Mint Limeade

My garden is starting to blossom and one of the things that I love is when the mint begins to grow in abundance. I have discussed this excitement every season on my site, and it is simply that, excitement. Watching my daughter find joy in picking small bundles of mint leaves, chewing them along the way, in an attempt to make small floral arrangements for her room or for our dinner table, mint is just something we all love. If you have never grown mint, it is one of those herbs that not only smells and tastes good, but it is one of these herbs that just do the body good! So while I watch the mint grow, and grow, and grow, meaning it is extremely low maintenance, and while I watch my daughter nibble on the leaves as she dances and sings in the yard, I have no problem with it. As a matter of fact, I love it, and everything about it.

But with that said, I have a lot of mint and I am always thinking of ways to continuously use it up. I have even offered it up to folks in the neighborhood, because after all, who should have to go to the store and pay three dollars for a small bunch of wilted mint? Come clip some, use what you want, because I know it will grow back.

So knowing my daughter loves mint, I decided to have her make a refreshing batch of limeade. It is finally warming up in Wisconsin (as sad as that sounds), and this great use of mint allowed for a refreshing drink for both her, me, and a handful of others. Simple, delicious, and a drink that now screams summertime.

Ingredients:

• 6 whole limes, halved, juiced
• 1 lime, zested
• 1 cup of light brown sugar
• 2 cups of ice
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves
• Tequila (optional, but delicious on a summer day)

Get a blender out, and add the ice, water, sugar, zest, and juice of all of the limes. Toss in the mint leaves. Blend.

That’s it. Simple right? The fun part about making limeade is not only how delicious the end result is, but it is watching my daughter pick the leaves, and juice the limes. It was her drink.

It was her drink that she loved. That I loved. A drink that was beyond the idea of a mojito. It is something that is just really refreshing when poured over ice. Something about this just created the start of our summer in Wisconsin.

Give it a shot, and heck, try lemons with the mint, because who knows, your creativity might just pay off. Happy summer everyone.