Listen up! Lavender Lies Bleeding out in audio today! A #recipe roundup and #giveaway by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  At long last, the audiobook of Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop mystery, launches today. Why the long delay, who knows, but I know it’s always a thrill. I’ve been listening to audiobooks for more than 30 years—they’ve kept me company on countless miles of Montana roads—and a growing number of readers love them as much as I do. 

And yes, listening to a book counts as reading. Story is story, regardless of the format. 

So, since it’s that time of year when many of us are aching for spring, I thought it would be fun to do a roundup of recipes from Lavender already published here or elsewhere, especially since the one drawback of audiobooks is the lack of a recipe section. And I’m sharing the Lavender Lemon Pepper featured in my book launch last summer, where I talked about how I create spice blends, demonstrated this one, and let readers make their own to take home.

I grow my own lavender, but if you don’t, food-grade lavender is available year-round from most spice shops. Remember to use only lavender grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. 

I've got a handful of audio codes to give away, to three lucky readers. 

And if you're an audio book reader who hasn't dived into the Spice Shop series yet, books 1-3 are currently available for only 2.99 each, via Chirp, until March 7! 

In my Spotlight Sunday post last summer, I described the origins of the story and some of my research, and offered a Lavender Shortbread Recipe that doesn’t appear in the book—a bonus recipe! 

My friends at World Spice, whose flagship store on Western Avenue just below Pike Place Market is one of my inspiration shops, got in on the act with this recipe for Lavender Blueberry Handpies. 

This Lavender Goat Cheese, with a hint of honey, makes a delicious appetizer, spread on crackers or slices of baguette. Even my 10-year-old great-nephew enjoyed it!

Mr. Right and I are serious fans of crême brulée, and subbed lavender into our favorite recipe with fabulous results, for this Lavender Orange Creme Brulee.

Lavender syrup is easy to make, and so tasty in coffee, Earl Grey tea (a lavender London Fog!), Italian sodas, and even champagne cocktails. Find the syrup recipe and a handful of drink combos here. 

We’ve been making this Lavender Limeade since long before I wrote the book! It’s a wonderful warm weather treat. 

Many of you first met our blogger Kim Davis through her own gorgeous baking blog, and I’m delighted that she chose to feature my Lavender Buttermilk Scones. My book launch hosts at the Bigfork Art & Cultural Center made these yummy mini scones, pictured with pink lavender lemonade!

Not every recipe in the book includes lavender. This Indian Butter Chicken has become a staple in our house, and the first day of asparagus season, we’ll be making this Asparagus with Chevre (Goat Cheese) Vinaigrette. 

This short excerpt from Lavender Lies Bleeding illustrates how I create a blend. 

“Besides the scones,” Cayenne said now, “I made a blend I want you all to try.” She unscrewed the lid of a Mason jar and passed it around for the sniff test. “So, try it. Tell me what you think.”

I scooped up a few grains, jiggling the spoon to separate the ingredients. “Lavender, black pepper, kosher salt. Is that dried lemon zest, finely ground?” I touched the tip of my tongue to the spoon, careful to get some of everything. “Minced garlic. I like it.”

So did the others. We debated leaving out the salt—requests for low-salt blends are common. Cayenne argued for it, as a balance to the pepper, and after she passed around a jar of a salt-free version, we all agreed. 

“Last week, I worked with a customer who has an allium sensitivity,” she said, “so I made a version without the garlic. But it seems bland.” She produced a third jar. We took more spoons and tried again.

“I can’t decide,” Vanessa said. “I think my tongue is tired.”  

Readers trying their hand at a spice blend.

Lavender Lemon Pepper 

Cayenne was inspired to create this lavender lemon lavender pepper blend after seeing the many ways cooks in Salmon Falls used their favorite local crop. It’s great on grilled salmon or any white fish, roasted vegetables, baked potatoes, and more! 

For a simple version, take your favorite lemon pepper and add crushed lavender and garlic salt. Or use a pinch of salt and a bit of dried garlic, either powdered or granulated. 

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried lemon zest

1 teaspoon crushed dried lavender buds

1/4 to ½ teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 to ½ teaspoon dried minced garlic (if you use garlic powder, start with less and adjust to taste)

To make the lemon zest: 

Heat your oven to its lowest setting, 150 to 175 degrees F. Wash and pat dry one lemon. Zest it, using a microplane, on to parchment paper on a small baking sheet or pie plate. Dry in 5 minute increments, stirring between each. One lemon will take 15-20 minutes; more will take longer. Watch carefully, as it burns quickly. Allow to cool thoroughly, separating the zest with a spoon or your fingers and crumbling it a bit. Make sure it is fully dehydrated, to avoid mold. 

Store tightly covered. 

To make the blend: 

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl or jar. Adjust to taste. Store tightly covered.

Makes about 1 tablespoon. 

What flavors say "spring" to you? Three lucky readers will win audio download codes for Lavender Lies Bleeding. Leave your email address to enter -- please enter only if you listen to audios. Winners will be announced Friday, March 6.  

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .  

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills. 

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket. 

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf. 

As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine. 

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