Lavender lemonade and gazpacho!

I thought the title deserved an exclamation point, since both recipes relate to one dear Megan H!

Megan wanted a non-alcoholic beverage for her grad party, and since I've been trying to make everything in Bryant Terry's incredible Vegan Soul Kitchen, this seemed like a good opportunity to try out the lavender lemonade. Megan was also the person responsible for me trying my first chilled soup! (A delicious chilled beet/cucumber.) I have a weird thing about temperature, and get sketched out if something is lukewarm or cool when it should be hot. Piping hot. But, since gazpacho is supposed to be cold, it makes sense to me.

LL:
In a saucepan, combine 2 cups of water with 1/4 cup dried lavender buds (I used a bit more because I looooove lavender. I also used buds that were, ahem, 4 years old, so I thought the recipe might need a bit more pep.) and bring to a boil, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for another 10 minutes. Strain the lavender buds and combine in a big jar (or pitcher) once cool. Add 3/4 c. fresh-squeezed lemon juice (this took me 3 lemons, but Bryant Terry suggested 6-8), 1/2 c. agave nectar or simple syrup, and 4 more cups of water.

Gazpacho (based on Mark Bittman's recipe in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian):
I used 4 medium-sized tomatoes, but he says 2.5 pounds. Since I got 'em at the farmers' market (and don't have a scale), I just guessed. It seems like gazpacho lends itself to guessing.
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
2-3 baguette slices, or more to taste (ideally a bit stale, but I used completely fresh bread and it was fine)
2-3 T. sherry vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil (can drizzle more on later)
1 cup water
SALT (at aforementioned graduation party, I cornered Megan's friend Kate--a chef!--and asked her a lot of questions about cooking. One of her tips was to add a lot more salt to things than you might think.)
pepper

Just toss everything into a blender or food processor and combine. So simple! And then chill, of course.