Mint, Mint, Mint

Many folks' experience with mint is merely as a garnish on desserts.  But mint is an amazingly delicious and versatile herb with myriad uses, both sweet and savory.  Its cool flavor is a great foil to hot chilis.  I like to chop a little mint into tomato salsas and I almost always add chopped mint to my ceviche.  Mint plays nicely with citrus - mint lemonade is a terrific summertime quaff, and mint is especially tasty with chocolate.

Today, I give you three delicious ways to enjoy mint:  Mint tea, mint-cilantro chutney, and mojitos.

Mint Tea
Mint tea is a super easy way to enjoy mint.  Simply dry the leaves, then pour boiling water over the dried leaves.  Allow to steep for 2-5 minutes, depending on how strong you like your tea.

I like to hang fresh mint sprigs from a rack.  They dry out in a few days.  When dry, remove the leaves from the stems.  Compost the stems and store the leaves in an air-tight container.  You can crush the leaves or leave them whole, your preference.  Use a tea ball or a little strainer to steep the tea.

Mint tea is also great on ice with lemon or lime, with or without sweetener.  If you like your iced tea sweet, mix up some simple syrup and keep it in the fridge.  The sugar is already dissolved in the simple syrup, no undissolved mass of granulated sugar at the bottom of the glass.  To make simple syrup:  Mix 1 C granulated sugar with 1 C water in a small saucepan.  Heat and stir until the sugar completely dissolves.  Bring to a simmer.  Cool.  Store in the fridge.




Mojitos
Mint and simple syrup are ingredients in the refreshing summer cocktail called a mojito.  There are many ways to make a mojito.  Here's one of my favorite recipes.  For each serving:

10 fresh mint leaves
1/2 fresh lime, or more to taste
2 T simple syrup (see recipe above)
3/4 C ice cubes
1-1/2 oz. white rum
1/2 C club soda

Place the mint leaves in the bottom of a glass.  Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lime and add 2 T simple syrup.  With a spoon or a pestle, crush the mint leaves with the lime juice and simple syrup.  Add the ice.  Pour in the rum and club soda.  Stir.  Add more lime juice or simple syrup to taste.



Mint-Cilantro Chutney
If you want to get a little more adventuresome with mint, try this scrumptious mint-cilantro chutney.  It's often served with Indian food, but it's a wonderful condiment on roasted potatoes, grilled meat and fish, and practically anything battered and fried.

1 C fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 C fresh mint leaves
1/2 small onion
2-3 T water
1 T lime juice, or to taste
1 T grated fresh ginger
1-2 t chopped green chili, or to taste
1 t sugar
salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

If you don't have a food processor, you can do this with a mortar and pestle, but it will take a little more time and energy.

Today's bounty included:

From Jaime Farms:  Cabbage, mint, and parsley;

From JR Organics:  Red leaf lettuce and Swiss chard;

From Sage Mountain Farm:  8-ball squash, dried purple Italian garlic, yellow candy spring onions, purple carrots, French breakfast radishes, and purple scalliuons;

From Sweet Tree Farms:  Yellow peaches and white nectarines; and

From Weiser Family Farms:  Baby carrots, assorted melons, and baby beets.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Cherry Brandy

I had long-standing plans to go cherry picking in the Leona Valley last Wednesday, so I didn't join the Silver Lake Farms group on Thursday.  Turns out it was an early season this year due to early heat in the valley.  Many places were already closed for the year; and at the places that remained open, many trees were picked clean.  We got plenty of cherries, though, three varieties, too:  Bing, Queen Anne, and Montmorency.

I'm planning to preserve my bounty by drying cherries, making cherry preserves, and putting up some cherry brandy.  Making cherry brandy is super easy, but it has to steep and then age for several months.  Think of it as a holiday project, as it makes a lovely gift.  Or make it for yourself to enjoy when the weather turns cool again.

The recipe below is for 1 pound of cherries, but you can make half or double it.

1 lb fresh cherries with pits
1 C granulated sugar
1 C brandy
1 C vodka

1.  Wash, dry and cut open the cherries to expose the pit, but do not pit them.  Place the cut cherries in a wide-mouthed 1-1/2 or 2 quart glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.

2.  Add the sugar.  Cover the jar and shake gently to coat the cherries with the sugar.  Allow the cherries to macerate in the sugar for 4-5 hours.

3.  Add the brandy and the vodka, and stir gently until most of the sugar has dissolved.

4.  Seal and store in a cool, dry place for 2-3 months, shaking occasionally, once every week or two.

5.  In 2-3 months, strain out the fruit.  Then filter through a coffee filter.  Bottle and allow the cherry brandy to age in the bottle on a cool, dry shelf for another 2-3 months before drinking.

I made two, single-variety batches, one with Queen Annes and the other with Bings, but there's no reason you can't mix different varieties of cherries in a single batch.

You might consider adding a small piece of vanilla bean or cinnamon to the mix, but tread lightly, as these flavors can be overpowering.

Today's bounty included:

From C&D Cherries:  Cherries!

From Sage Mountain Farm:  Patty pan squash, kale, shiraz beets, chantenay carrots, red spring onions, and cipolloni spring onions;

From Jaime Farms:  Broccoli, celery, basil, and chives;

From JR Organics:  Red romaine lettuce, dasher cucumber, and swiss chard;

From Sweet Tree Farms:  Nectarines and apricots.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Strawberry-Infused Vodka

Last Saturday, I went strawberry picking with two Master Food Preservers, Roshni and Michael.  It didn't take long to pick pounds of bright red, sun-ripened berries to eat and to preserve.

On Wednesday evening, we got together to swap the fruits of our strawberry preservation labors.  I traded my whole berry preserves for Roshni and Michael's strawberry garnacha and strawberry lavender jams.  While we were chatting, Michael strained the strawberries out of an exquisite, rose-colored liquid which turned out to be strawberry-infused vodka.  It tasted like sweet, ripe berries with a kick.

Strawberry-infused vodka is simple to make.  Roshni and Michael followed a recipe on David Leibovitz's blog which I've adapted here for a pint of strawberries which is usually what we get in our weekly box.

Strawberry-Infused Vodka

1 pint strawberries
1/2 bottle (375ml) vodka

1.  Wash and dry the strawberries.  Cut off the stems and leaves.  Remove the hulls.  Compost the stems, leaves, and hulls.

2.  Cut the berries into pieces.  Place in a glass jar with a lid.  Cover with vodka.  Seal the jar and store in a cool dark place for 3-7 days.

3.  The vodka is infused when the berries have lost most or all of their color and the vodka has become a beautiful rose color.  Strain out the berries with a fine mesh strainer or through cheese cloth.  For a clearer product, strain through a coffee filter.  Chill the infused vodka before serving.

The flavor of some infusions fades quickly.  Strawberry-infused vodka is best stored in the fridge or the freezer and consumed within a relatively short time.  It makes a great summer cocktail on ice.  Or mix a little with white wine or champagne for a variation on kir.

A word on vodka infusions:  It's probably best to use organic or pesticide- and chemical-free strawberries for your infusion as the vodka is likely to pull any pesticide residues out of the berries as well as the flavor and color.

Today's bounty included:

From Sage Mountain Farm:  Black simpson lettuce, zucchini, yellowstone carrots, bull's blood beets, young garlic, purple scallions, red russian kale, and arugula;

From JR Organics:  Cauliflower and strawberries;

From Jaime Farms:  Celery, parsley, dill, and chives;

From Sweet Tree Farms:  Zee Fire yellow nectarines and white donut peaches;

From Silver Lake Farms:  Tomato seedings.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Kelley's fall fruit cocktails

This from shareholder Kelley:

Soooo excited for the fruit. Amazing.

So many great recipes, but since it's holiday season, some of my favorites for those are party-friendly:

Persimmon cocktails: http://www.drinkoftheweek.com/drink-of-the-week/golden-gate-persimmon-cocktail/

Pomegranate mojitos: http://www.recipegirl.com/2008/11/17/pomegranate-mojitos/

Pomegranate seeds are easily mixed into tons of dishes: guacamole, yogurt, ice cream, pumpkin butter (over toast- yum) ... also, for a great salsa that I like to put over grilled fish: pomegranate seeds, lime juice, salt, cilantro, onion, maybe some ginger, maybe some peppers, and voila. :)

See you in a bit!

Kelley: Thanks for being a shareholder since the start. Love ya! And I'm coming to any cocktail party you ever have at your house. oh yeah.