I love fresh mint, and I always buy it when I see it at farm stands and markets. I smell it on the way to the car and as I put it in the produce drawer, then I leave it there, unable to think of anything to do with it, until it gets all nasty and rotten and I throw it in the garbage or compost.
One day, I would like to try to make vegan mint chocolate chip ice cream, but the recipe I have calls for mint extract, and I’m not sure how much fresh mint that translates into (and I’m not sure if I’m prepared for the disappointment if it doesn’t turn out). If I figure it out, you know I’ll be posting about it.
For now, one thing I do make with mint is a watermelon-mint smoothie. It’s a refreshing summertime dessert/breakfast/snack/post-hike treat. It also helps me eat the watermelon. I like to buy whole watermelons (because I’m weird about worrying that the store people haven’t properly washed the rind before they’ve cut the melon) but the rest of my family only eats about three bites before they’re done and I’m left with 7/8 of a watermelon to eat on my own. This smoothie helps facilitate my watermelon-eating process. My husband likes the smoothie, too, so it also gets him to help me finish the melon.
If you want your smoothie to look more pink than the one I have here, you can use less mint, add more watermelon, or add a few strawberries. You can use seedless watermelon, or, if you have a snazzy blender (like a VitaMix or a Blendtec) you can use the seeded ones and toss the melon in seeds and all. Apparently there’s something healthy about the seeds, so there’s that extra benefit, vague as it is.
And one problem with our new house is that there’s not really a great place to take a photo with natural light without going outside. I’m going to have to work on that, though, because the flash really takes something away from the photos.
Watermelon-Mint Smoothie
Makes 1-4 servings, depending on how much the people you’re serving it to like it. (That’s about 5 cups.)
Ingredients:
1/4 medium-to-large watermelon, flesh cut away from the rind
leaves from 3 stems of fresh mint, washed
about 4 ice cubes
Put everything in the blender, blend on high for 45-60 seconds or until beautiful and smooth. Pour into a fancy glass and enjoy!
Imperfect Happiness 
The link below will take you to a post that on the surface appears to be about kale. But if you look down at the end, there’s a recipe for mint leaf ice cream. I LOVE this ice cream. It’s in no way vegan, but I thought maybe looking at the proportions of mint leaves to other ingredients could give you some idea of how to proceed:
http://somethingmade.blogspot.com/2010/06/im-excited-to-report-that-couple-of.html
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Um, yes, well, I’m in the process of making an experimental batch of the mint chocolate chip ice cream, and I put way more than 35 mint leaves in there. More like 2/3 of a bunch. I wanted the mixture to be bright green, and it certainly is. We’ll see how it turns out when I freeze it tonight.
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