When your garden hands you MINT, make ice cream.

In one of my more brilliant moments - ahem - I decided several years ago to plant some mint in my tiny little box garden. When I was a child, my nanny would make iced tea from the wild mint that grew in the fields on my grandparents' farm and I wanted to make some of that tea. I rooted some mint in my kitchen from a plant that I received from our CSA. I then planted it in my box garden. I now have enough mint to make tea for the entire neighborhood. I am constantly ripping mint out of the box to try to control it. I don't want it to go away entirely, because my husband really loves the tea that I make, but I would like for it not to take over my entire box garden.

Okay, ignore the fact that my lawn needs mowed, but this pic was taken on May 9th, a day before I planted my veggies. The growing season is just starting in the northeast, but the mint started weeks ago.

You now see my dilemma, I can't make the tea fast enough, the mint just keeps growing and growing and growing...

I came upon this recipe a few years ago in a Martha Stewart Living magazine. I ripped it out and never tried it, until this weekend. I have to make some room for my tomatoes.

We like mint ice cream, but does ice cream made from mint from my garden taste the same as store bought?

Ready for the stove.


Ice mint bath, anyone?

Crushed mint leaves with milk.

At this point I had to take a long phone call while I was making the cream. There was a lot of stirring involved along with heavy cream, sugar and eggs.

The finished mint ice cream.

I poured the ice cream into a container and put in the freezer to harden up a bit.

Doesn't everyone eat their ice cream in a martini glass? I shaved some dark chocolate on top of the mint ice cream and garnished with mint leaves.

The verdict... We really enjoyed the ice cream. The flavor is different than what you will find in the grocery store. The mint flavor is subtle, but very fresh. It is comforting to know that the light green color comes from the plant and not dye. This will make a great dessert for a summer dinner party on the patio.
Fresh spearmint ice cream courtesy of Martha Stewart Living.

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