My parents live on one of Oh-hi-ia's many lakes, not THE lake, which in local parlance is Lake Erie, but a lake. A fairly large one. Their condo development also has a pool, so in the summer time, we spend quite a bit of time there.
Late yesterday afternoon, DH woke me from a nap to tell me that he was heading to the 'rents place to help my dad with a few projects around the dock. I blinked up at him, asking, "What time is it? And what's it like outside?"
When he informed me that it was nearly 3 pm and the day had turned out to be a beautiful one after the horrible storms that roared through the area on Friday, I decied that it was, indeed, time to get up and get moving.
Once at the lake, in my bathing suit, I sat poolside, reading, listening to U2 on the iPod, and watching the residents of the development get re-aquainted. In the wintertime, you see nary a soul in my parent's neighborhood. Come summer, they're all at the pool, bs-ing, sharing margaritas, wine, or whatever. It was here that I first had a mojito, which I now consider an essential summer drink. At the end of the post I'll share my recipe for mojitos.
It wasn't hot yesterday, just warm enough, with not a cloud in the sky. Before heading out, I'd slathered a new sunscreen from head to toe. I burn, quickly, in any sunny setting and since mum had skin cancer a few years ago, I'm even more vigilant in its application. OT for just a second, the sunscreen was this stuff, which incidentally I do not recommend. If feels downright icky on the skin.
That feeling of sunscreen on the skin, the shouts of the kids in the pool, the smell of margaritas on the air, the gentle warmth that surrounds you on a nice-but-not-too-hot&humid-day....I'd forgotten how nice it is.
makes one 2-quart pitcher
Juice of 3-5 limes, about 1/3 cup, keep the juiced halves of lime rind
Large bunch of mint
1/2 cup sugar
2-litre bottle of clear soda, or even just soda water
Rum, to taste, I usually use about 1/3 to 1/2 of a fifth, always Captain Morgan's
Ice
equipment needed
Mortar and pestle
Large spoon
pitcher, 2 quart or larger. Clear glass is nice, shows off the finished product.
as many glasses as needed to share with everyone
directions
Juice the limes directly into the pitcher. Cut the halves of the lime rinds into quarters or smaller sections to toss in at the end. Add 1/2 of the sugar to the lime juice. Place the other half into the bowl of the mortar and pestle. Using the pestle, bash the mint leaves and sugar together. Reserve a few sprigs to garnish the glasses. No need to make a paste with the mint and sugar, just beat them together enough to break the mint leaves up a bit. Add the rum, and mint/sugar blend to the pitcher, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Pouring SLOWLY, because sometimes it fizzes over, add the soda. Give it another stir, toss in the lime sections, add a handful or so of ice, and prepare to be wowed at how refreshing this is.
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