Mint Puree

I needed to prune my mint pot. It was getting too leggy so I trimmed off 8 inches(20cm)or so. What to do with the mint? Dried mint is easy but not special. I decided, after my mint chutney experience to puree and freeze it.

I had a LOT of mint. I pulled the leaves off and used only the stems at the tips. I mixed in a little bit of water and started with just a little mint, adding more as each bit was pureed. This was a bit tedious adding a little mint at a time but I ended up with almost a pint of it, and it actually burned my eyes when I opened the blender. I did not need to add anymore water after the initial time. I think that the large quantity worked out much better than a smaller one would have.

I ended up with a mixture that was mostly a very wet paste on the bottom which some liquid on top. I did my best to distribute the paste into my ice cube tray and to pour that remaining liquid evenly on top.

After it is frozen I will take the cube out of the tray and into a freezer bag. I may use this puree in lots of things but on the top of my list is mint chutney. One cube should be enough for a small batch.

Mint Chutney

OK, so none of these images has anything to do with mint chutney. I've been distracted by raw alpaca fleece but I am not motivated to post in my spinning blog because frankly though I am enthused, I cannot share it as effectively as I can my garden with my beautiful images. If I could share the tactile via the internet that'd be something, but I can't and I am also more self-conscious of it. Instead, I share these pictures. Below, I share a sort of recipe for mint chutney that is delicious.

My monarda is finally starting to bloom. Monarda is in the mint family, so that sorta counts right? At some point I will expound on monarda, but not today.

I am so pleased that this bicolor butterfly bush is finally blooming. I got it is a 3" pot which means it is not as big as most I could have bought at a local nursery. However, I have not seen this variety locally. I got this from Mountain Valley Growers, who remain my favorite place to get live plants. Great prices, selection, service and the best packing I have seen is what you get from them. Did I mention that they are organic too?

These scarlet runners are starting to bloom. they do however look like they have some issue with this spot. There's a few corners in my garden where things don't grow right. Hopefully I can fix this. Anyway, scarlet runners are pretty tough so maybe this won't matter.

This vase came from the street, left as some sort of offering from an anonymous person that I have accepted. I put in a sort of false bottom to retain water so it is sorta self-watering. It seems to be working out OK. It's got asparagus fern, that curly grass and lobelia.

OK, so here's me paraphrasing a recipe I found online. Since I did not follow it to the letter I think that this is OK. In most cases I do not follow recipes to the letter, I just use them as guidelines.

Mint Chutney
2 parts mint
1 part cilantro
lemon or lime juice
fresh hot pepper - you decide how hot and how much
a bit of yogurt
chopped onions,perhaps a quarter or half as much of the cilantro

just put it in a blender add some juice to help it blend,yogurt too.

I think I might make a bunch of this and freeze it. MMMMMMMMM,great way to use some of that extra mint I have.