I grew apple mint in my herb garden this year. It's one plant that maintains it's pleasantly pungent aroma throughout the drying process. Of course fresh leaves are better for brewing up cocktails, from making the simple syrup to a nifty little drink garnish.
The dried leaves can be ground fine and added to mascarpone or cream cheese and stirred into cake batters.
Apple mint offers a cleansing touch to the palate. Enjoy this along side lamb chops and eggplant risotto. My recipe here
The sweet papaya nectar adds another layer of sweetness that pairs well with salty smokey selections featuring bacon or spicy sausage. Try it with Sausage Asparagus Cheese Quiche
Country ham appetizers or these Peppery Cheese Wafers complimented by the orange in the triple sec are a bright and tasty beginning to any meal.
Papaya Apple Mintini
Ingredients
1 oz. apple mint simple syrup (recipe follows)
1 1/2 oz vodka
1 oz triple sec
3 oz papaya nectar
fresh lime juice from 1/2 lime
club soda splash
Directions
Add ice and first 5 ingredients into the blender. Mix well, pour into 2 glasses. Top off with a splash of club soda. Aahh...enjoy!
Apple Mint Simple Syrup
Ingredients
1 c granulated white sugar
1 c water
1 c fresh apple mint leaves
Directions
Put sugar in a medium sized sauce pan. Whisk the sugar to break up lumps. Pour in water. Whisk to combine. Add mint leaves.
Turn heat on high and bring mixture to a boil. Whisk frequently to help the sugar dissolve into the water. Let mixture come to a full rolling boil and allow it to boil uncovered for 1 minute. Turn heat off and remove pan. Sugar should be completely dissolved. Yields 1 1/2 c of syrup.
Cool in the pan to room temperature and remove mint leaves. Pour into a clean bottle and store in the refrigerator. Simple syrup lasts a month in the frig. If you add a Tbsp. of vodka it's good for 3 months.
If you don't want to grow apple mint and can't find it in the grocery stores try other mint variations. Most stores stock fresh mint leaves in the package. It will still give you a delicious mint flavor!
Give this one a try with the other recipes here or some of your own and touch base with me and let me know what you think!
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