Bring something to share? Bring something to share?! Speck’s words on yesterday’s Farmer D post about the Summer Solstice gathering next week at the Briarcliff store had me say out loud, right there in my home office (which overlooks my backyard garden), “I’ll tell you what I have to share–mint, mint, and more mint!”
Yes, some people call it invasive. “Make sure you put it in a pot or it will take over,” you hear most commonly (and a small cedar raised bed from Farmer D Organics would work perfectly). I prefer to think of it as abundant. It loves our climate and is there for the picking right outside my kitchen door (and just about everywhere else) for probably 10 months of the year.
- It crushes under me feet when I walk in my paths.
- I tuck it in school and camp lunch boxes.
- I make tea with it (I just grab a handful and stuff it in a cup of boiling water for a bit and then add some local raw honey).
- I make pesto (mint, garlic, sea salt, olive oil, parmesan cheese, any kind of nut–the latest I used was pistachios!).
- I donate armfuls of it to the local food pantry where I volunteer (we even planted a bed of mint because it was so popular), and I have fallen in love with candied mint leaves as a garnish on brownies or muffins (or, okay, complete honesty, just straight up).
Here’s a quick 2-minute How-To video for making candied mint leaves.
How to Make Candied Mint from Pattie Baker on Vimeo.
And, by the way, if you want to blow your kids’ minds with deliciousness, grow stevia, too, and then just give them a small stevia leaf and a mint leaf to nibble together–no sugar needed! My friend, Urban Farmer Rashid Nuri, showed me that. Try different mint varieties like peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, and more.
If you’re looking to add mint to your garden, trust me, you have a friend who’s happy to share and frankly, that’s one of the joys of gardening. As for sharing other bounty, come show off your Swiss chard, onion, garlic, potato, or beet dish or just bring pictures–you know how we gardeners like to share our vegetable photos like they are our babies. Speaking of babies, yes, Farmer D will have pictures of little Tilden!
Already have zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, beans, and the star of the show, tomatoes? Bring it and flaunt it! Oh, and by the way, there is still plenty of time to get the beloved summer crops in the ground, so if you haven’t started your garden yet, you’re in luck. Our summer season here in metro-Atlanta is long and our mint season is even longer. Be sure to swing by the Garden Center where you can find seeds, plants, and more.
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