The mint plant returns...

[Phentex]

a year or two ago, my husband went on and on about growing mint. We could use it in drinks, we could use it in recipes, blah blah blah. I got one for him and it grew well. But we barely used it! I didn't care for mint in cooking. I don't know why. I like it in drinks, but don't drink cocktails that often.

I felt like it was a bust except for the fact that we didn't kill it.

Fast forward to last weekend. We had people over from my husband's office and one of them brought us a mint plant. Apparently he and my husband had been talking about growing mint and all the things you can do with it.

Um.

Memory failure?

He acts like we never had a mint plant before!

Do you use mint? If so, in what?

[yellerpup]

1. I make a mint simple syrup for mojitos.

Also muddle a little mint in the bottom of the glass, but the syrup really sparkles-up the drink. Mix with coconut-rum and lots of fresh lime juice.

I like mint in fruit salads and mixed with lots of parsley for tabooli. (spelling? I've seen tabulli spelled a dozen different ways!!) When I have it around, I also will toss a few minced leaves into one of the Thai dishes I like to make--especially the ones with lamb. Also, a mint-walnut-parsley-garlic-Parmesan pesto to accompany grilled lamb.

[Sentath]

4. According to wikipedia anyway

تبولة‎ = Tabbouleh?

So far as I know there is no standard method to translate from Arabic (and associated scripts) to English alphabet.

[yellerpup]

5. Thank you!

Yes, I have seen it spelled on menus in English just as you suggest. Very helpful! :hi:

[Phentex]

12. I should have that at the ready...

I do think of it for drinks. I bought some mango majito stuff that was already pretty minty but a sprig of mint looked nice. :)

[yellerpup]

20. I love this cocktail in the summertime.

Always refreshing! A bartender at a picnic gave me the recipe last June when he was moonlighting apart from his regular job as a country club bartender. He said that the club's kitchen had an herb garden but the groundskeepers removed all the mint! Evidently mint is considered a weed when it is growing near a golf course.

[The empressof all]

2. I'm not a mint fan but I do grow some

It came with the house. Thankfully it was planted in rockery around one side of the house. It's an invasive weed like plant that will take over anything in my experience. Apparently it's also an effective ant repellent. :shrug:

I do occasionally think about putting it in my ice tea...But that's usually after the glass is half empty

[Phentex]

13. Ha! I want tea straight up...

so odd that I only have tea when I have people over. Had some leftover in the fridge and my son loved it. It's not something I think of having around although with the temps so high, it sure hits the spot!

[Warpy]

3. I've grown spearmint for tabbouli, peppermint for teas, and

lemon verbena to attract the bees. Spearmint is also used in a lot of north African, Greek and Middle Eastern cookery. It pairs especially well with lamb.

[Phentex]

14. I love spearmint!...

speaking of bees, my neighbor was complaining that she has no bees in her yard and therefore has trouble with her gardening. Well, I've got lots of bees and often marvel at three different kinds all humming around the same plant. She lives about four houses down from me. What's up with that?

Then I wondered, in a snooty way, if the bees know we don't use any chemicals in our yard? Or do they just like our plants?

[Denninmi]

6. I've got oodles of it.

All different kinds - spearmint, peppermint, lemon mint, chocolate mint, pineapple mint, orange mint, apple mint, water mint (a native species here) etc. Its easy to grow.

I don't think I've cooked with it in probably 10 years. But I still enjoy having it around, even though its a major garden thug.

My favorites are the orange mint and the chocolate mint. I love to just crush the foliage and smell it.

[Phentex]

15. Truthfully...

I didn't realize there were so many different kinds!

I'll have to look for them. :hi:

[grasswire]

7. I have a bouquet of fresh mint on my kitchen windowsill right now.

Just because it smells so great. And it's really pretty, in a vintage green tumbler.

I like cubes of ripe cantaloupe dressed with a little buttermilk and chopped mint.

Of course in tabbouli (my spelling, ha).

Garnish for many items, too! Strawberry pie + mint sprig = perfect!

[Denninmi]

9. I've never had tabbouli with mint in it.

There are a lot of middle eastern restaurants in this area, since we have the largest Arab-American population in the US, but I just don't recall much use of mint in the cuisine here. Tabbouli around these parts is made with a lot of parsley, but I don't ever remember tasting mint in it. Interesting, maybe its a regional thing -- most of the original middle eastern restaurants in this area were started by Lebanese immigrants, perhaps they didn't use mint so much?

[grasswire]

10. I used to work for some Lebanese people in Georgetown ...

...my job was writing the arts promotion press releases and programs for the artists they brought from the Middle East to perform and show in Washington. You are right -- Lebanese tabbouleh is mostly parsley. I don't think there was any mint in theirs. Mine is more Americanized, although I try to keep the bulgar down in proportion. And I like a tiny bit of mint in it, and I always put mint in yogurt sauce.

What the Lebanese DID use that Americans generally don't is powdered sumac sprinkled on dishes. Mmm.

[Phentex]

16. It would be good on fruit...

I guess I equate mint with something sweet and that may be my problem.

[kestrel91316]

8. I planted mint by my drippy faucet out by the back porch when I was in the house

and had unlimited fresh mint for 8 years. With zero effort.

[Phentex]

17. I don't plan to kill this one...

I just want to be able to use it.

What does it do over the winter? It's in a pot right now but I can plant it in the garden. I'm kinda liking the idea of keeping it where I can smell it though.

[kestrel91316]

21. I dunno, we don't have winter in SoCal. But I know it survived from

year to year in very cold areas in the Great Basin where my dad's family lived. It's a perennial.

[NJCher]

11. I make a fabulous chocolate mint cake

with my chocolate mint.

And I echo what the other posters said about the aroma. If nothing else, just clip bunches of it and bring it in for the enticing scent.

I also have ginger mint, which is a pretty mint with variegated yellow and green spots on its leaves.

Probably the best thing to do with mint is to clean it and stuff your crock pot full of it along with water. Let it simmer six hours. Then sqieeze out the leaves into the tea. Cool the tea and add sweetener if you like.

The nice thing about drinking herbal teas is that they are loaded with antioxidants. In that book about places where people live the longest, it tells about how a daily tea made from herbs is a common practice of the long-lived.


Cher

[Phentex]

18. Very useful!...

I think the smell while "cooking" would be heavenly.

Thanks for this tip. :)

Chocolate mint is a favorite (I think five pounds of weight gain is from the cookies at xmas...)

[Arkansas Granny]

19. I have been told that back in the hills people planted mint by their front door.

When company was coming up the lane, they would take the broom out and sweep it across the mint plants to pleasantly scent the air.

[Phentex]

24. That's a thought...

I wonder if the chipmunks will dig it up?

I like things that are easy to grow and useful as well.

[randr]

22. Fresh mint in potato salad--delish

We have had mint spread out into the yard and it does very well when mowed. I am trying to encourage it to grow in my garden paths and some day they will be my weed control.

[Phentex]

25. I would not think of that...

and I might take it easy at first. Like I said, I think of mint with sweet things but I need to branch out. :)

[randr]

28. Anise hysop also adds a nice licorice hint

[Hotler]

23. cucumbers, yogurt and mint

Lebanese style (Leben)
2-3 cucumbers peeled, seeded and cut/sliced up.
2 C plain yogurt
10-12 fresh mint leaves chopped up
2-3 cloves of garlic minced or crushed
salt to taste
If you have mortar/pestle grind the mint and garlic together.

[Phentex]

26. That's one I'll try....

That sounds good! Gonna have a bumper crop of cucumbers, too.

[randr]

27. Mint has spread into yard

Turns out it is mowable and makes an excellent ground cover. We are trying to introduce it into our pathways.

[Phentex]

30. Interesting...

we are always in need of ground covers. Maybe I need to rethink this!

[trud]

33. groundcover

Mayne I should try that in the area near the street where the salt from the winter road stuff kills the grass. Or maybe Greek oregano. It will be interesting to see who wins, the mint/Greek oregano or the road stuff.

[elfin]

29. I have three mints plus catnip in my herb garden

Each one tries to expand its territory beyond the hollow coffee can in which it was planted.

However, only ONE is the preferred one for making mojitos according to my son. I don't know which name it is. Lighter green and a firmer leaf.

Because mojitos are my summer favorite use, I need to get more of it.

[Phentex]

31. I think it's living on the porch...

sounds invasive so I'm not sure I want to put it with the other herbs. I'm liking the ground cover idea.

So many mojitos, so little time!

[On the Road]

32. You Can Make Moroccan Tea

by just crushing a large amount of leaves and steeping it in hot water with some sugar. Then you can pour it from a great height:



:)

I sometimes use mint and lime in beer. (Of course, I sometimes use a little pomegranate juice, too.)

I sometimes use fresh mint in lamb, although I have a dry mint spice miture which is even better. But it goes with a lot of things. I have used in eggplant, pasta salad, or anything that just needs a bit of flavor.

[JDPriestly]

34. I put mint into my lettuce salad. I love it.