I learned a new word this week. We had friends rent a beach house nearby, and they invited us over to porch. This is what we do almost every weekend, and I am so glad I now have a name for it. Porching is when neighbors wander from house to house on a warm summer evening and sit on the front porch to socialize. Cocktails encouraged. We porched this week with Basil Mojitos. They are delicious.
Ingredients
2 T. simple syrup
1 shot fresh lime juice
1 shot white rum
6-10 basil leaves
crushed ice
soda water
lime wedges
Directions
Place the simple syrup, rum, lime juice, 2 lime wedges, and the basil in a tall sturdy glass and bash with a muddler or the back of a spoon until the basil leaves and lime wedges are mashed up.
Fill the glass with crushed ice.
Top with soda water.
Garnish with a fresh basil leaf and a lime wedge.
Ingredients list makes one large mojito. Increase amounts as needed.
Notes
To make simple syrup, Put equal parts water and sugar in a pot and heat on the stove until sugar is dissolved. Swirl the mixture a few times while heating. Remove from heat and let cool. If you only need a few cocktails, mix 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. If you are mixing cocktails for a large group, double or triple. Leftover simple syrup can be kept in a container with a lid in the refrigerator for a long time.
If you want to make a Strawberry Mojito, replace the lime wedges and the basil with strawberries and mint.
I am an educator. I am a little crafty; I like to make cupcakes, and I love projects. As my husband will tell you, these interests can quickly grow out of control when working on teacher gifts and class activities.
People do that a lot here :) We all have big porches since they were built before air conditioning when everyone sat out on their porch at night.
Same with my town. I did a class with my students in Atlanta called Box City that talked about the importance of porches and how they helped build a community. Love that the word "porch" can be a verb!
Ohhh - we are planning to porch today and my friend, who knows I have a "mojito garden" (a cluster of pots in which grow a variety of mint) thought it would be nice to try basil mojitos. I had never heard of them and them, bam, you post this with a recipe and lovely pictures. Guess what we are going to be drinking while porching today? :-)
I want a mojito garden. How fun. Happy porching.
I am making this drink and sharing your post on my Charming Farming FB page! Thanks!
Enjoy-- I am off to find your FB page. Thanks for the mention.
Argh! We didn't have any club soda yesterday - so we settled for margaritas! (if you can ever call margaritas settling) But I'm headed to the store later for club soda. Here's the FB page link if you need it (CF is a wordpress blog too.) I read. I farm. I mother. I teach. I drink!
Got it! I started following your CF Facebook page.
I may have to move down south just to take part in this "Porching". It sounds so fun. Our neighbors would never participate in this type of socializing.
It is definitely a southern thing! I think it has to do with the warm weather.
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Looks like a refreshing summer drink.
People do that a lot here :) We all have big porches since they were built before air conditioning when everyone sat out on their porch at night.
Same with my town. I did a class with my students in Atlanta called Box City that talked about the importance of porches and how they helped build a community. Love that the word "porch" can be a verb!
Ohhh - we are planning to porch today and my friend, who knows I have a "mojito garden" (a cluster of pots in which grow a variety of mint) thought it would be nice to try basil mojitos. I had never heard of them and them, bam, you post this with a recipe and lovely pictures. Guess what we are going to be drinking while porching today? :-)
I want a mojito garden. How fun. Happy porching.
I am making this drink and sharing your post on my Charming Farming FB page! Thanks!
Enjoy-- I am off to find your FB page. Thanks for the mention.
Argh! We didn't have any club soda yesterday - so we settled for margaritas! (if you can ever call margaritas settling) But I'm headed to the store later for club soda. Here's the FB page link if you need it (CF is a wordpress blog too.) I read. I farm. I mother. I teach. I drink!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Charming-Farming/358903887557666
Got it! I started following your CF Facebook page.
I may have to move down south just to take part in this "Porching". It sounds so fun. Our neighbors would never participate in this type of socializing.
It is definitely a southern thing! I think it has to do with the warm weather.