Howdy. Generally it is not cost effictive for the home gardener to distill EO (essential oil), as the cost of the still and the amount of herb needed to make a decent batch are restrictive. This is what I personally would do. Cram a jar full of mint leaves, cover with oil (almond would be nice). Set it in a oven with pilot light or other warm place a week or so. I shake daily at least. Then press the oil out. Here's a recipe for salve: Salves made easy It is very easy to make your own salves. Start with 8 ounces of an herbal oil and place in a non-metal pan. Add about 1/4 cup of beeswax. Heat over a very low heat until the beeswax is melted. To check the firmness of your salve, place a few drops on a plate and place in the freezer. After a minute or two, check the consistency. If it is too soft, add more beeswax; if too hard, add more oil. When you have achieved the desired consistency, pour into clean jars and cool completely. Stored in a cool, dark place, your salves should keep for a couple of years. Seperate a bit out, add more beeswax, and you can use it as lipbalm as well. You can add essential oils for added scent, as the straight mint infused oil probably wouldn't be real strong in smell, but it would be astringent and soothing as well. Enjoy, Lynn PS- maybe some day you'll aquire mint taste-buds. Nothing better than a frosty mug of mint tea on a sweltering day! Here is a link that might be useful: Here's past posts on distillation and EO's

I've seen several mint pear recipes. There is one using creme de menthe, but since you mentioned flavoring instead of liqueur, I'll go with those: The old Kerr canning book had a "Minted Pears" recipe. Per 4 pounds of pears (prepped and quartered) make a syurp of 3 1/2 cups water, 1 3/4 cups sugar and up to 3 T. bottled or fresh lemon juice (optional), 1/4 tsp. green food coloring (40 drops). You can always add less than 1/4 tsp. if the syrup has already become the desired shade of green. Hot pack the pears by adding to the boiling syrup and bringing back to the boil. Remove from the heat. At this point you have two options: One Kerr edition says 1/2 tsp. mint extract per batch of syrup; another Kerr edition says 1/4 tsp. per pint and 1/2 tsp. per quart. I guess it depends on how minty you want them. Fill jars with pears and syrup, processing as per usual for hot-pack pears. If you prefer to use oil of peppermint, the only directions are to add the oil 1 drop at a time to the syrup until desired strength is reached. I've used essential oils, though not for pears. All I can say is "less is more." A little essential oil will go a long, long way. Carol

Marilyn, How would you store these? I have a DD who just got engaged (wedding should be a few years from now) and I am gathering recipes that are easy to make and I can do ahead. So far, she is saying she wants a small wedding at home, with MOM cooking! I don't mind that at all, in fact I'd love to do it. But, I don't want her disappointed after the fact because she really wanted XY and Z but settled for Q because she thought Dad wouldn't shell out for anything better. So, I'm gathering great recipes, just in case! Susan

I accidentally bought two bags of yellow split peas so I will be making more split pea soup. Next time probably going Indian. This calls for carrots, celery and leeks. But you can always just use more onion in place of the leeks. I have to say leeks, like fennel, do not impress me, they are underwhelming, IMHO. India-style yellow split pea soup. Makes 18 cups, I'm sure I will halve this. 1 lb. yellow split peas, soak overnight if you wish, or nuke for 10 min. with water and drain. 4 large cloves garlic, minced 3 celery stalks, chopped 4 carrots, chopped 3 onions, chopped (small ones I think!) 3 leeks, chopped (with 3 onions, no one will miss the leeks. I have some dried chives I'm wanting to get rid of which I will probably sub 3 TBLSP of that) 1.5 red pepper, seeded and chopped (I use canned roasted red peppers) 1.5 green peppers, seeded and chopped 2 TBLSP EVOO or canola oil 1 16 oz. can peeled, diced tomatoes. (I've never seen a 16 oz. can, I use the 14.5 oz ones.) 1 TBLSP + 1 tsp. tumeric 1 TBLSP + 1 tsp. cumin 1 tsp. corriander 1/4 tsp. fresh ground nutmet 3.5 quarts defatted chicken stock, veg. stock, or water Juice of 2 limes Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish Well, I have no directions for this!! I dunno, sautee the veggies in the oil, add the soaked peas, spices and broth, and simmer for about 1.5 hours, or 1 hour if you're making a half batch. Add tomatoes and lime juice only at the end, since they are acid which toughens beans before they are fully cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. I have made this. It's a flexible recipe. I rarely buy red peppers so I'd probably use some other veggie in the soup to sub for that, like summer squash or sweet potato or butternut squash or turnip or cabbage or nothing. It's your basic Indian yellow dal soup so very flexible.