Sometimes things don’t go the way you plan. It’s a holiday weekend and you’re supposed to have 12 guests over. Food is bought. Dinner is prepped. And then your tiniest love gets sick. So you notify the guests and you salvage the food you can. Instead of party prep, you do yard work. While tiny Chef Nutmeg naps, you play Connect 4 and Candy Land with Chef Eclair. You make the same dinner, but smaller portions. While dinner cooks, you make mojitos.
These mojitos taste like summer. Fresh mint, a little lime and just sweet enough… A light, refreshing cocktail, like a watermelon margarita or a gin fizz – using the freshest ingredients you have available. And you sit back and sip your drink while the kids play frisbee and the chicken cooks. (Plus, it’s a fabulous way to use that big bunch of mint in your CSA.)
Because what else can you do? After all, this is the life of a mom. And you know what? It’s kind of perfect. Because I don’t always have the chance to play games on the deck with Eclair. Or stop to make a mojito to enjoy with my husband while he smokes and grills the best barbecued chicken ever. The sun is shining on what was supposed to be a rainy day and while it may not be the day I imagined, it might just be perfect.
U2 playing in the background while the kids try to play frisbee. Welcome summer. You have arrived. Maybe not as planned. But summer all the same.
- 1 lime, cut into 8 pieces
- 20 mint leaves, plus 2 sprigs
- 2 oz. simple syrup
- 3 oz. white rum
- Seltzer or club soda
- Muddle limes, mint leaves and simple syrup and divide among two highball glasses filled with ice.
- Add 1½ oz. white rum to each glass.
- Top with seltzer or club soda and stir.
- Garnish with a sprig of mint leaves and serve immediately.
Mojitos are my alllll time fave summer drink! So light and refreshing. Definitely keeping this recipe close for the rest of pool season!