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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Adventures in mint

I have always enjoyed growing mint, probably because it is almost fool proof! I love brushing up against a patch of pineapple mint on the way to feed my bunnies. Or filling a vase full of all the different "flavors" that I have growing, and decorating the kitchen table with it. This year the girls have "discovered" how lovely it can make their room smell, and have been clipping it and keeping it in bowls beside their beds. Even with all of those ways of enjoying the mint, I have still been left wondering what else we could do with it. I have just about every mint available for growing around here. I have chocolate, spearmint, peppermint, pineapple, apple, and lemon. Anyone who has ever tried to grow mint before knows just how well it takes off over. I have some patches that are so large I actually mow them with the rider mower, to keep them from engulfing my whole yard. :-) So, I have been reading up on ways to use it.

Mint jelly was super yummy, especially when spread on crackers with cream cheese.

I was reading in my new soap making book about all the yummy smelling soap recipes that you can make with dried mint. I read in my homesteading book about different types of teas that are made with dried mint. I am not sure when, or what, I want to try to make with the mint next, but there was a common step that all of them had. Dry the mint. So we did. :-)
 We let it hang to dry for about two weeks.
 Then the girls went to town crushing it...
And then putting it in jars. 
This was such a fun little project that took very little time, and no money. That makes it a winner in my book for sure!

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