Fresh Mint

When I was in the second grade, I learned that the big bushes in front of the principal's office were mint. The moment I learned they were edible, I started taking detours to that side of the sidewalk to rub a leaves between my six year old fingers and smell the spearmint oil on my hands.

I made this fresh mint flavor like I made my basil ice cream - by steeping the leaves in the cream as it warmed. As taste-testing party-goers on Saturday remarked, the result is "like biting into a chilled mint leaf on a hot day." For many, the herbaceous kick is a reminder of the complex perfume of natural mint and the hot summer days to come.