mint Archives - http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/tag/mint/ Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:48:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cropped-logo-square1-32x32.jpg mint Archives - http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/tag/mint/ 32 32 How Our Garden Grows – August 2014 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/how-our-garden-grows-august-2014/ Sat, 30 Aug 2014 03:57:38 +0000 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/?p=1255 The garden has gone crazy, so we spent much of August picking & preserving our garden bounty.   THE MAIN GARDEN Everything is growing like crazy, weeds and vegetables both. Many recently hatched birds have been hanging out in the garden. LEFT TOP & BOTTOM: A variety of squash and pumpkins are growing in the …

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Garden Grows Aug2014 title

The garden has gone crazy, so we spent much of August picking & preserving our garden bounty.

 

THE MAIN GARDEN

Everything is growing like crazy, weeds and vegetables both.
Garden Grows Aug2014 1

Many recently hatched birds have been hanging out in the garden.
Garden Grows Aug2014 2

LEFT TOP & BOTTOM: A variety of squash and pumpkins are growing in the garden.
RIGHT: A first for us: Grapes! The same couple grape plants have been struggling to grow. Deer, elk, and our own dog have stunted their growth year after year. But this year they are growing safely inside the garden fence and they are thriving.
Garden Grows Aug2014 10

LEFT: Eggplant and its fabulous purple flowers.
RIGHT: I love the marigolds in my herb row! Must plant them again next year.
Garden Grows Aug2014 11

LEFT: Green Peppers.
RIGHT: Farmer John used the green peppers, as well as other garden goodies to make salsa. Yum!
Garden Grows Aug2014 3

LEFT: So much mint!
RIGHT: I turned a lot of the mint into simple syrup.
Garden Grows Aug2014 5

LEFT: Cabbage growing in the garden.
TOP RIGHT: Once picked, some of the cabbage was turned into coleslaw.
BOTTOM RIGHT: I baked rolls and put the coleslaw on a pulled pork sandwich. So good!
Garden Grows Aug2014 4

 

OUTSIDE THE GARDEN FENCE

LEFT: Corn. The shortest corn I’ve ever seen. It’s not even as tall as I am.
RIGHT: Short or not, they’re still producing ears of corn. They are just growing very close to the ground and they are quite tasty.
Garden Grows Aug2014 Out1

LEFT: Speckled Swan Gourd.
RIGHT: Birdhouse Gourd.
Garden Grows Aug2014 Out4

LEFT: Sunlight Pumpkins.
TOP & BOTTOM RIGHT: The chickens love the Sunlight Pumpkins. Boo!
Garden Grows Aug2014 Out2

LEFT: I know the chickens like to pick their own tomatoes right off the plant, but this was a first. She came and snagged one right from my bowl.
RIGHT: What was left of my garden harvest after the chicken thief stopped by.
Garden Grows Aug2014 Out3

 

FRUIT TREES

The plums ripened and were delish. However, the deer ate as many as we did.
Garden Grows Aug2014 Trees1

 

HARVESTING & PRESERVING

Farmer John canned beets and dilly green beans.
Garden Grows Aug2014 7

LEFT: I chopped herbs like sage and cilantro in a food processor, drizzling in a little olive oil. I then took the herb/oil mix and froze them to use over the winter.
RIGHT: Most of the basil, though, has been turned into pesto. Then used in dishes such as this.
Garden Grows Aug2014 6

I tried taking zucchini chunks and transforming them to fruit snacks. They were just so-so, really not that good. They were weird and chewy. We ate them, but I certainly haven’t made them again.
Garden Grows Aug2014 8

LEFT: I also used the zucchini chunks to make faux pineapple. This turned out far better than the fruit snacks. So far we’ve only used it on pizza, but I can’t wait to try it in a stir fry.
RIGHT: Instead of the same ol’ zucchini bread, I made Pineapple Zucchini Bread. It was a nice change.
Garden Grows Aug2014 9
August certainly was a productive month in the garden.

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Mint Simple Syrup Recipe http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/mint-simple-syrup-recipe/ Tue, 20 Aug 2013 13:42:30 +0000 http://www.ridgetopfarmandgarden.com/?p=8140 Mint simple syrup is an easy way to enjoy all that mint growing like crazy over the summer. We have an obnoxious amount of mint. They aren’t kidding when people tell you to keep it in pots. Originally I was so happy with how well mint grows. When we bought bare property one of the …

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Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Recipe | Mint Simple Syrup

Mint simple syrup is an easy way to enjoy all that mint growing like crazy over the summer.

We have an obnoxious amount of mint. They aren’t kidding when people tell you to keep it in pots.

Originally I was so happy with how well mint grows. When we bought bare property one of the first things I did was create flowerbeds. I wanted quick growing, cheap plants to add to the beds while I waited for the foundation plants to grow to their full size. Mint grew so well, I transplanted some here and there. Soon I had it everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

Slowly but surely I’m getting rid of the mint. My goal is to only have it grow around our main chicken coop. I have read mint keeps mice away. I don’t know how much truth there is to that. But, for us, it’s a good place to have our mint plants anyway. It’s away from my flowerbeds and the chickens can eat the herb when it grows close enough to their run. We don’t happen to have a mouse problem in the coop. I really don’t know if it’s because of the mint or if the chickens enjoy a mousey meal when one scurries nearby.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Recipe | Mint Simple Syrup

 

One of my favorite methods to use up all the mint is making a flavored simple syrup. It really is simple to make. It’s quick and requires only basic ingredients.

 

INGREDIENTS

Equal parts:
• water
• sugar
• fresh mint leaves

 

PREP

Pick mint from your garden or grab a bunch at the store or farmer’s market. If you wait too long to harvest your mint and it has flowered, like I have done a time or two, chop the flower off. I feed the flowers to our chickens.

Give the mint a quick rinse.

Pull the leaves off the stems. If you want, you can coursely chop the leaves. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Recipe | Mint Simple Syrup

 

COOKING THE SYRUP

Add the water and sugar to a pot or saucepan. Over medium high heat, bring water to boil. Stir sugar until dissolved.

Just as the water starts to boil, add mint leaves.

Place a lid on the pot, reduce heat, and simmer about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Strain syrup into a jar. Keep the leaves in the sieve/strainer, but give them a smoosh to get out the last of the liquid minty goodness.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Recipe | Mint Simple Syrup

 

STORING THE MINTY SYRUP

I can several jars at a time in a hot water bath.

You can also store in air tight container for a couple weeks in the fridge.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Recipe | Mint Simple Syrup

 

ENJOY!

The syrup can be used in a number of culinary ways. However, I always use it for summertime drinks, both kid friendly and adult versions.
Ridgetop Farm and Garden | Recipe | Mint Simple Syrup

 

 

Also, check out our other site for a how to on making mojito cream jello shots using the mint simple syrup

 

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