A Dozen Things to Do with Fresh Mint

Make mint ice cream. 1 of 12

Bring heavy cream to a simmer with a handful of fresh mint; remove from heat to steep, then strain and use in your favorite recipe. Or the Family Kitchen has a recipe!

Make mint lemonade. 2 of 12

fresh mint in a pitcher of fresh lemonade is a Very Good Thing. Add it to your own recipe, or Family Kitchen has one!

Quinoa with Charred Corn, Scallions, Browned Butter and Mint 3 of 12

This salad of sorts makes a fantastic summer side dish, with corn in season and a handful of chopped fresh mint. Add as much as you like - be generous! Dinner with Julie has the recipe!

Make Mint Ginger Chicken Kabobs with Spicy Raita 4 of 12

Fresh mint makes a lovely marinade for chicken kabobs on the grill. Dinner with Julie has the recipe!

Keep a bunch on the countertop. 5 of 12

bunch of freshly picked sprigs will keep for ages in a glass or jar of water - a great (and inexpensive) way to have fresh greenery - and a lovely smelling kitchen - all summer long!

Add fresh leaves to ginger ale. 6 of 12

Fresh mint adds a new flavor dimension to sparkling ginger ale - a simple summer sipper with next to no effort! Photo credit: Stock Xchng

Make mint sugar to sprinkle over strawberries. 7 of 12

Blitz a few sprigs of mint with plain white sugar in a food processor to blend, then sprinkle over sliced strawberries or fruit salad. Photo credit: Stock Xchng

Make a fresh mint pesto. 8 of 12

Mint pesto is delicious atop grilled lamb chops or souvlaki skewers. Guy Fieri has the recipe! Photo credit: Stock Xchng

Garnish cakes and other desserts. 9 of 12

few sprigs of fresh mint look beautiful atop a cake, particularly with fresh berries. Photo credit: Stock Xchng

Make a Vietnamese chicken and mint salad. 10 of 12

cooling dinner salad, shredded roast chicken goes so well with fresh mint and other Vietnamese flavors - perfect for a picnic! Patent and the Pantry has a recipe!

Make a mint simple syrup. 11 of 12

Simmer equal parts sugar and water to dissolve, add a handful of fresh mint, remove from the heat and set aside to infuse the syrup with flavor. Use it to sparkling water, prosecco, cocktails, mojitos and iced tea. Photo credit: Stock Xchng

Make a mojito. 12 of 12

Is there a better summer drink when hanging out on the patio with friends? AllRecipes has a recipe! Photo credit: Stock Xchng