Jenn’s Cook Book

Who spiked the strawberries?

I did! I came across a recipe for strawberries “spiked” with balsamic vinegar at Eating Well magazine’s website and it reminded me of a summer salad I used to order at TGI Friday’s. I don’t know if they still serve the salad, but I always loved the balsamic-soaked strawberries, so I altered the recipe slightly to get that same taste. These strawberries can be served alone as dessert or thrown into salads or wraps (try them with spinach!).

Balsamic-Spiked Strawberries
adapted from Eating Well 

1 pint fresh strawberries
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1-2 sprigs fresh mint

Rinse strawberries and cut off the tops, then halve or quarter if large. In a large bowl, toss strawberries with balsamic vinegar and sugar. Let stand for 20 minutes (chill in the refrigerator if desired).

Finely chop or mince fresh mint, reserving a small amount for garnish (optional). Toss chopped mint with strawberries and serve.

The standing time allows strawberries to macerate, or soak up the vinegar and release the natural juice in the berries. The leftover liquid in the bowl makes a tasty salad dressing.

These brownies from Everyday Food magazine use small peppermint patties to give a cool, mint taste. This recipe is quick and easy to make. You can use semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, I actually used a combination of the two (about half and half).

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
8 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
25 small (1 1/2 inch) peppermint patties

Preheat oven to 350F

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, leaving overhang on all sides. Butter foil and set aside. You can also use a foil baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Place chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water, or use a double boiler. Stir occasionally until just melted, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar and salt until smooth, then whisk in eggs. Gently whisk in flour and cocoa powder just until smooth (do not overmix).

Spread 1/3 of batter in prepared pan. Arrange peppermint patties on batter in a single layer (see below). Top with remaining batter and smooth surface.

Bake until a toothpick inserted n the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30-35 minutes (recipe originally said 45-55 minutes, but mine was done sooner).

Cool completely in pan (about 2 hours). Use foil to lift from pan, peel off foil and discard. Cut into 16 squares (4 rows by 4 rows).

Peppermint patties in a single layer:

Cool, cut, and serve:

Another quick and easy side dish from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast (I really love this book!). This is a great way to add a little flavor to a side dish without overwhelming the rest of the meal. Even though this recipe comes from the Spring section of the book, both sugar snap peas and mint should still be in season and reasonably priced, though you probably will have to go to a supermarket to find them instead of a Farmer’s Market. These peas go especially well with a pork main dish.

1 tbsp butter
1 cup cold water
1 pound trimmed sugar snap peas
1/2 cup (packed) finely chopped fresh mint leaves
salt and pepper, to taste

In a 12-inch skillet or saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil over high heat. Add peas, cover, and cook until bright green, about 2 minutes. Remove lid and reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking, tossing occasionally, until the peas are crisp-tender and the water has evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes (if peas are done and water still remains, drain excess).

Toss peas with mint and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Pretty speedy, huh?

Another DIY Herbal Tea, this one using sage, fennel seeds, mint, and lemon. Sweeten with honey, sugar, or simple syrup as desired.

1/3 cup chopped fresh sage
2 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp fresh mint, crushed
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
5 cups boiling water
honey, to taste

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add sage, fennel seed, mint, and lemon rind. Cover and steep 15 minutes.

Strain and stir in honey. Chill 1 hour.

Serve over ice with fresh sage and/or mint leaves as garnish. Add lemon wedges for extra flavor.

Served in a pitcher with mint leaves, ice, and lemon wedges:

Single serving, garnished with a fresh sprig of sage:

A new twist on iced tea from an Australian food website called FoodDownUnder.com, this recipe combines passion fruit, mint, and a little bit of sugar. Passion fruit juice settles easily, so shake well before using and stir tea vigorously before serving (I like to keep a stir-stick in my glass). The recipe didn’t specify the type of tea to use, so I used Orange Pekoe.

6 tea bags
4 cups water
1 cup fresh mint, lightly crushed
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup passion fruit juice
sprigs of mint, for garnish

Bring water to a boil and pour over tea and mint. Steep 10 minutes. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add juice and stir well to combine. Strain tea into a pitcher.

Chill tea 1-2 hours. Stir well before serving. Pour over ice and garnish with sprigs of mint.

This recipe is great if you want to try something new, like passion fruit. I would discourage using fresh passion fruit because it’s a little pricey and you don’t get much juice from each fruit (you’d probably need 10-12 passion fruit to complete this recipe).

I was skeptical of this combination given that the orange-mint tea didn’t turn out as good as I hoped, but I tried the Lime & Mint Iced Tea and it was quite good. Given this, I decided I would give mint another try (you may have already noticed that I favor basil as a garnish for my fruity-tea recipes). The combination worked, though it probably isn’t a recipe I would do again unless I had leftover ingredients to use up, which was actually why I made it in the first place. The recipe did not specify a type of tea to use, so I used Orange Pekoe (also known as Lipton Original, as I’ve recently realized).

10 tea bags
4 cups cold water
4 cans (12 oz size) apricot nectar
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, slightly crushed
1/4 cup sugar
mint sprigs, for garnish

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep 5 minutes. Discard bags. Stir in nectar, mint and sugar. Cover and chill 3-4 hours.

Pour tea through a strainer into a serving pitcher or punch bowl before serving. Add ice and garnish with mint sprigs as desired.

To make a single serving:
2 tea bags
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups apricot nectar (or 1 can)
2 tbsp crushed mint leaves
1 tbsp sugar
mint sprig, for garnish

This is actually what I made instead of the full recipe. Follow the above directions, though you can reduce chill time to about 1 hour. Pour tea into a tall, ice-filled glass instead of a pitcher. Garnish as desired. This makes a large serving (2 1/2 cups), so there would be plenty to share with two!

The website www.thesimpleleaf.com calls this recipe ”a rejuvenating drink for your mind, body, and soul.” The recipe calls for “bold black tea,” such as Assam, Earl Grey, Irish Breakfast or strong Orange Pekoe. Fresh lime and mint flavors add both a crisp and cool flavor to the tea.

4 tea bags of bold black tea
4 cups water
2 cups loosely packed mint leaves
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lime juice
mint sprigs and/or lime wedges, optional

Bring water almost to a boil. Mix tea bags, mint and sugar in hot water. Let steep for 15 minutes. Remove tea bags and strain out mint leaves. Chill for 1-2 hours.

Add lime juice just before serving. Garnish with mint sprigs or lime wedges as desired.

If tea is too tart, add a bit more sugar.

Steeping tea and mint:

Garnished with mint spring and a lime wedge:

These cookies are made using Guittard Green Mint Chips and Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (fancy, fancy!). Any style of chocolate and mint chips could be used, but the mint chips have a cool green color to make “dots” in the chocolate cookie.

2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (do not sift)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups (12 oz) Guittard Green Mint Chips

Preheat oven to 350F

In top of double boiler over low heat, melt semi-sweet chips and butter, stirring constantly until smooth. Set aside to cool. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light. Blend in melted chocolate, then dry ingredients. Stir in green mint chips and chill for 10-15 minutes or until stiff. Drop by well-round teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes, cookies will be soft in centers but will harden as they cool.

Microwave instructions: Heat semisweet chips in a small bowl at medium power (50% or level 5) for 2-3 minutes, stirring well after each minute until smooth.

From Self magazine, this iced tea combines peach, lemon, ginger, and mint with black tea. The recipe calls for Earl Gray or Darjeeling tea, but I used English Breakfast. Assam, Ceylon, Irish Breakfast or plain Lipton would work just fine. This recipe is great for peaches that are slightly over-ripe, as they will be pureed and will taste just fine (but might not look so appealing).

8 tea bags
1 lemon, sliced (ends discarded)
1 piece of ginger, 2 inches, cut into chunks
4 large, ripe peaches
1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
mint sprigs, for garnish

Boil 8 cups of water over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add tea bags, sliced lemon, and ginger pieces. Remove pan from heat and steep 10 minutes. Pour into a heat-resistant pitcher through a strainer. Discard tea bags, lemon, and ginger.  

Peel, pit, and dice 2 of the peaches. Place in a blender with 1/2 cup sugar and blend until smooth (add a bit of the tea if needed to get the blender going). Pour peach puree into tea and stir well, dissolving sugar.

Pit and cut remaining peaches into slices. Stir into tea. Chill tea for 1-2 hours. To serve, pour over ice and garnish with mint sprigs.

Makes 8 servings. Each serving is approx 70 calories.

Brewing the tea:

Adding slices to the pitcher:

Garnishing my tea with basil (peach and basil go well together):

Here is another recipe from Simply in Season that uses fresh mint and orange flavors. While it sounded and looked tasty, I found the taste reminded me a bit too much of drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth. It could be because I made my mint brew stronger than the recipe recommended. It wasn’t sour, but didn’t quite taste like my cup of tea (pun intended).

3 cups water
5-6 sprigs fresh mint, well rinsed
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup lemon
water and ice
mint sprigs or thin slices of orange or lemon, for garnish

Bring water to a boil and remove from heat. Add mint, cover, and steep for 15 minutes or longer. Remove mint.

Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Concentrate may be cooled and frozen for later use.

In a 2 liter (half gallon) pitcher, combine orange and lemon juice. Add mint concentrate plus water and ice to fill pitcher. Chill completely. Serve with garnishes as desired.