: Nope. In about 1hour and 30 mins

Me: Wasn’t there an announcement saying we would arrive at 12:30?

Flight attendant: Yes but I was wrong.

Me: Oh…an hour and a half wrong?

Flight attendant: Would you like a drink or not?

8. In the hotel room:

Me, to Zoe, at 3:45am after the alarm had just gone off:

“Did you have a good sleep?”

Zoe: Pretty good, but it would have been better if Dad hadn’t been breathing like Darth Vader

7. In the restaurant at Ikea (killing time in Vancouver)

Woman: Do you want a grilled cheese, Kevin?

Kevin: I thought this was supposed to be Swedish Food

Woman: It is. It’s a Swedish Grilled Cheese. It’s the type of bread they use. It’s probably Swedish. Do you want it or not?

Kevin: Fine.

6. In the ferry line-up for breakfast

Me: Yes I’ll have toast with a side of bacon

Ferry employee: Would you like any eggs?

Me: No, just the bacon and toast thanks.

Ferry employee: They’re really good today.

Me: Uhh…yeah thanks but I’m good with the toast and ba…

Ferry employee (interrupting): Does you daughter want eggs?

Me: I think she’s good with her oatmeal. But thanks.

Ferry employee: Ok just checking.

Me: Great.

5. On the phone with HSBC bank as to why they were not open anywhere in Canada:

Kent: So you’re not open at all?

HSBC: No we are closed, sir, due to the holidays

Kent: That’s ridiculous! Why are you closed on a Wednesday?

Me (whispering loudly): It’s Tuesday today!

Kent: I’m just saying that your bank should be open on a weekday during business hours! How am I going to get any money from my USD account?

HSBC: I am sorry sir but you will be able to access your account tomorrow. We are closed today due to the holidays falling on a Saturday and Sunday and…

Kent: I’m driving around on a Wednesday needing my bank and…

Me (whispering very loudly): Kent it’s Tuesday. IT’s not Wednesday today! Quit saying Wednesday! IT’S TUESDAY!!!

Kent (to me with a confused look): Whaa ?

Me: IT’S TUESDAY!!!!!!

Kent (to HSBC) I’m sorry I’ve just learned that it is Tuesday today….

4. On the phone with HSBC inquiring as to whether or not there is an HSBC branch on Kauai. No word of a lie, this is how it went:

Me: Yes hello I’m wondering if you can tell me if there is an HSBC branch on the island of Kauai in Haw….

HSBC: Where?

Me: The island of Kauai in Hawaii

HSBC: Can you spell that?

Me: Yes it’s K-A-U-A-I

HSBC: Hold please

HSBC five minutes later: Where did you say you needed a branch?

Me: Have you heard of Hawaii?

HSBC: Can you spell that please? (I am NOT KIDDING!)

Me: H-A-W-A-I-I

HSBC: Hold please

Me: Wait!….

HSBC three minutes later: I am sorry I will need more information to see if there is a branch in your requested location

Me: Can't you just google it? What’s going on?? I just want to know if there is a branch of YOUR bank, in Hawaii.

HSBC: I am sorry maam but I will need more information before I can complete that request..

Me: Ok let’s move on.

3. Name of a tile store in Richmond: Many Tile

Well, I guess that’s what they sell. No point in trying to be cute.

2. At Costco in Kauai with our lovely friends Mel and Pepi and Silas, buying some food for our stay:

Mel to Pepi: Do we need to buy those pineapples here? We should get some at a farmer’s market

Pepi, with a fake flower lei around his neck, holding two pineapples, one in each hand: “Oh come on! They’re good! I even saw Hawaiian people buying them!”

(Hawaiian person ahead of us in line smothers a laugh)

Mel: Oh alright then. If Hawaiian people are buying them…

Silas (3yrs old): Hey everyone quit arguing about Hawaiian People.

1. Observed on a HUGE sign, as you pass through the final check of US Customs at Vancouver Airport into the gates for departures to US destinations:

"WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”

Have they not figured out that they are still in Vancouver Airport and that Vancouver Airport is actually still in CANADA??? Hello? Hello?? Who has the brain today? Apparently not the Department of Homeland Security. It’s actually so ridiculous that it’s kind of cute.

Kauai, I Think I Love you

Kauai, for those of you who haven’t made it here yet, is a jewel. I have always loved Hawaii and would stay on any of the islands, but Kauai holds a special place in my heart.

I first came here when I was 10yrs old. My family had just finished a huge trip around the world for a year and Hawaii was our last stop(except for Disneyland). We stayed here for a month. My dad’s mum, known affectionately as Nanny, arrived shortly after we did, and we all stayed in a beautiful little house right on the ocean for a month. During those weeks, we played in the waves, visited remote beaches, stumbled onto a movie set, snorkelled, and generally relaxed. Believe it or not, we actually needed to relax after 12 months of packing and repacking, cramming ourselves into tiny accommodations, running for flights, being delayed, eating strange and wonderful food, and seeing the sights of the bigger world

So when it finally came time to leave, I was actually sad to go. I vowed to come back but it was almost 30yrs before I made it. Three years ago, Kent and I and the kids along with my Dad and my Uncle Pete, stayed here on the island for 10 days just before Christmas. My dad and I had a great time re-visiting all the places we had seen 30yrs before. And while there had been a couple of huge hurricanes in the intervening time that had managed to do some serious damage, things were much as we remembered them. In fact, I think some things were exactly the same, including the rusty bolt on the bathroom cubicle door, in the bathroom block at Poipu Beach, that I had been unable to open as a child. More on that later. And also the smell in Brenneke’s Beach Broiler. Yep that was definitely the same. Time to change the filter in the fan! Oh and also that Monk seal that spends all day in exactly the same spot on the beach – I’m pretty sure that is the same one that was there 30yrs ago too. But the tropical fish were the same vibrant colours and the sky the same brilliant blue and the green folds of the mountains were just as I remembered them.

We had a great trip and once again I was sad to leave.

And so I am unbelievably happy to be here, three years later, sitting in the most amazing house, 5 minutes from Poipu Beach listening to the trade winds blow through the palm trees outside my window.

And that Monk Seal was still there.

Up next: You won’t believe this house.

Lavender Loveliness Cheesecake

I love lavender and anything to do with it and I also love cheesecake so combining the two can only be good. Lavender season is just coming to an end but you can still find it blooming in gardens. I find it irresistible and grab handfuls of it while out walking. If your lavender bush is one I have massacred, I’m sorry about that I just can’t help myself.

This is one of those recipes that you need to start the day before if you want the full effect of the sugared lavender adorning the cheesecake. So if you have people coming over tonight and you need something quick, better keep looking cuz this isn’t going to work for you unless you want to just go with non-sugared lavender. This dessert also needs to set in the fridge for a few hours.

You will need:

• ladyfingers (one packet should be enough unless you are like me and keep crumbling them when you meant to break them instead…)
• 250ml whipping cream
• 1 and 1/2 boxes of cream cheese (and none of this ‘lite’ cream cheese please. yuck!)
• 3/4 cup good honey like fireweed or blackberry. If you are really keen, you can infuse your honey with rose petals for 24hrs but they have to be from fragrant roses or nothing will happen and you will wonder what I was on about. It’s not necessary to do this but I LOVE the subtle scent of roses in my honey.
• a handful of lavender buds that you have just picked from the garden. Unpicking the lavender sachet that has been in your underwear drawer for the past 10 years and trying to use that lavender will not work nearly as well and, frankly, is just plain wrong. And kind of gross. Anyway.
• Some longer lavender sprigs that look pretty
• about 1 and 1/2 cups of white sugar
• A springform pan. Google it. Yes you need it.

OK here we go.

The night before, you are going to sugar the lavender. Kinda like the sugared rose petals but not really.

1. Make a simple sugar syrup. Put 2 cups of water in a saucepan, turn heat to medium, when it is warmish, dissolve 1 cup of sugar in the water. Keep heating it until it boils and then remove from heat. Let it cool.

2. Sort out the best of the lavender springs (you might need 7 or 8 for the final finishing touch on the cake)

3. One at a time, dip the sprigs in the sugar water and hold them there for a minute or so then remove and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Put them on a sheet of tinfoil to dry overnight.

They should look sort of like this. And really, who cares if they look completely different. It’s your cheesecake!

Alright now go and finish the laundry and clean up the bathroom and put all the shoes away and the kids to bed and I’ll meet you back here tomorrow.

 

Good morning :)

Ok first things first. Check your sugared lavender. Should look exactly the same as it did last night when you finally made it to bed except that now it will have hardened-up. Good job!

Now, get your springform pan and tighten it up. I’ve made the mistake before of not tightening it before making a dessert and that pretty much defeated the purpose of the whole thing so don’t get offended, just make sure it’s locked up.

Put the kettle on. Trust me.

Crack open the ladyfingers and lay a layer of them on the bottom of the pan. Yes, you will need to break them into smaller pieces so that they fit. Go crazy! I don’t recommend sampling them. They are kind of gross on their own and are much better when they have soaked up whatever it is they are meant to soak up.

Keep enough ladyfingers so that you can line the sides of the pan with them later. You will need to use a sharp knife to cut them in half (crossways).

Now you need to make the lavender infusion. You will need about 3 or 4 tablespoons of lavender buds. Using a mortar and pestle, crush them so that they just start to turn brown.

 

Put the crushed buds in a small bowl and add about 6 tablespoons of hot water (that you have previously boiled and allowed to cool slightly– see I told you to put the kettle on).

The water should just cover the lavender. Allow the buds to soak for about 15 minutes. The buds will be a nasty brown colour and the water will be tea-coloured.

While the lavender infusion is infusing, find a big mixing bowl and whip up your whipped cream. Set it aside.

Find another bowl. I don’t know how else to tell you to mix the honey and cream cheese together other than to say “mix the cream cheese and honey together now or you will mess up the timing”. Timing is everything people. Stay with me here!

cream cheese and honey is a match made in heaven.

Ok so by now your infusion will be ready. Less is more when it comes to lavender so go easy and spoon in about a tablespoon of the lavender water (the liquid only) into the cream cheese/honey mixture. Try it for taste and add a LITTLE bit more if you like. We are going for subtle here, people, not overwhelming. Lavender can be overpowering if you use too much.

Ok now whip that all together and admire for a moment.

Now get the bowl of whipped cream

add about 1 and 1/2 cups of whipped cream to the cream cheese/honey/lavender mixture. You can use beaters if you like to whip everything together, but don’t overwhip or too much air will get into everything and we don’t want that.

 

It should look like this.

Now take your bowl of whipped loveliness over to the springform pan and spoon it onto the ladyfingers so that it completely covers the ladyfingers on the bottom of the pan.

Then slide in the ladyfinger halves (that you cut earlier) all around the inside of the pan

Nice!

Now put the whole thing in the fridge and come back in a few hours (minimum 2)  when it has set.

Now the fun part! Take your sugared lavender sprigs and arrange on top of your masterpiece. Remove the springform just before serving. Tip: loosen the springform slowly and gently ease it up over the ladyfingers, using your fingers to hold them in place while doing so. I find this keeps everything together nicely.

And if I had been organized, I would have taken a picture of my own finished masterpiece before it was consumed at a birthday party but alas I did not so you will have to enjoy your own instead :)

Yum!