Lavender + Vanilla Coconut Milk

I. Love. Mornings.

I have always been a morning person! I’m a sunrise over sunset gal and – at one time – I enjoyed waking up an hour early to sip a cup (or two) of coffee and take my time getting ready before work. I say “at one time” because now I have someone to snuggle with in the morning that makes it hard to get up! Not to mention the far-too-often trips to the bathroom in the night that make me slower-to-rise in the AM (pregnancy probs).

We had a late night last night after Brett’s company work party that we hosted in our home. I got up around 7:45 and felt like my morning was gone – it makes me sad to waste so much of a morning, but we needed the sleep and it’s Sunday. So I will forgive myself. 😉

This morning I am sipping a super-yummy drink while I type this, sort-of watching an animal documentary, thinking ahead about my grocery list, and planning another blog post about 6 months married to my sweet guy. I am going for both a relaxing AND productive Sunday, today!

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So…about this drink. I am a hot drink lover, but my coffee aversion is still going strong. I decided to get creative with what I had in the house to make my own drink, sans too much caffeine. *Gives cappuccino mix the side eye.* A few flavors I LOVE are lavender, vanilla, and coconut, so my drink contained all of those things! Also, I can’t lie, there is a bit of cappuccino mix in it for more flavor.

The base of this drink is coconut milk (Silk is my favorite brand of coconut, almond, and soy milks) and the lavender + vanilla flavors are a simple syrup.

I have made simple syrups before and they never turn out as flavorful as I hope, so this time I used more sugar than water to make it thicker.

The recipe I followed called for 1 C of water and 1 C of sugar, but I used 1/4 C water and 1/3 C sugar. I also wanted a smaller amount of syrup than 1 whole cup. I heated it on the stove in a tiny pot until it boiled and the sugar was dissolved. Then reduced the heat and added about 1/3 C of culinary lavender. After about 15 minutes of simmering, I strained the lavender from the syrup and added 1 tsp. of vanilla (I used real vanilla, not extract) and stirred. I store mine in a little jar, but I let it cool before storing in the fridge.

When it comes to the amount of syrup you add to the milk, I think more is better, but it is totally up to you! The first time I made this drink I added 2 tsp. syrup but the second time I wanted it a bit stronger, so I used 3 tsp.

Like I said before, I did also add 1 tbsp. of vanilla bean cappuccino mix to add a little flavor, but this drink is still not a strong one in my opinion. I like how light it is!

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If you try it, you will have to let me know how you like it!

I hope your Sunday is like mine – both relaxing and productive. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Paige