Cooking For Engineers

[julian]

I am growing lemon balm this year among other herbs and want to find nice vegetarian recipes . I love chicken and fish but don't want it in this recipe.Can you help? Thanks! and Hang loose as the hawaiians say it.

[Ishbel]

Lemon balm is the bane of my gardening life - each year I think I've successfully dug it all up and destroyed all evidence of the plant in my garden... and each spring, there it is again!

One use for lemon balm that a Greek friend introduced me to, is to rub the sides of a salad bowl with the bruised leaf - gives an interesting lemon 'tang'.

[Guest]

Thanks Ishbel. I heard lemon balm can become a weed. Is that true? My
lemon balm is in a pot now. It' s been there for 2 weeks and it is germinating. I did get some leaves though.I'LL TRY IT ISHBEL!

[Ishbel]

Yes, it grows like a weed if you plant it directly into the ground (at least it does here in the UK!) - a bit like mint... I keep it in pots to restrict the root growth.

[julian]

I tried your idea Ishbel. Great. Is there any recipe though that I can cook it in? I will keep my lemon balm in a pot as i have limited space.

Blessings, julian

[youngcook]

I am julian Guest. I signed up today. So I am now youngcook so please respond to him please. (i was the guest whose name was julian!)

[youngcook]

Ishbel and others(please) do you know how to make lemon balm tea and is it good to use in salads and pasta sauces or any other sauce for that matter? Do you have any great family recipes. (Read message just on top this one : I am julian)
Blessings, youngcook

[Ishbel]

I have a friend who makes a lemon balm syrup and drizzles it onto a type of sponge cake. She just makes a stock syrup and adds a few lemon balm leaves to the water/sugar and removes before using the syrup.

Personally, I find it has an almost 'chemical' smell which I find offputting in the extreme! I'd rather use lemon zest in most recipes.

[youngcook]

Oho! I tried it in salad and it is delicious. Nice and lemony. But, have you ever made a tea with it? Did you use fresh or dried herbs? Which is better? Why?

[Ishbel]

I would use the leaves straight from the plant - but as I've said, I'm not too keen on the 'chemical' type flavour...

Presumably to make a tea, you would just take a few leaves from the plant - wash - bruise slightly and pour on boiling water. Leave to infuse for a few minutes - remove leaves - add sugar, if required. Drink.

[youngcook]

Thanks, but do you have any recipes that use lemon balm,like in curry, meat ,or stirfry?

[youngcook]

Have you ever used lemon balm in lemonade or in vegetable dishes.I am desperate. I grew it to make soap, but I will have excess and I love to cook.So, do you have any recipes that I can cook it in(e.g. stir-fry, curries, vegetables)? Thanks.

[Ishbel]

No, I don't.

[youngcook]

That's o.k. What I really want is for more people to answer to this than just me and you.People(excluding Ishbel since she says she knows none) please answer my question.

[youngcook]

Does anyone use lemon balm? It is the herb of the year this year.