Strawberries with Minty Dip

Sometimes, our time together is fleeting.  We don't intend for it to be like that, but so it goes.

I'm not one to make friends easily.  But one day at the park, I started chatting with another mom, her son being of a similar age to Max.  We somehow managed to get the kids happily playing together in the sandbox. She helped me with some Spanish words, I helped her with some English.  We made plans to meet up the following morning at a designated time.  I thought it would be the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

Alas, Max and I were the only ones at the park the next day.

At the farmer's market, I spotted a giant bunch of mint leaves.  So fresh and vibrant and green, I couldn't possibly not take home these leaves of freshness.  I placed the bunch in the fridge for safekeeping.  Or so I thought.  Just a few short hours later, I realized the mint leaves were rapidly deteriorating.  It was apparent that they needed to be used quickly.

Sometimes, there isn't any lesson to be learned.  No lesson or narrative to retroactively give meaning to events.  I'll never know why they never showed up at the park.  But I did learn that one must use farmer's market mint quickly.  This time, as a dip for strawberries.

And next time, I'll consult this Cooking Light slideshow for more ideas to use my mint.

Ingredients
1 large bunch of mint leaves
2 tablespoons walnut oil
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
touch of honey
pinch salt
fresh strawberries, for serving

Instructions
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until blended together like a pesto.  Serve with fresh strawberries.