Monday, June 21, 2010

happy 1st day of summer

it's summer. finally. now we can go from complaining about -15° weather to 95° weather.

now, in honor of this already 72° at 7:30am day, i'm going to talk about my most favorite summer beverage ever:
the Mojito.

just looking at that picture makes my mouth water. ever since my first sip of this magical drink- i've been hooked. it's gotten to the point of an obsession.

if we're at a bar, my first question "do you serve mojiotos?" out to eat, "...mojitos?" children's birthday parties, "...um, mojitos?" you catch my drift. when sumer hits- it's mojito mode for me.

so- imagine me last summer- very pregnant & unable to indulge. also imagine my sadistic husband who took every opportunity to order a mojito while we were out, knowing full well that i was dying inside. he is pure evil!

well so what- i knew i'd be un-pregnant in a few months & then i'd have a baby so i wouldn't even think about mojitos & then by next summer- YAY! mojito time!!! right, right?!?!

fast forward to now. yes- i am once again "in the family way" so i could see the wheels in the hubs head turning- oiled in the sweet knowledge that he has a sure method of torture for the entire summer. he was practically salivating with the thought (i'm saying 50% for mojitos & %50 for my pain & suffering)

well i'm not going to stand for it. NO! i woke up on saturday & said to myself, "SELF! YOU WILL HAVE MOJITOS THIS SUMMER! HOOOOOORAY!" so, with my infant daughter & 4 month old fetus in tow- i headed off to find the most perfect limes- the most minty mint & some kind of substitute for top shelf rum.

mission accomplished. now i simply had to wait for an excuse to make an entire pitcher of virgin mojitos....but of course! father's day dinner at the in-laws! hooray! my mother in law doesn't drink, i can't drink & my brother in law's girlfriend is also "with child"- score.

while i waited for sunday to arrive- i decided to make something else- Mojito Cupcakes. um, i should stop now- because they were so good i wanted to cry. i promise to post the recipe & pics on my food blog (which i know i've been neglecting). i may or may not have eaten 3. but whatever.

sunday morning dawned hot & muggy. perfect mojito weather. after letting my husband bask in the glow of father's day gifts & paid for by me breakfast, it was off to the in-laws where my virgin mojito plan would be put into action. we arrived & while he was distracted by "man stuff" (dunno what that is really, him & his dad seem to be pretty into it) i got to work.

chopping, slicing, picking, muddling, crushing, juicing- hard work! my mother in law wandered in & said "ooooh! it smells good in here!" i wish i could say this is hard for my mother in law to say because she's some sort of cold hearted wench that hates me & wants to see me unhappy in everything, because that would add lots of awesome to my mojito story, but i simply can't because my mother in law is possibly the sweetest thing in the whole world. she's like puppies, ice cream & sunshine all rolled into one hot, fluffy & tasty ball. actually- that makes her sound kind of gross- but you know what i mean. ANYWAY- i digress.

after about 20 minutes (i made a huge ass pitcher btw)- my work was done. the kitchen smelled like summer & in front of my was a large pitcher of ice cold virgin mojito. it was bubbly & green. i wanted to stick the straw right into it & keep it for myself. but that's selfish- and i'm very giving.

so i got out 4 glasses- scooped some mojito yum into each one (mojito yum = muddled up lime, mint & ice) and filled them to the tippy top. i popped a straw in each one & carrier them out. my father in law (who doesn't look at things before they go into his mouth) gave me the desired reaction. his eyes got big & he said "man oh man. this stuff is good!" this caused the hubs head to snap up like "...what is this?" he spied the glass- then he spied me drinking the contents of said glass- and i could see his plans for summer torture come crashing down. honestly- he looked a little hurt. like, "why would you do this to me?"

sweet victory. but he was a good sport. he drank his virgin mojito & stated that it was swell. then my brother in law & his girlfriend arrived & they also gave the thumbs up. i wound up making another pitcher & besides an after dinner coffee- that was all we drank. no one even touched the rum my husband had brought. sucker.

so there you have it. virgin mojitos are good. this is coming from a die hard non-virgin mojito fan. i don't think anything can make up for the missing kick of top shelf rum- but it's ok. at least you know you can drink 4 glasses & not have to pay for it in the morning.

so here's my easy peasy recipe for Virgin Mojitos. i say easy peasy because traditional mojitos use simple syrup, club soda, rum, limes & mint. but i can't have rum, and i didn't want to make simple syrup & i couldn't find a 2 liter bottle of club soda. so i compromised. and it worked.

Virgin Mojitos (this makes a very large pitcher)

  1. 2 liter bottle of 7up
  2. 4-5 limes
  3. fresh mint (1 large bunch is enough for 2 pitchers)
  4. 1 tblsp sugar

slice the limes & then cut those slices in half. pick off about 1 cup worth of mint leaves. toss the limes, mint & sugar into the pitcher & start muddling. this means smashing the limes & mint together- get the lime juices flowing & the oils running from that mint. muddle, muddle, muddle! i use a muddling stick i got off a bottle of Bacardi- but you can use whatever you have on hand.

add the ice- i used a good 4 cups or so- and mix. i used a spoon to mix the ice & muddled mess together ( you don't want all the good stuff on the bottom). then add the 7up- just pour it in. then let it sit for 5 minutes or so. i know it's hard- but you can do it. get out some glasses & using a slotted spoon- spoon some of the muddled mess (ice & all) into each glass. then put the top on the pitcher & fill up each glass.

pop a straw into each one & enjoy! (the straw is a MUST because otherwise you wind up with mint pieces in your teeth. not as fun as it sounds)

if you're not down with 7up- you can use Ginger Ale, Sprite- whatever. i liked 7up the best for this. and if you want to be more "original" then go ahead & use club soda. however you WILL need a sweetener so you'll have to use a ton of sugar (and have gritty mojitos) or you can make a simple syrup (this is equal parts water & sugar boiled together & cooled. pretty simple- but not as simple as a bottle of 7up!)

and there you have it. i hope everyone had a wonderful weekend & here's to a good (and hopefully quick) workweek!
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11 comments:

LA @The Reel Family said...

I'm not even pregnant at the moment but I am going to get the stuff for this. It sounds divine. Not too mention much more appropriate for Momma to take to the pool in a water bottle with baby, right?!? Yummy!!

Desi said...

I LOVE mojitos too!!! I will be making these :)

Rebekah said...

welcome back. I've missed your awesome story telling ways...!

These sound delicious. And I'm salivating over the cupcakes. I'll be making both!

PhinneyGirl said...

Beer is my drink of choice, and after being pregnant last summer I was looking forward to this summer, knocking back some cold microbrews...but I too am pregnant again and sadly missing my beer for yet another summer.
Thanks for the virgin mojito recipe!

Tiffany said...

I'm not even a fan of lime and you made mojitos sound delish! Congrats on ruining the hubs plan.

Mrs.F said...

I love Mojitos!!! I don't think I'd be a real Cuban if I didn't ;)

B F said...

This is awesome!!! Myself, just like you, have been pregnant the last two summers and this makes me excited!!! Yes, I only have a month left (actually more but you get my drift!)of torture (I mean pure bliss!!!) until I can officially drink again but until then, your recipe is going in my belly!!! Thanks lady, love it!!!

Blushingbride said...

I knew I loved you for a reason. We share the same love and passion for mojitos. Best drink EVA!!!

Alexia said...

Yay!!! I suffered being pregnant and unable to indulge last summer too and missed Mojitos sooooooo much! And this summer breastfeeding is keeping me pretty much still in the 'virgin' drink category. Love this recipe, can't wait to make a great big batch!

Janelle said...

I remember indulging in the virgin mojito while with child two years ago - very fond memories indeed. The mint and bubbles were soothing and cooling and fantastic...

escort barcelona said...

I never knew it that it was so easy to make my favourite drink at home and saves so many dollars. Thanks