Lazy Lavender Loaf

I'm celebrating Father's Day by writing this post for both my dad and my father-in-law. I've mentioned before how lucky I am to have two wonderful mothers, and in line with that thought, I'm just as proud to have two outstanding fathers. Baba, my father-in-law, has a huge green thumb that comes from his family's background in Taiwan. Dad, my own pop, gave me a love for all music and has quite the collection of stories from his youth in Bangkok, ranging from street fighting to khao soi seeking adventures with his own dad.

Both have a lot in common too: they came to the States for their doctorates, worked ever so hard for their families, and have guided their families through love and wisdom. I have so much respect for both fathers and want to thank them for everything.

Why honor them with my lavender loaf? Well, the lavender came from Baba's own garden in Indiana. Also, I have fond memories of cooking gourmet foods at home with Dad, things Mom didn't particularly like or care to cook. I've named this loaf lazy because I paid no attention to the recipe. Here's what the original plan looked like:

























*I was feeling experimental, and I also ran out of some ingredients, so below is the actual recipe I came up with. And Happy Father's Day, Dad and Baba. As John and Paul wrote, "In my life, I love you more."


Lazy Lavender Loaf

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour arbitrarily mixed with rice flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lavender
2 eggs
1 cup yogurt, vanilla flavored
1 teaspoon vanilla, omitted if using vanilla yogurt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Melt the butter since you're too impatient to wait for it to soften. Put in a large mixing bowl.
3. Using a rubber spatula, mix sugar into the melted butter, stir for a little while.
4. Add lavender, eggs, and yogurt at this point. Don't bother with alternating wet and dry ingredients.
5. Forget the sifting, just measure out the dry ingredients and dump it all in.
6. Mix until combined, but since mixture will remain lumpy, give up after a minute.
7. Pour mixture into greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.
8. Let cool, slice, then serve. Be surprised the loaf turned out well without following the original plan!

* I also followed in Dad's footsteps by studying Computer Science, so my lists start from zero instead of one. Thanks for the inherited nerdiness, Dad!