What to do with lemon balm

Last week, I got a bag of lemon balm from Country Gardens.  I have been wanting to try this chicken salad recipe for several years and now I finally had the chance!  It's a beautiful salad, tasty, and made with healthy fruits and veggies.  You can pretty much figure out how to make it just by looking at the picture.  It has avocado, red beets, papaya, watercress, chicken, and walnuts.  (I took the picture before I sprinkled on the walnuts!)  The chicken and the dressing are really the only things that need explaining.

For the chicken, preheat the oven to 350.  Place two whole chicken breasts (with skin and bones) in a lightly greased baking dish, sprinkle with s & p and drizzle with about 1 T of fresh lemon juice.  Cover tightly with foil and bake until done (anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes depending on the size of the breasts).  Be careful not to let them overcook or the meat will be dry and chewy.

When the chicken is done, let it cool, remove the skin and tear it from the bone in large shreds.

Mix together:
  1/4 cup olive oil
  1/4 cup dry white wine
  2 T finely chopped lemon balm
  2 T finely chopped onion

Pour the above over the chicken and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

For the dressing, combine in a blender or food processor and process until well blended:
  2 shallots, chopped
  2 T honey
  3 T chopped lemon balm
  2 T dry white wine
  2 T fresh lemon juice
 1 T Dijon mustard
 2/3 cup olive oil

To assemble the salad, place salad greens of your choice on a plate and artfully arrange all the remaining salad ingredients on top of the greens.  Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and drizzle with the dressing.

After making the salad, I still had enough lemon balm left to make a loaf of Rhubarb Lemon Balm Tea Bread.  My son, who believes he doesn't like rhubarb, loved this bread and couldn't stop eating it!

Preheat the over to 350.  Grease a 9 X 5 inch loaf pan.  Line the bottom and sides with wax paper.

In a large bowl, combine:

  1 1/2 cup brown sugar

  2/3 cup canola oil

In a small bowl, beat together

  1 cup buttermilk

  1 egg

  1 t vanilla

Combine the brown sugar mixture and the buttermilk mixture.  Blend thoroughly.

In another bowl, combine:

  1 t baking soda

  1 t salt

  2 1/2 cups flour

Stir the above into the brown sugar mixture and fold in

  1 1/2 cup chopped, uncooked rhubarb

Pour the batter into the prepared pan

Combine and then sprinkle over the top of the loaf:

  1/4 cup sugar

  1/3 cup finely chopped lemon balm

  1 t lemon zest

  1 T unsalted butter, at room temperature

Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the top comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.  Remove the wax paper after the loaf is cool.

You have to be careful when handling this loaf.  It's fragile!  Be gentle when you slice it.