Mint Tea

We've been enjoying our mint from the garden all summer.  It's delicious and prolific.  The perfect addition to any garden.  We've been enjoying vodka mojitos, have mixed some in with watermelon and feta, added it iced tea and meat marinades, but at this point in the summer it was beginning to look a bit straggly.  I decided to cut it back and harvest the mint in hopes that it will grow back fuller (which it usually does) and that we can have yet another harvest before it gets too cold.

We haven't yet used it to steep tea, which is a favorite, so I decided to brew a pot for a little afternoon treat and dry the rest for later use.  It couldn't be easier and tastes so much better than premixed tea bags.

Fresh Brewed Mint Tea

• Snip several stems fresh mint.
• Prepare tea pot (Simply fill with hot water and let set for 5 min).
• Heat additional water in kettle on stove.
• Empty tea pot of water used to prepare the pot.  Fill with fresh mint and new hot water.
• Allow tea to steep.  Sweeten to taste with honey.

Drying Fresh Mint

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
• Trim mint of any yellowed leaves, wash and pat dry.
• Arrange mint, stems and all, in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
• "Bake" until leaves are dried completely. 

Happy Gardening!