Eating from your yard tip ~ Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) crushed in your hand and left in a pitcher of water overnight in the refrigerator makes a lovely “mother’s little helper” infused waters to calm and brighten the mood of both mother and child. In the days of old the catholic monasteries created closely held recipes for Carmelite Water and Benedictine liqueur both using lemon balm along with other herbs and spices. They were thought to cure all the ills of the time. My friend, Alison Krohn, has made some very fine lemon balm infused vodkas. A lemon balm simple syrup would be nice addition to cocktails, over fruit salad or poured on a warm lavender pound cake. While lemon balm makes a lovely drink, the leaves are also used in food like added to your spring roll wrap. Chop up fresh lemon balm leaves to add to your green or fruit salad or baked in sugar cookies or lemon bars. Graham Herbst commented on my lemon balm post back in 2017 that he had chopped lemon balm with cashews, almonds, red peppers, garlic and walking onion bulbs. Sautéed with bacon fat and saffron rice. Delish! How do you eat lemon balm?
– Jill Kuhel
