Sunday, June 9, 2013

Strawberries with Minty Dip


Sometimes, our time together is fleeting.  We don't intend for it to be like that, but so it goes.

I'm not one to make friends easily.  But one day at the park, I started chatting with another mom, her son being of a similar age to Max.  We somehow managed to get the kids happily playing together in the sandbox. She helped me with some Spanish words, I helped her with some English.  We made plans to meet up the following morning at a designated time.  I thought it would be the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

Alas, Max and I were the only ones at the park the next day.

At the farmer's market, I spotted a giant bunch of mint leaves.  So fresh and vibrant and green, I couldn't possibly not take home these leaves of freshness.  I placed the bunch in the fridge for safekeeping.  Or so I thought.  Just a few short hours later, I realized the mint leaves were rapidly deteriorating.  It was apparent that they needed to be used quickly.

Sometimes, there isn't any lesson to be learned.  No lesson or narrative to retroactively give meaning to events.  I'll never know why they never showed up at the park.  But I did learn that one must use farmer's market mint quickly.  This time, as a dip for strawberries.

And next time, I'll consult this Cooking Light slideshow for more ideas to use my mint.

Ingredients
1 large bunch of mint leaves
2 tablespoons walnut oil
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
touch of honey
pinch salt
fresh strawberries, for serving

Instructions
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until blended together like a pesto.  Serve with fresh strawberries.

16 comments:

  1. Ooh, minty dip. Sounds intriguing!

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  2. At least you learned a bit of Spanish from the mysterious encounter - and you pulled of this yummy-looking mint dip! (Where's Agent Mulder when you need him?) :D

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  3. Hmmm, this is a totally new way to enjoy strawberries! I can see mint and strawberries go well together, yet never thought of dipping into the minty dip. So unique and I'm very intrigued to try this out!

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  4. This is such a great way to use up leftover mint!

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  5. I need this dip and strawberry idea in my life my friend... Please?! :)

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  6. That's sad that your new friends never showed up :( This is such a great dip!!!

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  7. Strawberry and mint...a perfect summery combo, Jenn.

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  8. Jen & Seth, just popped over to let you know that your link to Food on Friday: Mushrooms was featured in my Need Some Inspiration? Series today. Hope you are having a good week.

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  9. I must try this dip: it sounds amazing! I've just bought a little plant of mint and have some strawberries in the fridge :)

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  10. That's a very creative way of using mint leaves.
    I've never tried a mint dip with strawberries but it sounds delicious and I love the addition of walnut oil- it gives such a nice flavor!

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  11. What a refreshing idea for dipping berries. I'm hoping you'll run into your new friends another time...I'm hoping there was a good excuse for their absence.

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  12. Mint always goes bad on me also...what is WITH that?! This is such a fun idea for using it up though. i would have never thought to make a dip with it!

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  13. hm...sorry that you got stood up. Maybe something happened that they couldn't make it to the park? I don't know. You might bump into them again at the park in the future, who knows.

    I love fresh mints. I think if you keep them in a glass of water, they might last a but longer than in the fridge. I love mint so much I bought a plant so I only cut off whatever I needed. But they, this is a wonderful mint dip for the strawberries. ;) Thanks for sharing.

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  14. I always think mint will keep for ages and then an surprised when it's all sad :( I love this idea with strawberries.

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  15. What a great color on this dip! Something I could have never thought to do. Mint is interesting, sometimes it lasts a while and others times it just goes!

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  16. A very clever use of mint leaves and such a delicious dip it turned out to be. Will try this dip for sure.

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