I thought I would give you an update on our little herb garden. So far so good! I have to admit there have been a couple of days where Little Pumpkin Doodle and I, o.k. mostly me have forgotten to water our precious herbs, but we are kicking butt!
Since LPD asked me if we could plant flowers after our visit to the Carlsbad Flower Fields, we’re going to go check out a couple of flowers this week and hopefully pot them. She really enjoys taking her watering can and “raining on the plants” (that’s what she calls watering).
Yesterday afternoon LPD and I spent some time at the beach,
building castles and catching sand crabs, but before we left we made sun tea with our mint leaves. We cut a bunch of fresh mint and let it sit in the sun for 3 hours. When we arrived home it was finished. I poured our aromatic sun tea into cups over flowing with crushed ice and a touch of Stevia. It was so refreshing after our trip to the beach, that LPD named our drink “Mint Splash.”
After LPD went to bed, I looked on the computer for more recipes using fresh mint and found a simple recipe for Mint Extract.
Recipe is from E-How: What you Need: Mason Jar, Mint Leaves and Grain Alcohol or High Proof Vodka
Instructions
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Mince fresh mint leaves with a knife. The finer the leaves are chopped, the more surface area will be available for oil extraction.
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Place the chopped leaves into a glass mason jar. Fill the jar with three parts of a high-proof alcohol such as grain alcohol or vodka for every one part minced leaves.The alcohol will act as an agent to pull the oils out of the mint.
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Cap the jar and shake well. Leave the container of herbs to sit in a dark place for the next four to six weeks. Shake the jar to stir up its contents every few days.
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After the mint has soaked for four to six weeks, separate the plant material from the liquid by pouring the mixture into a clean bowl through a sieve or strainer. Wrap the soaked leaves in a piece of fine cheesecloth and squeeze out any captured extract.
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Store the mint extract in small glass bottles or jars in a cool dark place in a very high area out of the reach of children.
The extract takes awhile to make, but it will be perfect for homemade mint chip ice cream when it’s finished.
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The herb look good, just remember to water them. I will drink the mint tea with out the vodka.