Mojito

Right! It's been more than a month since the last post on this blog, and I profusely apologize for such staggering delinquency - although I do have good reasons... all of which will be posted soon!

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Melbourne is in for another very hot summer and the scorching sun is annihilating almost all of the herbs and veggies in the patch including the typically hardy mint growing vigorously in a tub at the corner.



So before the sun takes its life away I got a couple of handfuls of leaves and gave it justice by putting it into a cooling summer cocktail - a mojito.

Thought it would be good to sip this refreshing drink, as I contemplate on the chronology of these blog posts invoked all in the name of documentation. Cough.

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see some of the burnt leaves on the left side

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A mojito is a highball which means it has a larger quantity of non-alcoholic mixer compared to its alcoholic base. This mojito was made of

a handful of fresh mint leaves (around 12 leaves)

2 teaspoons white sugar

4 lime wedges

60ml (2 shots) of Bacardi (or any white rhum)
Ice cubes

soda water

In a tall glass muddle the mint leaves, sugar and lime (I used the end of a rolling pin)

pre-smash photo

Add rhum, top with soda water, serve with ice and a sprig of mint as garnish

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the heat (especially for those who spent the previous month in the much colder parts of this planet!)

Previous summer cooler here

Grapefruit-Gin Summer Cooler

With temperatures reaching 30C Melbourne is sweltering in the longest run of November heat in more than 80 years. While the weather permits sleeveless shirts and shorts, the fruits and veggies enjoy (or torment?) the sun and bring forth a wonderful bounty, like the first harvested grapefruit.

So the second fruit taken from the tree landed in tall glasses with gin, cointreau, honey, mint and soda water, to help HYDRATE those who are thirsty amidst the hot weather!

In a tall glass (a very tall glass for very thirsty people, if you have one!) Muddle mint (as many as you like) with a teaspoon of honey (which normally would be a sugar syrup, and by using a muddler). This one was 'muddled' by the other end of a wooden spoon, briskly rubbed in between my palms.

Add your dose of gin (bombay sapphire in this instance, 2 and a half shots), half a shot of cointreau, 3 wedges of grapefruit (squeezed and then dropped into the glass!)

Garnish! Do not forget to garnish in however which way you like! This one was with a sprig of mint and a grapefruit wedge. Yay!

Happy days!