Cocktail Time

My cousin Kathy was up this weekend from Texas to celebrate her son's Acceptance to West Point.  VERY exciting!! Congratulations again Nick!!

We spent the day with him on Saturday for the parade and then she had a little one on one time with him on Sunday.  To celebrate when she got back, this is the cocktail I had waiting for her.

It's kind of a mash up between a Mojito and a Martini.  If Mr. Mojito and Mrs. Martini had a baby, this is what it would be.

If you are like my husband and you need a name for everything - you could call it a Mar-jito (marheeto).  Hey, that's kind of cute!

Here is what you need:

2 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Triple Sec
Juice of 1/2 lime
Fresh Mint - about a small palmful or as much as you like- torn into pieces
1/2 Tsp. Sugar
Seltzer - approximately 3 oz
Ice

Here is what you do:

In a cocktail shaker, combine vodka, triple sec, lime juice, mint, sugar and ice.  (Normally I would tell you to muddle the mint but as long as you shake the heck out of it, it's all good.) Shake vigorously to combine ingredients and then strain into a chilled martini glass.  Top with seltzer and garnish with mint leaf or slice of lime.  Or just drink up without a garnish.  Your choice.  

If you want to get fancy, you could also create a sugar rim by rubbing the lip of the glass with a lime wedge and then dip it into a mixture of lime zest and sugar.  Yum!   

Now, you know how I always encourage you to "wing it" or "make it your own?"  This drink can easily be substituted with any number of ingredients.  If you don't have vodka on hand - use rum. No triple sec - no problem - leave it out - or substitute some orange liqueur or even a little OJ.  No lime juice on hand - use lemon or even orange juice for that matter.  No mint - use basil - or rosemary.  There are so many great fresh herbs this time of year - experiment with them!

Don't be afraid to try something new - with your food or with your drink.  Especially with drinks.  There's alcohol in there.  What's the worst that could happen - it doesn't taste great so you kick it back.  Come on - we've all had a shot or two in our day that gave us the skeeve chills but we still managed to consume several of them with friends on a Friday night!

Oh, and in case you are wondering, yes, I did make it to the farmers market on Sunday morning - in the torrential rain.  I got very wet but still went out to support my farmers!  Here's what I got............

I used the peaches for a cobbler, the potatoes and some of the rosemary, garlic and onion for a smashed potato pie, the radishes and tomatoes in a salad with the wild arugala, the corn we just relished right on the cob.  When you have good produce, the possibilities are endless!  The strawberries could also be used in that Mar-jito as well.  They would add a natural sweetness to the drink so you wouldn't even need the sugar. 

If you would like to see the recipes I just mentioned, leave me a comment and I'll be sure to post them.

Until then, Cheers!