I wrote this last summer and never posted it! Now I don't have any lemon balm in my garden this summer, but after reading this I'm going to plant some! It's so tasty and it smells wonderful.
I brought home a lemon balm plant a few weeks ago, because I wanted to bake some cookies from a recipe that called for it. When I bought it it was a tiny, tiny little plant, so small that I was almost afraid to pick from it. The nursery tag said it would thrive best in shady, moist places, and apparently that was true because it grew lightning-fast into a big, healthy bush.
Lemon balm is not an herb I have used a lot before, so I've been trying to think up new uses for it. Should you find yourself with a similar glut, here are some tips!
1. The lemon balm lemonade I wrote about here. Also good in iced tea.
2. In fruit salads or green salads.
3. Pasta with lemon, parmesan and lemon balm.
4. Vanilla ice cream with fruit, fresh or frozen, and lemon balm is heavenly!
5. As a hot tea - pour boiled water over lightly bruised leaves and allow to steep.
Or just enjoy it in the garden. Brush your hands over the plant as you walk by for an incredible, summery lemon scent.
Lemon balm works almost anywhere you'd use lemon or mint. In my experience it can be a bit hard to find at the grocery store, but if you've got a shady spot, a pot from the garden centre will grow like a weed!
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