I'm not a Hobbit.

I'm assuming most of us had read the book by J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Hobbit"...either in high school or in middle school. I fell asleep a few times while reading it, because of the authors long narration of simple events. Maybe I should re-visit the book and see if my view now differs?

Anyhow, I brought this up because today I went out foraging for some wild lemon balms. Every time I go out to gather herbs to dry for tea I think about the first few chapters from the book "The Hobbit". I run the sequence of when Bilbo Baggins is in his kitchen making tea for Gandalf. Of how he takes the lose tea and puts them in a tea bag and pour hot water over them to steep them. Why? I only wish I knew! The memory of these scenes just pops up every time!

I've picked a small lunch bag full of Lemon Blams and I'm going to dry them along with some of my garden mints. Then I'll store them for later use. Also I will brew up a cup of Lemon Blam-mint tea and have a nice cold ice-tea, that would be lovely on this hot day.

Behind our backyard is a very nice park away from the street with a small trail. Lots of wild edible plants grow along the trail.

Oh yeah! A large batch of Lemon Blam plants growing under a tall tree.

Please take note that before you ever go out to forage for edible greens. Make sure you can 100% identify the plant in question.

I dry them on the Food Dehydrator tray, but I won't use the machine. Since it's nice out I'll let them dry naturally. Saves energy and money! Very important!

Here's how you make Lemon Blam-mint ice tea.
1. Bruise the leaves by rubbing them together.
2. Boil hot water and steep the leaves for a few minutes.
(or you can use 1/2 TBS of dried mixed leaves.)
3. I use Agava as sweetener, but you can use sugar or honey.
4. Let the tea cool for a bit then pour over ice.

Ahhhh! A Refreshing afternoon tea!!