Month: June 2010

I wonder why I love food so much.

I guess I must have been really hungry in one of my past lives.

Or what.

This strong attraction to food comprises mostly cooking and MUNCHING (!!!) on the stuff I’ve prepared.

I love cooking because people are happy when you serve them nice food.

I love eating because… hm… I LOVE eating.

And I love growing my own food because that brings one of the best feelings there are – the feeling of being self sufficient.

Okay, so far I’ve grown one edible plant only – and that’s MINT, to be precise… and I’ve been growing that for one week now but I think that would make a great start to my plant-growing experience and my collection of plants will grow bigger and bigger.

As you already might know, my brain would break if I didn’t share the stuff I’ve learned with you, so here are some very interesting facts about mint:
 
 

Once upon a time, there was one Mint Family and that had many, many children – Mentha being one of them.

Beautiful, luscious Mentha.

Mentha herself had 25 children (no wonder – she was really something) – Spearmint and Peppermint being some of them.

The End.

The moral of this story: ‘You think there’s just one and then you find out there are many.‘

Did you like the story?

I hope you did.
 
 

To make things easier, let’s just call everyone from the huge Mint Family simply ‘mint‘.

• Mint is a fast growing plant – one plant, along with a little care, will provide more than enough mint for home use.

• Mints are perennial which means they keep coming back every year.

• Since mints do not come true from seed, propagate them by rhizome (roots) cuttings in early spring, by softwood cuttings in summer, or by dividing in the fall.

• If you want your mint to thrive and enjoy its life to the fullest then you should keep it in semi-shaded position and keep the soil moist (though not waterlogged).

• Also, mints are very invasive plants and spread like wildfire. So it is always wise to grow them within a container which can be buried in the earth.

• The leaf, fresh or dried, is the culinary source of mint.

• Harvesting of mint leaves can be done at any time. Fresh mint leaves should be used immediately or stored up to a couple of days in plastic bags within a refrigerator. Optionally, mint can be frozen. Dried mint leaves should be stored in an airtight container placed in a cool, dark, dry area.

• There are various ways to use mint – most common uses being culinary, medicinal, cosmetic, as insecticides (to repel mosquitoes) or in aromatherapy.

• In the kitchen, mint works perfectly with teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, chocolate (After Eight – oh my!) and ice creams. Minted peas and minted new potatoes are firm favorites in England. 

I like garnishing my sweet desserts with mint leaves.

Also, I love drinking my iced tea with addition of fresh mint.

It’s beyond refreshing!

Oh, you want to know about the ice cubes?

Why they are so strange in color?

Well, that is another obsession of mine – I am currently experimenting with ice… I’ll write more about that in one of my next posts.
 
 

All in all, mint is gorgeous and very much appreciated all over the world.

As I was writing this post I’ve become definitely convinced that I am a huge mint fan.

Do you like mint too?

And if so, then what’s your favorite way to enjoy it?

I’d really like to know…