“Chocolate Mint Green, Dilly-Dilly”

Chocolate Mint

Lavender blue, dilly-dilly
Lavender green
If I were king, dilly-dilly, I’d need a queen. Whoa-oh, who told me so?, dilly-dilly
Who told me so?
I told myself, dilly-dilly
I told me so If your dilly-dilly heart
Feels a dilly-dilly way
If you’ll answer yes
In a pretty little church
On a dilly-dilly day
You’ll be wed in a dilly-dilly dress of Lavender blue, dilly-dilly
Lavender green
Then I’ll be king, dilly-dilly
You’ll be my queen Then I’ll be king dilly-dilly
You’ll be my queen

When I was thinking of a title for this blog, this song came to mind. I really don’t know why other than lavender green and chocolate mint green have the same amount of syllables. That must be it! I used to play this song in my early piano playing days. I believe there was a cartoon that looked something like men in tights with a mandolin. Anyways….

I planted a chocolate mint plant in my flower pot this spring… it likes my flower pot so much that it is in competition with my lantana and its winning!

Chocolate mint:

Is rich in vitamin A and C with traces of manganese.

Is used to flavor ice cream, mousse, and custards.

Is a beautiful garnish for beverages and desserts.

Can be used fresh or dried.

Day is February 19th

This recipe was a little of what is in the garden and leftovers in the fridge. It highlights the chocolate mint with a strawberry and zucchini bread base. I typically use this recipe for banana bread when my husband wants a little treat. Made with an egg and Greek yogurt, there is no need for oil as you can see in the last bread picture its plenty moist! Also, I haven’t been able to put it to practice as much as I would like, but I feel that good placement of spices can substitute the fats that we so often turn to to create flavor. This recipe is a reflection of that and I hope to learn more about different spices and how they can make a satisfying dish.

Let’s Bake!

Start with the dry ingredients.

Add the wet ingredients.

Here is the first zucchini of the year for me! Most of it went into a stir-fry I was making for supper, but a cup of it was grated into the bread.

Grating- probably one of my biggest hates in the kitchen. It’s just a mess!

Pretty though!

Mix it into the base and add the strawberries.

Yum!

I just hopped out on the deck and picked a couple heads of mint.

It smells amazing!

I went with 12 leaves.

Toss in the snipped mint.

Note: I used 12 leaves for 1/2 of the batch. I wasn’t sure if I would like the combination so that is why I decided to just try a few.

Chocolate Mint Strawberry Bread

1 3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1 cup Greek yogurt, plain

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup grated zucchini

1 cup chopped strawberries

24 chocolate mint leaves, snipped

Combine dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients. Fold in zucchini, strawberries and chocolate mint just until combined. Don’t over mix. Make into muffins or 2 loaves of bread. Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean.

I’ve really been on the lookout for wildflowers the summer here are a few of my favorite pics from June.

Daisies-this was my flower at our wedding, happened upon this the eve before our 11th Anniversary!
The famous Ladyslipper

As we have been living through this year with so many uncertainties that no one can ignore, the following verse stands forever true and is a constant rock during this season. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of God shall stand for ever. Isaiah 40:8