I’ve had this very lovely and beautiful mint plant in my side yard all summer long. Despite the demise of my spinach and lettuce plants turning into wilted leaves of sadness, my mint  plant was thriving beyond its leafy neighbors. I spent weekends trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do with all this mint (besides for drinking mojitos with every meal and snack). Mint ice cream? Um, ok if you make me. Mint extract? Pour some vodka on those leaves and call it a day.
Dreams of never ending mint recipes were on my mind. Mint cocktail hours involving sipping chilled, refreshing libations on the patio with a book or a kind friend, pondering who would receive the next yield of mint that I just couldn’t use up fast enough. But then, the incident happened that would crush my minty goodness dreams.
While my guy and I were gone for a lovely weekend away, the weather turned to rain and wind, which we desperately needed to cool off from the crazy heat we had been enduring. While we were away, the wind blew down my window box plantings and crushed my lovely herb plants and snapped the life out of my  (finally producing!) pepper plants. But wait, could I just pick the box up, dust it off, and hope my sprouts would repair themselves? Guh, sadly no. My parsley plant is still thriving, but my poor mint has continued to wilt away and protests to my efforts in coaxing it back to life. In an effort to use the last of the good mint leaves left, I wanted to incorporate it into something fresh and light, where the bruised leaves wouldn’t be noticed but the flavor would lend an unmistakable hint of the remaining mint leaves.
I know that you might think I am insane for mourning the loss of a stinking plant, but if you’ve been through the trials of trying to finally grow a proper garden with an actual abundance of leaves, you hear my words, right? Please tell me I’m not just a big weirdo about this herb disaster!
So even though your mint plant might seem like the herpes of herbs and it feels like it might never go away or be used up (um sorry, best analogy that popped into my head), just remember, you can find me in the produce aisle, weeping over the $4 packets of weeks old herbs or trying to coax a baby mint plant into supersizing itself before the first chills of fall. Bring me your fresh mint and we will be mojito friends for life, on the real.
Sweet Cherry Mint Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cantaloupe (cubed)
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries (diced)
- 1/3 cup cherries (I used Ranier cherries, but feel free to use any other variety)
- 1 cup grapes (halved)
- juice of 1 lime
- 1–2 ounces Luxardo Cherry liqueur or any other sweet liqueur
- 1/3 cup mint leaves (chopped)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine fruits, lime juice, and liquer. Stirring to evenly combine. Add mint leaves and stir to combine throughout. Serve immediately or chill in fridge for 2-4 hours. The flavor tends to get better after the salad sits for a couple of hours, allowing the flavors to meld together.
Rachel Randolph says
I am mourning for you! There is nothing more painful than paying $4 for a tiny handful of week old herbs. My mint plants will not thrive for the life of me. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but I love mint and it seems to hate me. I’m going to try again this week…and then, if I can’t grow the herpes of herbs (love that btw!), I will simply accept that I am an awful gardener.
The Frosted Vegan says
Haha, so glad you understand!! : )
Maria Tadic says
I love mint in fruit salads! I also really love it in a beet salad – kinda freshens up the sweetness of the beats! It’s quite delicious! Good luck with your plants!
Kelly @ Vegan Iowan says
You poor thing! That must be incredibly frustrating. I have a mint plant I cut back way too much in the early summer and it’s making a slow, painful recovery. I’m glad you made the most of it with this recipe – it looks fantastic!
The Frosted Vegan says
I did that exact same thing with my spinach, what a loss! Here’s to us doing better next year : )
Jessica says
Oh the sadness of dying plants. Sadly this has happened to me all too frequently, as I have a possum who likes to eat/dig up/ruin anything and everything I plant! I have had to move my spinach and lettuce plants to our front garden so he cant get to them, but now there is the danger of our creepy neighbour doing who knows what to my lovely plants. What a lovely recipe you concocted however! I will save this one for when the weather heats up here in Melbourne!
The Frosted Vegan says
Ugh, yuck!! Those possums are the WORST! Best of luck with your garden, I’m crossing my fingers for a better one next year : )
steph@stephsbitebybite says
Loving the freshness of this salad…and the colors!!
shashimcharles says
This is a really good looking salad!
Glad to have stumbled by your blog through Facebook 🙂
Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com
The Frosted Vegan says
Thank you! Me too, thanks for visiting!
bakerbynature says
Loooooove fruit salad! Especially with gorgeous mint 🙂 xo
The Frosted Vegan says
Same here chica! : )
Oh My Veggies (@ohmyveggies) says
NOOOOO!!!! But nothing kills mint! Nothing! I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s sprouting up again in a few weeks. Don’t lose hope yet. I’m glad you got to use at least some of leaves in this beautiful salad!
The Frosted Vegan says
I’m holding out for a heeeerrroooo (for my mint plant!)
Sarah | The Sugar Hit says
I do not have an overgrown mint plant (everything I touch in the garden dies), but I want to be mojito friends forever anyway. Because MOJITOS!
The Frosted Vegan says
Mojiotos for life girlfriend!