An Ode to Mint

You know when you spend $3 for fresh herbs and you only use a tiny bit and the rest goes to waste? I hate that. That never happens in our house when it comes to using mint.

You can do so much with fresh mint, so I'm growing it in my kitchen. Mint is known to take over the whole garden, so for my kitchen garden, I put it alone in a terra cotta pot. It like moist soil, shade and sunlight. I'm hoping that pretty soon my mint will flourish so I can make:

• Mojitos year round
• Green tea with fresh mint (the only way to survive a New England winter)
• Cucumber, tomato, feta cheese & mint salads
• Mint chutney is a nice foil for spicy and rich dishes, like Indian food
• Throw it in a vase or flower arrangement for your table

This got me thinking about all of the "essentials" that I keep in my larder to make everyday meals better. I would say that fresh mint and parsley are the most underrated herbs in the kitchen. They both add a nice clean, herbaceousness to dishes. Maybe I will try making a parsley mojito soon. The other thing I can't live without is citrus--it goes in everything from homemade sangria, to lemon garlic aoili, vinaigrettes, grapefruit and fennel salads, and beurre blanc sauces. I could make a meal out of just parsley and lemon, I swear.