Like most nurses, I work 12 hour shifts and I usually work my shifts back-to-back. Working those long shifts in the hospital keeps me removed from the weather outside. In the winter, it’s not so bad. But in the summer, I miss the sunshine and fresh air and my body starts craving vitamin D. This weekend was one of those stretches where I worked 48 hours in 4 days. I ended my stretch of days with a particularly difficult shift that reminded me of the fragility of life and the blessing that my children are, regardless of how difficult they may sometimes be.
Yesterday was my night off and with the weather warming-up now, you can bet I was ready to be outside! My husband loves mojitos and we had a pineapple sitting on the counter that needed to be used. 15 minutes of prep and 20 min to make some syrup and ..
… Voila!!! Pineapple mojitos to celebrate a night at home, together! Delicious!
I ordered some carry-out, left my phone and the screens in the house and brought the speakers outside to listen to some Beatles music. The kids played with the neighbors while my husband and I sat outside and chatted. We even ate our dinner outside. Those are the moments that make life worth living …. the moments that we slow down and just enjoy where we are and who we have in our lives. This fresh summer cocktail was the perfect accompaniment to have in our hands while soaking in the last rays of sun for the day and appreciating the life that we have.
A couple suggestions:
If you like mojitos or mint juleps and you’re not growing your own mint … start! You can pick up a pot at any nursery or Home Depot/Lowes for a couple bucks. Plant it in an inconspicuous spot in the yard because it grows like a weed or in a pot on your porch. You’ll have fresh mint for the rest of your life! It comes back every year, the bugs never bother it and you can use it for a variety of food and drink recipes.
Also, if you’re unsure about this mojito recipe or you are counting your sugar intake … consider ladling the rum mixture into your glass first and then adding the pineapple syrup one tablespoon at a time, for each drink (rather than to mix the whole batch). You can control the sweetness that way. And, if this recipe is not your favorite … you can strain the pineapple out of the syrup and you have pineapple infused simple syrup to use for another cocktail like a pineapple martini 🙂
Lastly, if your kids are around and they like pineapple, you’d better buy two! This recipe uses 3/4 of a whole pineapple and it’s possible that you might just hear some complaints that you’re using “All that pineapple to make a drink!!!!” LOL
- 1 fresh, ripe pineapple, skinned and chopped
- 2 Tbs brown sugar
- large handful of fresh mint
- 1 1/4 cup white rum
- 4 oz lime juice (about 6 limes-squeezed)
- Seltzer
Makes 4 drinks
- Cut the rind off of the pineapple and cut the flesh into chunks
- In a pan, add half of the chopped pineapple, 2 cups of water and 2 Tbs brown sugar. Stirring occasionally, simmer over medium-low heat until the liquid is reduced by half-takes about 20-30 min. This will become your pineapple syrup.
3. While the pineapple syrup is simmering, muddle another 1/4 of the fresh chopped pineapple and all but 4 sprigs of mint. I used a mortar and pestle but any pot and mashing tool would suffice.
4. Once the pineapple and mint are mashed, add the rum and lime juice. Muddle some more.
- Once the pineapple syrup is done and has cooled a bit, add the pineapple syrup with the soft, cooked pineapple to the rum mixture. Mash a bit more. -OR- if you want to control the sugar, add the rum mixture to your glass and add syrup a little at a time.
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Ladle over ice and top with seltzer. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
(I found the original recipe on the Food and Wine website and then modified it to meet my tastes. This is my modified version.)
