I just used some Kentucky Colonel mint this evening (strong spearmint flavor) mixed with some salad greens. I did a chiffonade, and sprinkled it on top, and it's a wonderful addition to a salad. Some lime mints can also be fabulous in salsas along with your cilantro. And don't forget the Mint Julep! and Mojito! Also, mints are great for infusing simple syrups for cold or hot teas later. My recipe is a ratio of 2 to 1. Two cups of sugar, to one cup of water. Slowly bring to a boil til clear. Remove from heat, bruise the mint to release the oil and place the whole leaves in the syrup. Let set til cool. I remove the leaves and store the syrup in a bottle in the refrigerator for up to a week (though it never lasts that long!). Wonderful also if infused with some lemon rind also. So good to sweeten a nice summer iced tea or a nice hot, herbal tea, or green tea. Especially great for cold teas because there's none of that trying to dissolve sugar in a cold medium. It's already a syrup! Some of the better restaurants here bring simple syrup to your table when you order hot or cold tea so you can sweeten to your liking. It's a very elegant presentation. Some will make simple syrup on a ratio of 1 to 1. One cup of water to one cup of sugar. I call this simple water. If you want that intense syrup, you need a 2 to 1 ratio. It will work with the 1 to 1 though. But as a cook it's one of my pet peeves....1 to 1 is SIMPLE WATER, not syrup. I've also made a rosemary simple syrup (YUM!) and a cinnamon basil simple syrup. There are SO many different types of mint out there now, you have such freedom to express yourself with flavor!

Got all these from the cooking forum and they are favorites! Made the spinach salad from Ann for a luncheon, it was a very big hit! Vittorio's Spinach Salad from Ann T Vittorio's was a restaurant in Toronto that we use to go to years ago. Salad isn't something that I would usually order but I loved his. This is my recreation of his recipe. Salad: Washed and dried baby spinach 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled 4 or 5 cleaned mushrooms, sliced 1 can of artichoke hearts halved or quartered 3 Roma tomatoes, quartered 2 chopped green onions Kalamata olives Dressing: 1/4 teaspoon tarragon 1/2 clove of garlic 2 or 3 tablespoons wine vinegar 1/2 cup homemade mayo or Hellmans salt and pepper Place spinach in a large salad bowl. Decorate with eggs, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and green onions and olives. Drizzle with dressing and toss. Can be made on individual plates as well. Dressing: Soak tarragon and garlic in vinegar. Add salt to dissolve. Mix vinegar mixture into mayonnaise and adjust seasoning to taste. ------------------------------------------- Nancy's "55" Salad Dressing (wizardnm) 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/4 cup vinegar 1/4 cup water 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper 1/2 teaspoon celery seed (optional) 1 cup vegetable oil Combine garlic, dry mustard, vinegar and water in a food processor or blender. Pulse to combine. Add salt, sugar, peppers, and celery seed (if using) With processor or blender running, SLOWLY add vegetable oil in a thin stream. After oil is added, continue to process another 3 minutes. --------------------------------------------------------- Creamy Roquefort Dressing (mqmoi) 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 large shallot, minced 1 tablespoon Sherry wine vinegar 1 large garlic clove, minced 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1/3 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese 3 tablespoons whipping cream Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Fold in Roquefort cheese and cream. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Here's our friend Maria's everyday chicken mole or, as she explained to me long ago, amused by the new culinary fuss over "moles," chicken in gravy. Maria was the oldest of 10 and spent her childhood here in the U.S. babysitting and on a stool preparing meals while the adults were out in the fields. She's a fantastic cook, but this is simple home cooking, no chocolate, no "special" ingredients. I'm offering it because I never see it on recipe forums and it is delicious, definitely winter comfort food. Amounts are approximate, of course, and can be massaged as desired. Chicken broth Water and 2-3 pounds chicken parts, chicken, plus whatever you usually add, such as: 1/2 onion 2 cloves garlic 1 leafy stalk celery. 1 bay leaf 2 teaspoons thyme Salt and pepper to taste Gravy 3 tablespoons chicken fat (skimmed from chicken broth) 1/2 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic 3 tablespoons flour Cumin seed, broken up, to taste, about 1 tablespoon or more Good quality chili powder to taste, start with a tablespoon if unsure 3 cups chicken broth Simmer first group of ingredients about 20 minutes, skimming foam as they approach a low boil, then turning heat down to simmer about 20 minutes for the typical supermarket chicken. Remove and cool chicken enough to pull apart into bite-size pieces. For gravy, lightly saute onion, garlic and spices in chicken fat skimmed from the broth. Sift flour into the pan, whisking quickly, and stir over low-medium heat until flour is cooked; will be bubbly but not browned. Then stir in defatted chicken broth and simmer until thickened. Salt as desired. At this point you can add more chili powder to taste if needed and simmer a bit more. We like it a nice medium chile-red, not pale and not dark. Then add the chicken and serve over whatever you like.

I make several of the things listed here, but I also make the following: Chicken & black bean burritos: Preheat oven to 350°. Mix together: - 1 c. cooked chicken, pulled apart - 1 can black beans, drained - 1 c. sweet corn (I use frozen) - canned salsa to moisten everything - about 1/2 t. cumin and 1 t. chili powder Lay out six flour tortillas, and split the chicken/bean mixture equally among them, laying it in a stripe down the middle of each tortilla. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the chicken/bean mixture, then roll up and put side-by-side on a cookie sheet. Spread some more salsa and shredded cheese on the tops of the burritos, then bake for about 30 minutes, until hot. My other use for cooked chicken is stir-fry: Cut up about 1 cup chicken in cubes or smallish pieces. Then cut up whatever vegetables you have on hand, raw or cooked, into approximately even-sized pieces. I always use an onion to start, and will often use carrot, celery, broccoli, sweet red peppers, zucchini, whatever. Heat a wok or big frypan over high heat, and add about 2 T. oil. While this is heating, mix up a simple sauce of about 1/2 c. cold water, 1 heaping T. cornstarch, and some ground ginger and soy sauce. I mix it in a Tupperware container with a tight-fitting top so I can shake the mixture. Now, when the oil is hot, start adding vegetables. Start with the onions, cook until soft but not done, then begin adding other vegetables. Add the ones that need to cook longer first, and the ones that don't take long later. Add the chicken near the end, as you just have to heat it. Keep everything moving, using a spoon or spatula. When everything is cooked, turn down the heat to medium-low and add the sauce mixture. Cook for a minute or two, until it's hot and thickened. Serve over rice.