Chocolate Mint Shake

A couple of posts ago, I introduced my Vanilla Mint Shake. Well, here's a different way to make a chocolate mint shake. It takes a bit more prep, but has a smoother, less 'wild' flavor. I'm using a mixture of spearmint and peppermint leaves for this, and lots of them, because this is really a kind of tisane, or herbal tea, which is then chilled and mixed into the chocolate shake. I don't think a lot of people can do this inexpensively, unless, like me, you're up to your eyeballs in mint, and you want to do something with it, besides rip it out of your garden. Here's the first part:

Tear or cut mint leaves from stems. (This is a good job to do while watching TV, or talking on the phone.) Gently rinse mint leaves, then stuff into a glass jar that has a screw-on lid. (Like a pickle jar or mason jar) Fill the jar full, and pack the leaves in as tightly as you can. In the meantime, boil water in a kettle. Add the boiling water to the mint leaves until the water level reaches 1/2 inch from the top of the jar. Loosely set the cover on top of the jar, and let steep for an hour or so. Then, screw on the lid, shake it up, and refrigerate overnight. Within a day, you should have a greenish brown liquid and the leaves should be brownish colored. Drain and save the liquid, throw the leaves out. Refrigerate the mint liquid for up to 3 days. (Maybe more, but I haven't tried it.) This unsweetened mint tea can then be used to make a chocolate mint shake. Here's the recipe:

1 cup mint tea

1 scoop chocolate shake powder

8 to 10 ice cubes

Add the liquid to the blender container. While running on low, quickly add the chocolate powder. Turn power to medium, and add the ice cubes one at a time, until the shake is your desired consistency. Pour and enjoy.

Vanilla Mint Shake

This is a shake that actually looks kind of odd, sort of like a grass milkshake would look, if you decided to try that. It is, however, very tasty, and if you're a fan of mint, it's great. I have huge spearmint plants overwhelming my herb garden right now, and I'm trying to use that mint without my usual quotient of sugar. This shake has a bit more 'bite' than, say, a shamrock shake, and a bit more complex mint taste - it's hard to describe. One thing to do when you prepare your mint leaves, is to use the smaller leaves, and to be sure that you've removed all stems. Also be sure to wash well in running cool water. I use a colander under the tap. I used almost a cup of mint leaves. It was a little overpowering. Next time, I'll use between 1/2 and 3/4 of a cup of fresh leaves. I don't know about the nutrient values of fresh mint, but it must have some health benefits, right? Anyway, here's the recipe.

1/2 to 1 cup fresh small mint leaves

3/4 cup water

1 scoop vanilla shake mix

8 to 10 ice cubes

Pour water into blender container. Add mint and process on low, then medium power until mint is liquified (I had to scrape down the sides a couple of times.) While running the blender on low, add vanilla powder. Turn blender to medium, and add ice cubes one at a time until desired volume and consistency is reached.

End of Summer Chopped Salad

This is not a shake. This is a chopped salad that uses vegetables that are plentiful at the end of summer in Wisconsin. If you don't have your own tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley in abundance, they are fairly inexpensive at the farmer's market right now, or even at the grocery store. Make this about a half hour in advance of eating, so flavors can meld, and so that you get a bit of juice from the tomatoes and cucumbers. I like to make a couple of servings at a time, so I have it for lunch at work the next day. If you try to keep it more than 24 hours, it gets a little mushy, so make only enough for one or two meals at a time. Here's the recipe:

2 or 3 ripe tomatoes

2 slicing size cucumbers

4 to 8 stems of parsley (I prefer curled parsley to flat leaf parsley)

1/2 small onion

1 tablespoon lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

7 or 8 medium mint leaves, well washed (optional)

Cut all vegetables directly into your serving bowl. Cut out top of tomatoes, and cut into quarters, then quarters into 3 or 4 pieces each.  Chop cucumbers into similar sized pieces, discarding large seeds if necessary. Using a kitchen shears, chop parsley leaves into bowl, discarding thick stems. Stack mint leaves, and cut into thin slivers into bowl. Finally, chop onion into bowl. Sprinkle lemon juice over all, add a few shakes of salt, and a couple of pepper, and stir well. Allow to marinade for a half hour before eating. This recipe is two meals worth for me, but as an accompaniment salad, it's probably about 4 servings.