Mint, marvellous mint

So as I'm sitting here, once again laid up with post-surgical restrictions (nothing major, no worries), I'm looking at the herbs I potted this past spring. Most of them have done incredibly well, despite my black thumb. Herbs are the one type of plant I can't seem to kill - most of the time!

In a huge galvanized wash tub I've got at least three different kinds of mint. Spearmint, chocolate, and I think apple. (I wanted orange mint, couldn't find it this year) I'm grateful for the recipes that hit my email box from care2.com. Last year, thanks to care2, I used up a bunch of mint and lemon balm making jelly. Since my family isn't much into jelly, though, I gave most of it away and still have a few jars left. I need some fresh ideas. Anyone? :)

Mint has been used in cooking, ritual magic, and for healing for as long as animals have roamed the earth. Legend has it that the beautiful nymph Menthe used it liberally, which made Persephone so jealous she turned Menthe into a plant. Her husband, Pluto, couldn't undo the curse, but he could give the new plant its lovely fragrance.

Raspberry Mint Punch
3 sprigs fresh mint leaves
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 cup water
1 1/2 quarts lemonade
Fresh mint for garnish
Bring water to a boil, add mint leaves and steep for five minutes. Strain and cool. Stir in berries and add mixture to the lemonade. Chill for at least two hours to allow flavors to blend. Serve in tall glasses with ice, garnished with a mint leaf. Serves 6-7.

White Grape & Mint Salsa
4 cups seedless white grapes
2 tablespoons chives (or green onions), chopped
Juice of 1/2 fresh lime (or a couple key limes)
2 tablespoons spearmint, chopped
1 whole jalapeño, diced (remove membranes and seeds for less heat)

Combine ingredients in food processor and barely pulse blend, or chop by hand. Mix and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. (HerbCompanion.com)

Mojito
1/2 teaspoon powdered sugar
1 sprig spearmint
Juice of 1/2 fresh lime (or 1 key lime)
2 ounces rum (preferably white)
4 ounces club soda
1/2 cup crushed ice
1 sprig fresh mint

In a glass, use a muddler to combine and bruise the herb and sugar. (blunt end of a wooden spoon works, too) Add lime juice, rum and club soda, mix lightly, then add ice and mint sprig for garnish.

Grilled Chicken with Mint
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons cooking oil or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
Grated zest from 1 fresh lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup finely chopped spearmint leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

In a one-gallon plastic bag, add all ingredients except chicken breasts. Combine well then add chicken breasts, close bag, and let chicken marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Remove the breasts from bag (discard bag and marinade). Grill over medium heat until chicken begins to brown. Turn chicken and reduce heat to low. Cook slowly until seared on both sides, turning often, to avoid burning. Should take about 20-25 minutes to cook.

Resources:
Celtic Teas with Friends
Celtic Breakfast Tea
Scotland's Love Affair with Tea
Tea Ettiquette

Spring Pretties

Two years ago I bought a single little pot of sweet woodruff to plant in the middle of my little stone circle made up of hunks of granite from my beloved home state of North Carolina. This spring you can't see some of the stones for the mounds of green and white!

My stone Dachshund is barely keeping her head above "water"!



Woodruff is a lovely ground cover, but be aware that it spreads! :)

Something pretty to look at...

...as our gardens wind down for the year and we start planning for next year!

Wild About Gardening

It's a Canadian site, but it's packed with useful tips for pesticide-free gardening, attracting wildlife, etc. And it's a purty site to look at and dream over when the winter snows fly!

More interesting gardening-related sites:

Kitchen Gardeners
Natural Gardening Blog
The Dirt Doctor
Wildlife Gardening
EarthEasy
Grinning Planet

A Prayer for Working With Herbs

Written by my friend Fox on the druidry.org message boards:

By root and stem and branch and bud
By soul's song and heart's blood
Mother Nature hear my plea
And hold my love close to thee

By the Earth and Sky and Sea
(herb's name), hear my plea
We both are to our Mother leal
Teach me well, and help me heal

Spring Magic

What's not magical about spring? How seemingly dead plants come back to life in floods of color? As promised, here are some photos I snapped at the Toledo Botanical Garden last weekend. I'm still figuring out my new camera, but in spite of myself I think I got a few good ones. :) Enjoy!

Rite of Spring

This year's visit to the Toledo Botanical Garden's annual plant sale yielded these treasures:

Rosemary
Spicy Orange Thyme
Silver Thyme
Sweet Woodruff
Golden Variegated Sage
African Blue Basil
Lemon Basil
Lime Basil
Orange Mint
Applemint
Spearmint

I'm going to need to get a membership, because at least two herbs I wanted were all snapped up yesterday at the members' only sale - columnar basil and globe basil. *sigh*

Here's a piccie of my basket of goodies:



This was taken in my back yard - you'll also see our beautiful azalea, part of my little stone circle, and my guard dachshund. :) The plant growing behind the dachshund is sweet woodruff, one of the plants I've discovered that does well in our extremely sandy soil.

Who woulda thunk it - a beach in a Toledo back yard. Now if only it came with an ocean...

Lavender, one of my faves, is a bit of a challenge here. The two plants I have are still alive, but if they've grown an inch since I planted them last year I'll be surprised. Lemon balm - yeah, it likes it here. It'll be a monster next year. Chives and parsley come back every spring--in a different place each time!

None of my thyme made it through winter, which surprises me because normally you have to try hard to kill this stuff. But I'm told that no one's thyme has been doing well around here for a couple years now. So at least I know it's not me.

I took some other pictures of what's in bloom at the botanical garden, like trillium, azalea, rhododendron and lots of native plants. Their herb garden is only now beginning to awaken...in a few weeks it'll be magnificent.

Those pictures are forthcoming. :)