Easy-Peasy Mojito Mixer

I love the mojito! It's fresh and citrusy with a light, sweet flavor. It's one of my favorite summer drinks.

But it's also a pain to make.

The measuring, the muddling, the mixing... it's all a big hassle. I like making it for parties, but I often end up in a corner, mixing drinks, for a sizable portion of the evening. I love to have mojitos at home, but seldom do. It's just too much work.

So I decided to brainstorm. A couple of friends came over last weekend and we started to experiment.  The goal was to develop a mixer that could be kept in the fridge or freezer. We boiled and stirred and muddled. We also tasted.

There was also a lot of tasting. Yum.

This is what we came up with, a mint-infused simple syrup that can be chilled or frozen. It's super easy and delish.

Here's what you need:

1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of lime juice
zest from half a lime
two mint stalks

Put the water in a saucepan. Add the sugar and heat until boiling. Stir the syrup until the sugar dissolves.

Turn the heat off.

Muddle the mint stalks and put them in the pot. Add the lime zest. Let them steep in the syrup for an hour.

When the syrup cools, add the lime juice and stir.

Chill or freeze into ice cubes.

This syrup makes mojito-making a breeze. Just put an ounce of mixer (or an ice cube),  an ounce of rum, and ice in a highball glass. Fill with seltzer and enjoy. You can garnish with a mint stalk or a piece of sugar cane if you're feeling fancy.

I hope this recipe makes your summer a lot more enjoyable.

Cheers!

Image from Morguefile.

Memorial Day Planning - Recipes

I'm prepping for Memorial Day. That means I'm spending a lot of time on the internet looking for recipes. I know I'll end up being lazy and opening up bags of potato chips, but, hey, a girl can dream, right?

For drinks I like this Red, White and Blue Sangria. I looooove the star-shaped pineapple pieces. You have to slice a pineapple to make them, though, and I'm not sure I want to do that. Maybe I can use carámbola slices instead. I also like this Red, White and Blue Mojito.

My favorite, though, is the Red, White and Blue Piña Colada. I wouldn't use piña colada mix (heresy!), but blending berries and rum to make colored layers is genius.

The Latin Kitchen has a list of Latin American-style burgers. My favorite is the Frita Cubana. The recipe calls for a julienned potato. Are you kidding? Everyone knows that Frita Cubana is make with canned potato sticks.

Grilled Chorizos with Salsa would also be good. I think the chorizo would require a really chunky, fresh salsa. Scratch that, I'm not sure salsa will stand up to the chorizo. I would try chimichurri sauce. I may not have time to make it from scratch, but Goya has a really good jarred chimichurri sauce. I can use that.

I absolutely must have platanutres and arañitas, and they must be dipped in the official condiment of Puerto Rico: MayoKetchup sauce.

I need some other side dishes. I found an Adobo Corn Salad recipe that looks yummy. I might add some tomatoes and maybe some sweet green peppers to the recipe though. I also found a Mango Coleslaw recipe that looks interesting.

Cheese Flan would be great for dessert. I would garnish with strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries to go with the Memorial Day theme.

I also like these Tres Leches Cupcakes. I'm a bit scared of them, though. I don't see how you can get the cupcakes wet enough to qualify as Tres Leches without making a mess. I'm afraid that these would have to be a little bit dry and dry Tres Leches cake is pointless.

I love Mantecaditos. The recipe calls for guava, but I would use red, white and blue sprinkles for Memorial Day.

What are you making for Memorial Day?

Photo from Morguefile