Mojitos!

MINT-MANGO BUTTER

1/2 cup sweet butter
1/2 fresh mango, peeled and pureed
2 tsp. fresh lime juice
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh mint
Dash of salt

Cream the butter and mix all the ingredients together until well blended. Roll into a log shape, wrap well, and refrigerate.
NOTE: This doesnt freeze well and is best if used within 24 hours of when you make it.

Ideas: mild-flavored fish (sole, tilapia, flounder, etc.), pork, beets

I like mint in my iced tea. Might just be my imagination, but some fresh mint, steeped along with a few tea bags... tea doesn't even need any sweetener.

Maghmour. It's a Lebanese stew with eggplant, tomatoes, chickpeas, garlic, onions, pomegranate molasses, oil and spices, with chiffonade mint on top. I've made this recipe, both with and without the feta. If you don't use the feta, it needs some acid (lime juice). There are huge variations among cooks when it comes to the spices. Some people use peppery things instead, and limit the sweetness. Others substitute for the mint. The linked one is closest to what I think of as "right' (this isn't the kind of recipe that you need to follow exactly--make it to your own taste, but you do need to be careful of the balance). Even though it's a garnish, the mint is essential to the flavor of the dish. Don't stint. :) That's why I thought of it for you. :)

Or...a very well received tuna salad I made for a meeting: White albacore in water, diced orange bell pepper, dried blueberries, and mint chiffonade, with mayonnaise (on the acidic side and not sweetened) and added seasoning.

I like mint cut up on most fruit.

Pillog, how can anyone not love a recipe with baby eggplants that says, "Peel to look like Edwardian circus tents."

One of my favorite meals when the garden is in season (too hot this time of year--my fall lettuce is sprouting so fast it may bolt before I get it planted out) is a salad made with romaine, mint, nasturtiums (flowers and leaves), chives ,cherry tomatoes, red onion, greek peppers, and olives with a couple of baked falafels on top, with lemon-tahini sauce.

Another vote for mojitos!

Mint sauce to serve with delicious roast lamb.

Bunch mint chopped, salt, 4 tbls white wine vinegar, 4 tbls water, 1 tbls sugar.

Boil the water and pour on mint. Add the rest of the ingredients. Chill.

OMG, I'm excited now!!!! lol!

Can you believe I've *never* had a mojito?! I had to look it up... perfect because I just bought a good bottle of rum! That also reminds me that I made homemade creme de menthe last summer, set it aside to let it mellow, and completely forgot about it. haha!

Ruthanna, your mint-mango-butter sounds fantastic!

klseiverd, I just realized that I haven't made sun-tea this summer, and I usually try to keep some available at all times!

plllog, that recipe is right up my alley!!! I had to search on pomegranate molasses and found a simple recipe -- I'm wondering if tamarind paste might make a good substitute? especially since you say the recipe needs an acid (tart factor) if you omit the feta. Your tuna salad sounds wonderful too!

eandhl2, mint on fresh fruit -- so simple and sounds great.

cloudy_christine, I agree -- Edwardian circus tents... too cute. lol!

shambo, mint in meatballs does sound good! Funny, I had such an abundance of dill earlier this year I was going to post and ask for recipes ideas using dill... I think I froze about 4 qts of fresh dill leaves. lol!

writersblock, will definitely try that salad! I grow everything req'd.

sheilajoice, it's unanimous. :)

Islay Corbel, that mint sauce sounds excellent!

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions!!!

Thought I should add the recipe from my sister, in case others are interested. It's always a big hit when I serve it... I also like to add sliced sweet red peppers to the salad mix:

Minty-Orange Salad:

1 lg. can mandarin oranges (drained)

3 cups chopped Spring Mix

1/2 cup favorite nuts (I use sliced almonds)

1/2 cup sliced red onion

3-4 tbs chopped fresh mint

Dressing:

3-4 tbs extra virgin olive oil

4 tbs. balsamic vinegar

1 clove crushed garlic

4 tbs. orange juice

S&P

Mix dressing and chill. Pour over salad just before serving.

Party, I envy you about the dill. Our weather is so hot that dill just barely gets started, and then it immediately bolts. I gave up on dill and cilantro years ago for that reason. But I'd love to have a good source for fresh dill and fennel fronds. That's another herb that's used quite a bit in Greek cooking. It used to grow wild in vacant lots and cropped up in between slabs of concrete on city streets. But I haven't seen it for years now.

I love sweet mint / spearmint.Some of the ways I use it:

-- Southeast Asian cooking -- fresh rolls, Thai beef salad, Thai cellophane noodle salad, Thai flatbread.

-- mojitos! Iced tea and punches, lemonade

-- spanikopita (Greek spinach pie), tabbouleh, salads, kababby things.

-- concentrate or mint simple syrup. Note Martha Stewart's advice to keep the steaming mint coveted until it cools so that you don't lose a lot of the flavor volatiles.

shambo, I grow the dill for pickles but my problem is that the dill is always ready far before the cucumbers! I let dill and parsley self-sow all over one of my veg gardens because the monarch caterpillars love it! unfortunately, not enough monarch caterpillars this year. :(

Thanks for the suggestions, petalique. Noted on Martha's advice!

Here's a few more:

Mint Pesto served with lamb

Mojitos - I't the perfect time of year for blackberry Mojitos

Apple Mint Sauce served with pork

Feta, Watermelon and Mint Salad

Sun Tea with Mint (So refreshing!)

Mint Jelly

I just returned from an early morning work session at our church. In addition to coffee, they had a large dispenser of iced water with lime and cucumber slices and fresh mint sprigs. It was so refreshing!

PM, tamarind is one of my very favorite flavors, but I think it would be awful as a substitute for the pomegranate molasses, given the other flavors in the dish. If you don't have a Middle Eastern market near you,Amazon has plenty of pomegranate molasses to choose from. I don't blame you for not wanting to boil it down yourself. :)

Juleps.

I watched a video of a bartender making a mint julep earlier this week. I'd share if I could remember where I saw it (or why I watched it). Instead of muddling the mint, he took the few sprigs that he was using in the drink and lightly slapped them against his hand then stuck them in the drink more like garnish. He said the mint should be closer to the nose. Hmmmm....

moosemac, I've heard of watermelon w/ feta & basil, but not mint. That sounds interesting.

plllog, thanks for the info. I'd LOVE to make it myself! finding the pomegranate juice locally will be the problem, but if I can't there's always Amazon. :)

pink, I'm not convinced I'd be a fan of a mint julep, but I like to try everything!

bbstx, that makes perfect sense to me... the nose knows. ;^)

I use mint in tabbouleh. I pretty much follow this Ina Garten recipe. Except sometimes I make it with quinoa instead of bulghur wheat, and my favorite is to make it with cauliflower "rice" instead of bulghur wheat. I use this technique to make the cauliflower rice.

I can't get enough tabbouleh! It is an herb salad with some bulgur wheat or even couscous.

Authentic tabboulehs will have more herbs and less wheat, but if it tastes good who cares about authenticity, right? I like to add currants or golden raisins.

I put it in tea and tabbouleh. Otherwise I don't much use mint. Fresh, of course.

I see someone mentioned Mojitos. Them, too...

Oh, my! Around here all the stores have fresh pomegranate juice. I thought you meant from fruit since the pomegranates are just coming ripe. :) I'm sure you could make pomegranate molasses from grenadine, too, which is just a thinner version of the same thing, if you can get the real kind (rather than chemical). Most liquor stores carry some version of it.

Pomegranate molasses has the consistency of warm honey--good and thick, and globby, but pourable. More of a syrup. Like very warm molasses.

plllog, I found some juice today! :) Thanks for the description -- it matches what I envisioned.

Excellent! Have fun. :)

I really like fresh mint in zucchini pancakes/fritters.

Another good use is mixing lemon juice, olive oil and fresh mint and tossing veggies off the grill. The original recipe for this called for using grilled zucchini but it works well with other veggies, too.

I also like mint in a yogurt sauce: yogurt, garlic, a bit of lemon juice, fresh mint, sometimes sumac. I use this on all kinds of things.

Great ideas, tish!

plllog, my pom. molasses is made... yummy! What else do you use it for??? :)

I toss torn mint leaves into my green salad mixture.

I add mint and pineapple to a pitcher of water and allow both flavors to infuse for 24 hrs. YUM!

I make a mint sauce with honey, evoo and chopped mint. Very good. Try adding a bit of jalepeno for a slight bite. We had served it this way with rack of lamb in a gourmet restaurant in Jackson Wy.

I often make Cuban Mojitos; I've also made Mint Extract with my chocolate mint, which seems to thrive in clay soil.

Sol