TARRAGON & THYME

One of my earliest memories is being at my Nan's with her and my mother being in the kitchen working away as usual. If you wanted to be with my Nan you had to be where she was as she was always on the go and rarely sat down for a break.  I was always a curious child a trait that is still with me today.  I used to watch and listen drinking in knowledge without realising it as my Nan or my Mum went rythmically about their tasks.    One of which was making home made mint sauce first stripping away the leaves from the stems and chopping the freshly plucked fragrant mint a very finely.  Chopping with a sharp knife at the mint sprinkled either with a pinch of salt or sugar to give some purchase to the knife. Some of it I have frozen and at other times I have put up a few jars of long keeping mint sauce as well so that I can get the best of both worlds from the stores I have popped up for darker days. With all the rain that we have been having this year my mint in my ...

I have never tried this recipe before but I love the smell of mint it is so Refreshing.(yes its another recipe from the River Cottage Preserves book if you haven't got it, its well worth the money) This cordial can according to the recipe be drunk hot or cold, I also think it would be very nice as a sauce for plain vanilla ice cream, as the basis for hot mint tea or cold drink with lashings of ice. What a little odd to be publishing this recipe now. Not at all you can still get loads of fresh mint from Asian shops and market stalls. Its now soaking in the fridge; part one completed. Now tomorrow night I have to pour boiling water on leave another 24 hours and the following evening strain, bottle and sterilise. Here's the recipe: Makes approximately 1 litre 50g freshly picked mint leaves (picked off stalks use leaf only) juice of 1 lemon (50ml) 250g sugar 1 level teaspoon salt Check the mint leaves for insect life (we don't want extra meat rations thank you). Then tear the ...

I have that many favourite recipes for this very lifting herb I couldn't resist sharing a few more of my favourite recipes. After all it would be sacrilege not to take advantage of the new seasons bounty, and especially to put some ingredients up for use in the Winter months and at Christmas i.e into your own very special Putdown whether that be by storage in the pantry, in the freezer in a chutney; after all they say variety is the spice of life and it also helps tickle the tastebuds. It is also lovely to breathe in the aroma from a freshly picked bunch of mint it seems to restore the soul somehow.I can never resist taking a deep breath and breathing the full aroma of the mint in. Very relaxing. New Potatoes and fresh mint I boil new seasons potatoes and then about ten minutes before the end of cooking I add a couple of sprigs of mint to get the maximum amount of flavour. I then drain, add a knob of butter and serve. One of my favourite ways of serving new potatoes. Mint Raita C...

I love the refreshing taste of Mint and grow this in my garden, but you can do more things with it than just do mint sauce to accompany the Roast Lamb. The new shoots are coming through and even if you don't grow your own this herb is readily available on Markets in large bunches or from Asian food shops. I therefore thought I would share some of the recipes that I use for this very versatile herb. But there is more than one variety and they all have their uses. Here are just a few varieties: Buddlehia Mint Ginger Mint Pepper Mint Eau De Cologne Mint Pennyroyal Spear Mint Apple Mint Pineapple Mint Chocolate Mint How about matching a particular mint to a particular dish. I still think that simple ways are often the best way to use ingredients and one of my favourite ways to use a couple of small sprigs of mint is to lift the flavour of peas. I usually cook my peas and then about 10 minutes before the end of cooking I add the sprigs of mint to give the maximum amount of flavour. I re...