notes from the herb garden

Welcome back. Over the summer months, I have enjoyed watching my basil, mint and lavender bloom in the garden. We planted the seedlings in May, and they are now full and growing constantly. We also have a raspberry bush and a jalapeno plant, which have both been slow to flower, but are now well on their way to producing fruit.

I am always in search of recipes that will put these herbs to use. Over the summer, I have been making a simple mint tea for an after-dinner drink, and tonight, I made two different varieties of pesto -- classic basil and basil-mint -- with the beautifully green mint and basil leaves from the garden. I've shared the recipes below. Enjoy!

basil/mint pesto

The pesto was surprisingly easy to make --

Blend approximately 30 basil leaves (or 20 basil leaves and 10 mint leaves) in a food processor along with 1/3 cup pine nuts, 1/2 cup olive oil, a touch of salt, and a cup of parmesan cheese.

Of course, the classic basil pesto is delicious, but the mint variation gives it a bit of coolness, and you can barely detect the difference between the two sauces. I'm looking forward to using the sauces to make roasted chicken tomorrow night.

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mint tea

The mint is lovely for making fresh tea. The recipe is from my best friend, who makes the tea from sweet mint. The mint I have in the garden is a bit stockier, and therefore making the tea from the mint in my garden requires more leaves.

All you have to do is snip several handfuls of leaves (I'd say about 3-4 handfuls, until you can barely hold them all in one hand) and rinse them thoroughly. Make sure there is no dirt or outside bug-iness still on the leaves. Boil a small pot of filtered water. When the water reaches a rolling boil, add the mint leaves and let them wilt into the water, approximately one minute.

Turn off the heat and let the leaves sit in the water for a few more minutes. The liquid should be a bright chartreuse, almost neon in color. Add sugar, if you like, and enjoy.

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lavender

The lavender is a bit trickier to use. In the beginning of the summer, it flowered beautifully, but now it is stockier and the stems are thicker and stronger. I'd like to make a dessert out of the petals, or dry them to make sachets. But for now, I am using the leaves as decoration.