Tag Archives: Mint

Blueberry Mint Iced Tea

Posted on by Laurie

June is National Iced Tea Month … perfect timing for warm weather refreshment! Flavored iced teas are easy to make and a are a great way to add personal flair to this summertime beverage for entertaining.

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Blueberry Mint Iced Tea

8 c. cold water

6 bags of good black tea (decaf. ok)

3/4 c. loosely packed fresh mint leaves, washed

3/4 c. raw sugar

7 cups ice cubes

3 c. fresh blueberries (or mixture of blueberries and blackberries), washed and stemmed

Frozen blueberries and ice cubes for serving

Lemon slices for serving

Fresh mint for garnish

 

Directions

1. Bring water to boil in a 4-quart pot. Add tea bags, mint leaves and sugar. Cover pot and remove from heat. Allow to steep for 20 minutes. Stir to make sure that sugar is completely dissolved.

2. Place 7 c. ice cubes into a 1-gallon pitcher. Strain tea into pitcher.

3. Place berries in a food processor and pulse until puréed. Press puree through sieve into tea. Stir until ice is completely dissolved and  purée is incorporated into the tea.

4. To serve, fill glasses with ice cubes, frozen blueberries and lemon slices. Pour tea over ice. Garnish with mint.

Enjoy!

More iced tea recipes …

Black Tea “Sangria recipe.

Iced Minted Orange Juice recipe.

Mint Simple Syrup recipe for adding to iced tea.

Iced Minted Orange Juice

Posted on by Laurie

My first waitressing job was working evenings at a deli while I was in high school. Early on, I was scheduled for a Saturday morning 7 a.m. shift. Until I got on the floor to serve tables, I didn’t realize that apart from the owner who was in her office doing book work, I was the only employee working. That meant that I was cooking, serving, and busing tables … with no training on the breakfast shift. Fortunately, I knew how to cook, but I was a little flustered nevertheless. Not thinking, I served orange in a large glass of ice to one of the customers – after all, that was how I liked to drink my orange juice. Boy did he chew me out. “Who drinks orange juice with ice? What are you thinking!?” But, I still like my o.j. with ice, and Minted Orange Juice – a blend of iced mint tea and orange juice – is served just that way. This is a beverage that I came up with for serving with breakfast in heat of summer when o.j. seems a little too heavy and yet it feels too early in the day for iced tea. Enjoy!

Minted Orange Juice

6 c. cold water

1 cinnamon stick

1 c. clean fresh-picked mint leaves, plus some for garnish

12 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate

1/2 – 3/4 c. sugar, or to taste

4 c. ice cubes, plus ice for serving

1. Place water and a cinnamon stick in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add mint leaves. Cover pot and steep for 15 minutes.

2. Place orange juice concentrate, 1/2 c. of the sugar, and ice cubes to a pitcher. Strain mint tea into pitcher. Stir until concentrate, sugar and ice cubes are dissolved. Taste. If desired, stir in the remaining 1/4 c. of sugar.

3. Chill until serving. Serve over ice and garnish with mint leaves.

Note: If you don’t have fresh mint, substitute 4 mint tea bags.

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Raspberry Mint Julep

Posted on by Laurie

Mint Julep is the official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby, and yet, despite its renown, is not widely popular apart from Derby celebrations.  Though it is refreshingly cold and steeped with tradition, the flavors of this classic cocktail (Bourbon, mint, and sugar) are just – to some palates – not very well rounded. Having read that some bars are experimenting with variations on the Mint Julep, I decided to try my own creation – a Raspberry Mint Julep. The addition of raspberry mutes the mint slightly and blends well with the rich flavor of Bourbon. I think this pleasant cocktail could be served for almost any warm weather occasion. Let me know what you think!

2 oz. Woodford Reserve or other good Bourbon

1 oz. Raspicello or other good raspberry liqueur

5 mint leaves, plus leaves for garnish

5 raspberries, plus one for garnish

1 t. sugar

shaved ice

In a chilled Mint Julep cup or highball glass, muddle together mint leaves, raspberries and sugar. Add Bourbon and raspberry liqueur. Fill cup/glass with shaved ice, top with a Boston shaker, and shake well. Garnish with raspberry and mint leaves. Enjoy!

Note: Mint Juleps are traditionally served in a chilled, beaded silver cup and held with a napkin around the base.

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“Refreshing Minty Lemon Limeade” and “Baked Tomatoes with Mint Cream”

Posted on by Laurie

Having recently written in general terms about ways to use mint – see my post Mint: It Grows Like a Weed, but That’s Okay from 5/15/12 – I thought it appropriate to offer a few more mint recipes every now and then. Both of the recipes below contain mint ingredients employed to a subtle effect. Enjoy!

 Refreshing Minty Lemon Limeade

2 1/4 c. ice water

1/2 c. fresh lemon juice

1/2 c. fresh lime juice

3/4 c. mint simple syrup, or to taste

Stir ingredients together. Chill until serving. Serve over ice.  Garnish with mint leaves, or with lemon or lime slices.

Baked Tomatoes with Mint Cream

(based on a recipe from Scottish Heritage Food and Cooking, 2005, Lorenz Books of Anness Publishing, London)

5 large ripe tomatoes

1 c. heavy cream

2 mint leaves

1 T.  mint-infused vodka

1/3 c. crumbled cheese of a good melting variety, such as Monterey Jack

salt and pepper

1. Fill a large stock pot to about half full with water then add a dash of salt and bring to a boil.

2. Meanwhile wash and core tomatoes – a grapefruit knife works well for coring – and then cut an ‘x’ into the bottom of each tomato. Carefully drop tomatoes into boiling water. When the skins start to split, transfer tomatoes to a colander and give a quick rinse with cold water. Allow to cool.

3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. While the oven is heating, place the heavy cream in a non-stick pot, add mint leaves and vodka, and allow to simmer over low to medium-low heat. Simmer until the heavy cream is reduced to about 3/4 of a  cup.

4. While the cream simmers, brush a baking dish with olive oil. Slice tomatoes and arrange them in baking dish, allowing them to overlap slightly. Strain the thickened cream over tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese and then with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve as a side dish or with a rustic bread for a small but rich meal.

Baked Tomatoes with Mint Cream

Shady Porch Cocktail

Posted on by Laurie

An original cocktail that calls to mind enjoying a shady porch on a hot summer’s evening.

Shady Porch Cocktail

1 1/2 oz. mint-infused vodka

1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

1/2 oz. mint simple syrup

3 to 4 oz. Ginger Ale

lime slice and mint sprig for garnish

Fill a cocktail glass with ice.  Stir together vodka, lime juice, and simple syrup. Pour over ice. Fill glass with Ginger Ale. Gently stir. Garnish with lime and mint.

(Thank you to Tim S. from NY for being my hand model and drink taster.)

Mint: It Grows Like a Weed, but That’s Okay

Posted on by Laurie

Herbs in the mint family are known to be so invasive that it is generally recommended that they be grown in pots rather than directly in the ground. A few years ago,  I started a couple of large pots of spearmint by the back steps. I still have those pots of mint. Kansas winters can’t kill them off, but grasshoppers can do some damage.  While the leaves are still pristine, having not yet been gnawed upon by the voracious grasshoppers that seem to plague my garden during the summer and are already appearing, I’ve decided to harvest some of the mint. So I have been thinking of its culinary uses. (In the post immediately following this I give a cocktail recipe that I created for using homemade mint products.)

Tip: To harvest mint, make sure that it has been well watered for several weeks prior to cutting. Cut mint in the morning before the heat of the day has started to set in and, preferably, cut only stems of mint that have not yet started to flower. Clean with cold water. Use only undamaged leaves.

Uses

(1) Mint Tea

Place a large quantity of leaves in a teapot. Pour fresh boiling water over leaves and let steep for about 5 minutes. Strain to serve. Variations: add lemon balm leaves, chamomile flowers, black or green tea leaves, orange or lemon peel, and so forth.

(2) Mint Simple Syrup

Add 1 cup cold water and 1 cup granulated white sugar to a non-stick pot. Heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is dissolved. (No need to simmer.) Place 2 c. mint leaves in a large glass bowl. Carefully pour simple syrup over mint and allow to sit for 5 to 15 minutes. Squeeze juice from leaves into syrup. Stain into syrup into a glass jar.

Use in cocktails such as Mint Juleps or Mojitos.  Use to sweeten lemonade or  to sweeten black or herbal teas  (hot or iced). Toss a small amount with fresh fruit such as honeydew or grapefruit segments for a minty fruit salad.

(3) Mint-Infused Vodka or Rum/Mint Extract

Fill a glass jar with fresh mint and top off with vodka or white rum. Cover tightly and shake. To make infused-vodka, store in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Strain out mint leaves and pour vodka into a glass bottle. To make extract, allow the mint leaves to sit in the vodka for 2 weeks before straining. While the mixture is sitting for the 2 weeks, remove any leaves that float to the top and turn brown.

Use vodka or rum in cocktails. Use extract in brownies, cookies, or whipped cream.

(4) Dried Mint Leaves

Hang bunch of leaves on stems 4 – 5″ long and hang in a warm, dry place or dry leaves in an oven or food dehydrator.

Use for teas or  in middle Eastern and far Eastern dishes.

That’s all that I came up with for today. What are your favorite ways to use mint, whether spearmint or some other variety? I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Blackberry Mojito: A Festive Warm Weather Cocktail

Posted on by Laurie

If you are planning a warm weather party, you might be looking for a fun cocktail to serve. Blackberry Mojitos are a festive drink for Spring and Summer celebrations.

Blackberry Mojito (1 Serving)

(1) Muddle (i.e. crush together) several fresh mint leaves, 6 large blackberries, 1.5 T. of sugar in the bottom of a short cocktail shaker.

(2) Fill shaker with crushed iced. Add 2 oz. rum of your choice. (Lighter rum will yield a lighter drink color.) Squeeze the juice of one lime into shaker. Shake vigorously for 1 full minute to chill drink and melt ice.

(3) Run a slice of lime around the rim of a cocktail glass. Dip glass in sugar. Fill glass with ice cubes.

(4) Strain cocktail into glass. Garnish with a slice of lime and sprig of fresh mint. Serve right away. Have fun at your party!