First Harvest

What perfect spring weather we've had these past three days! I will surely make more progress on the flower beds today. My reward will be to relax this evening at St. Joseph's Catholic church, just one block from the TRI.

The Hays Symphony is performing a free concert there with a Ft. Hays State University choir. I know several of the musicians in the symphony, and although they don't get paid for their considerable efforts, they never disappoint their audience.

Before strolling over to St. Joe's I and a friend will have a very springy supper chez moi of cream of asparagus-leek soup and spinach salad. Some goat cheese melted into the soup will give it body and complement the vegetables perfectly.

And speaking of springtime foods, for the first time this year I was able to serve fresh mint with the fruit at breakfast. My favorite mint has to be apple mint. If you've never grown this hardy plant be forewarned that it is very invasive and difficult to contain unless you grow it in a pot. But it's a very pretty plant, growing taller than most mints. It has soft, almost "spongy" light green leaves, either oval or round. Once it reaches a mature height pinch back the white flower spikes for best flavor and continued production. The flavor is perfect with fruit, in tea, or as an infusion. When you steep tea for ice tea (whether you use a cold or hot method), just toss in a few fresh mint leaves. Mint leaves can be used fresh or dried to make a soothing, tasty infusion (herbal "tea"). Using fresh leaves will yield a liquor with only a tinge of color, and you'll need quite a volume to get much flavor. Add a drop or two of honey if you like.

Here's an easy recipe for mint syrup. I keep it on hand in the refrigerator all summer and fall. At the end of the growing season, I harvest all the mint in the garden, make a big batch of syrup, and freeze it in small plastic containers. (You could also use a divided ice tray.) That way I have it all winter long.

Applemint SyrupCombine 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes to make a simple syrup. While the syrup is cooking, wash the mint leaves (no stems or flowers) and shake off excess water. You should use at least 4 cups of mint, loosely packed. (Use more if you like; you can't use too much.) Any size leaf will do, and you don't have to chop the leaves. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in the mint leaves. Immediately cover the pan with a lid and let steep for at least 10 minutes. If you get distracted and leave the mixture steeping for an hour, that's okay. You can't oversteep it. When the mixture has cooled to lukewarm, pour it through a strainer into a clean container. Press hard on the mint with the back of a spoon to extract every bit of flavor. Discard the leaves.

If you like to sweeten your ice tea, mint syrup is great for that. No trying to dissolve sugar crystals in an ice cold drink. Although the best way to eat fresh fruit is unadulterated and at the peak of season, during the sping and fall the fruits we buy can need a little help with flavor and sweetness. Mint syrup is a great way to give them a boost. Naturally, you can use any kind of mint you have available to make this refreshing syrup. Enjoy!

Tea, hope and renewal

This Easter weekend is a typical one at the Tea Rose Inn in that I don't have many guests here. I guess it's a stay-at-home or stay-with-family kind of holiday. In any case, I can't remember an Easter holiday when the inn was really busy. That leaves me a little spare time to do some outdoor chores on this windy, windy spring weekend.

This evening I will have dinner at someone else's house--a rare opportunity for me on a weekend night! Sunday I will have more leisure time than usual, which is great because I like to spend Easter with family and friends. So tomorrow I am hosting an afternoon tea party.

We'll have darjeeling tea, hot and iced, plus fruit punch. For nibblies I'm making miniature strawberry tarts with fresh organically grown strawberries, poppyseed cupcakes decorated for spring, and some whole strawberries for those who want to keep it healthier. On the savory side there will be asparagus tips rolled up in prosciutto spread with a little herbed goat cheese, cucumber sandwiches (of course!), and egg salad on multi-grain crackers.

Tonight I get to blow out about 18 eggs for our tea party activity. I'll set up a decorating table on the front porch with paints, pens, stickers, etc. Everybody gets to take home an egg they've decorated.

If Easter is a holiday that is important for you to celebrate, I hope yours is everything you want it to be. But even beyond the religious holiday, I love that we all celebrate the arrival of spring together with age-old symbols and activities. I love the community of Easter. The springtime theme of renewal, both symbolic and actual, makes it such a hopeful time.

So here's wishing you hope and happiness this Easter!