6/11/10

Lemon Verbena



If you ever come across verveine (or lemon verbena as we call it stateside), buy it. It's not a common plant on the westcoast so snatch it up as soon as you see it. Like mint, it's a great herb to make a tea out of (just pour boiling water over it and let it steep. The french drink it after a big meal to help digest and chez panisse makes a verbena/mint version that sounds awesome). My aunt always had a bush growing outside the back door so she could take a handful of it and shove it in a teapot.

I bought this little plant at the Descanso plant sale a couple of months ago and plan to use it to experiment with different kinds of iced tea and some of these recipes:

Lemon Custards with Lemon Verbena
Lemonade Slushies with Lemon Verbena and Mint
Raspberry Apricot Compote with Champagne and Lemon Verbena
Lemon Verbena and Orange Blossom Fizz

Happy weekend, everyone!

5 comments:

Mlle Paradis said...

the compote sounds delicious!

Fruitful Fusion said...

My in-laws (in North Africa) have verveine growing in their garden. So they pick it and dry it for me and it's wonderful in a tisane for tummy aches! I'd never thought of putting it in a dessert though! Thanks for the links!

laure said...

let me know if you gals try any of these!

prashant said...

great post..
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Leigha said...

Yum. I can just smell it!