Minty Madness

Ah, Spring has sprung and as I turn shovel after shovel of soil over in the vegetable beds, my thoughts turn toward the wonderous, fragrant, and ever so beguiling mint.

 I'm not a minty girl in the same sense as my husband, who waits patiently each year for the knock of the neighborhood Girl Scout so he can order boxes of thin mints, or who never wavers from ordering mint chocolate chip ice cream and only chews mint-flavored gum. I'm a mint girl in the sense of mint pesto and mint tea and fresh snipped mint over ripe strawberries and heavy cream. I like the smell of mint on my garden gloves and the faint scent of mint on whatever happens to grow along side it, or better yet, since mint is so invasive, in its way.
Today, when I set my eyes upon a fresh, full bunch of mint at the market, I didn't hestitate in descending upon the bin and rifling through it for the most perfect bunch I could find. Once satisfied in my selection, I returned home and allowed it to rest on the window sill in the open air, scenting the kitchen with its perfume while I pondered recipes. In the end, I decided on a fresh mint, pea, garlic, olive oil and ricotta mixture to serve on toasted baguette along with lamb chops. I also a little of the mint to add another dimension of flavor to an olive tapenade and then, I left the rest of the mint on the sill for another day before having to finally succumb to running it through the processor and freezing it in cubes of water to drop into future lemon aids or delicious adult beverages.