I've been wondering the same thing! I was thinking of adding them fresh to fruit salads. Anyway, I went to allrecipes.com and they had a section on cooking w/ herbs, maybe you'll find some of it useful.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://allrecipes.com/directory/5094.asp

How about mint jelly?

Tabouleh salad makes use of fresh parsley and mint. Mint is also featured prominently in another Middle Eastern salad called fattoush.

It's also used in Southeast Asian summer rolls (served cold).

You can add a little to other cold salads, like chicken, shrimp, or lobster.

A sprig is often used as a garnish for cold desserts like chocolate or raspberry mouuse.

Mint juleps, of course. A sprig or two of fresh mint also makes a nice addition to iced tea.

Mint! So very delicious, so very versatile. Plenty of ideas below.

Peppermint: think of desserts and sweet things. Ice cream. Add Peppermint leaves to fruit juices and fruit salads, sprinkled onto pea soup, carrots and zucchini. Add a leaf to a cup of hot chocolate.

Chocolate Mint: ditto. Chocolate Mint can be chopped and sprinkled over ice cream, added to milk shakes, chocolate biscuits, cakes and desserts

Spearmint: the one for hummus, tabouleh, sauces for lamb and to cook in with peas or beans, and carrots, or chop into potato salad.

Apple Mint: think of pork with apple sauce; cookies; sorbets; lamb dishes.

Toss whole mint leaves in cooked rice before serving.

Chop spearmint, mix with olive oil and use as a marinade for fresh tuna. Marinate 30 minutes, grill.

Add mint to the liquid poaching pears or other fruits.

Add a little Parmesan cheese and chopped mint to fried zucchini.

Mint Sauce (for desserts)
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup green creme de menthe
1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoon chopped mint
1 teaspoon cornflour

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of sauce onto each dessert plate. Great under custards.

Apple Mint Sauce
1 cup apple juice (or orange or other fruit juice)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup chopped mint, or apple mint

Heat apple juice and vinegar together and pour over mint in a jar. Shake well and chill. Use on salads or meats. If preferred, mix in a little gelatine and leave to set as a jelly.

Yoghurt and Mint Sauce
300ml plain yoghurt
1 cucumber, peeled and coarsely grated
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper
24 mint leaves

Beat the yoghurt until smooth. Squeeze excess moisture from the cucumber between the hands. Puree the yoghurt, cucumber and garlic together in a blender with the salt, pepper and mint. Refrigerate. Quantities may be halved if desired. Serve with hot or cold roast lamb, grilled chops, over hot boiled new potatoes.

Frosted Mint Leaves
1 egg white, lightly beaten
castor sugar
mint leaves

Lightly brush each mint leaf with the egg white, roll lightly in the castor sugar and place the leave onto a cake rack. Leave for about an hour while the egg white dries with its crust of sugar. Use to decorate cakes, pavlova etc or as an after-dinner treat.

Minted Fruit Bake
125g dried apples
125g dried apricots
1 banana
5-6 leaves mint
1/2 cup sweet cider
3 tablespoons honey
grated lemon rind
butter

Pour some boiling water over the apples and apricots (in separate bowls), and leave to soak for 45 minutes. Drain (reserving the liquid to drink later!). Butter a shallow ovenproof dish. Cut the banana into 2cm sections and arrange over the bottom of the dish, then add the drained apples and apricots. Scatter the mint leaves over, then pour over the cider mixed with the honey. Sprinkle generously with lemon rind, dot with butter, and bake, uncovered, at 150C for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until fruit is tender and glazed.

Mint Chutney
1 cup lightly packed mint leaves,
1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup chopped green onions (white and pale green parts)
3 tablespoons parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Put all ingredients through a food blender until smooth. Use to accompany meat dishes, or as a marinade.

Mint Cookies
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground dried mint leaves
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add mint, flour and salt. Mix thoroughly. Chill dough. Form small balls and roll in sugar. Press with thumb in the centre. Bake at 180C for 12-15 minutes.

Mint Cordial
1 large bunch mint
juice of 2 lemons
500g sugar
600ml water
juice of 1 orange
1 cup pineapple juice

Pick off mint leaves, crush thoroughly, add lemon juice and stand aside for one hour. Boil the water and sugar to a syrup, pour over mint and lemon. Cool and strain. Add orange and pineapple juices and serve ice cold with a sprig of fresh mint in each glass.

Mint Liqueur
2 cups any fresh mint leaves, except eau de cologne
3 cups vodka
2 cups white sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon glycerine

Use mint leaves only, stems removed. Measure 2 cups of snipped leaves and put with the vodka in a large glass jar with a non-metallic lid. Stand for two weeks, shaking occasionally. Strain and discard leaves. Combine sugar, water and bring to the boil, then cool. Add to mint liqueur base, add glycerine and stir to mix. Pour into a sterilised jar and leave for at least 6 weeks to mature. Sip a small amount to aid digestion either before or after a meal, or enjoy with after-dinner coffee.

Mint Pesto:
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
2 cups fresh mint leaves, packed
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla

In a food processor, briefly chop the nuts before adding the remaining ingredients. Puree until reduced to a paste. If not using right away, transfer to a glass container, lay plastic wrap over the top so it is touching thus keeping air from penetrating the pesto. Store in refrigerator for up to a month. Use as a filling for sandwich cookies or mix some into chocolate sauce for ice cream or cake.

Mint Sorbet
1 bunch of mint leaves, as many varieties as you like
150ml water
juice of 1 lemon
125g castor sugar
2 egg whites

Boil the sugar and water for 5 minutes, cool. Put the mint leaves into a blender with the syrup and blend well, then put the mixture through a fine sieve. Add the strained lemon juice and freeze until just beginning to harden. Return it to the blender and blend well. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites and return to the freezer in an airtight container. Remove from the freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Peppermint Syrup
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
6 tablespoons chopped peppermint

Dissolve sugar in water and bring to the boil. Add mint and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, let stand for 30 minutes. Strain and bottle. Use as a base for summer drinks.

If you like egg rolls/spring rolls, take them and put them in a leaf of lettuce, put some fresh cilantro and some fresh mint on them, roll them up and dip them in fish sauce or your favorite sauce. GREAT!

Put the mint in ice cube trays and fill with water and/or juice and use it in tea, juice or punch.

Also it is great with yogurt and cucumbers.

Mojitos

Fill a glass 1/3 full of crushed ice

Add:
12 sprigs of mint leaves
1/2 lime juiced - & add the half to the glass
2 tbsp sugar syrup (ratio 1:1 of sugar:water heated until sugar evaporates)

Muddle the mixture together in the glass

Add:
1 1/2 - 2 oz rum
2 oz club soda
optional - spash of 7-up

I did a search on foodnetwork.com for mint recipes, and there were LOTS of hits... many for drinks, dressings and meat seasonings. hopefully it will give you plenty of ideas!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Mint Recipes

Just wanted to second the suggestion for mojitos! Yummy!

Just try going to epicurious.com and put the word "mint" in the search engine. I got over 800 recipes. If you haven't used this site you really should. It is great.

Here is a link that might be useful: mint recipes form epicurious.com

I love mint in lemonade.

Fresh mints are wonderful in a bath if you temporarily tire of ingesting them. I also found a recipe for mint potpourri in my "Pleasure of Herbs" book by Phyllis Shaudys (p. 25).
It says to use it in covered containers as desk accessories.

2 cups each dried Peppermint, Orange Mint, Spearmint, and Lavender.
1 cup each thyme and rosemary
1/2 cup orris root blended with:
1 T. oil of lavender or pennyroyal

I've also seen several facial remedies listed in "The Complete Book of Herbs" by Lesley Bremness.

Just be aware... Mint is the plant that started my whole gardening addiction!

Elizabeth

you could make mint oil, add equal amounts of mint leaves and oil into the food processor and chop fine, Use this in your cake recipes, brownies, breads, etc.
mix it with other herbs and make a pesto,
you can strain it and make it into a bread dipping oil.
refrigerate any leftovers, it keeps almost forever.

steep mint and other herbs in wine vinegar, do not boil.
my favorite is orange mint, orange zest, thai hot peppers, and lemon thyme, with a bit of ginger root.
add a bit of sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and concentrated orange juice and use it for a chicken maranade.

mint is excellent with lamb.

use it in a salad

3 tomatoes chopped
1 med onion chopped
1 bunch or large handfull of mint, chopped
5-8 green onions or scallions, thinly sliced
juice of 2 lemons
salt

put all ingredients in a bowl and chill for an hour, serve with grilled chicken or fish

Tomato soup with couscous

2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion chopped
1-2 carrots diced
14 oz can italian chopped tomatoes
6 garlic cloves chopped
6 1/4 cup veggie or chicken stock
1 1/2 cup couscous, or alphabet noodles
2-3 sprigs mint chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 bunch cilantro
cayene pepper to taste
salt and pepper

cook the onion and carrots in oil of about 10 minutes until softened
add the tomatoes, half the garlic, stock, couscous, mint, coriander and spices
bring to boil
add remaining garlic and simmer for 7- 10 minutes until couscous is just tender
serve hot

Chopped Veggie Salad

1 each red, green, and yellow bell pepper seeded, and diced
1 carrot diced
1 cucumber diced
6 tomatoes, diced, I prefer romas
3 garlic cloves chopped fine
3 green onions or scallions sliced thin
2 Tbs chopped cilantro
2 Tbs each chopped dill, parsley, and mint
1 hot pepper chopped fine
3-4 Tbs olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

add all ingredients, toss, and serve chilled

mint can also be added to any green salad

Wow! Thanks everyone that's exactly what I was looking for. Great suggestions and I can't wait to get started!!!

to give winter Tabouleh salad a summer fresh taste I make a kind of mint pesto . . . peppermint and olive oil that I freeze in baggies to mix into the tabouleh dressing in the winter . . .I mix that frozen with lemon juice, salt and pepper in the blender and then dress the salad made with store bought parsley, bulger, onion and tomato.

Tracy

My Betty Crocker Cookbook has a recipe for Minted Melon that's really good. I'll post it when I have a bit more time.

Sharon