Minted

We have a bumper crop of mint over here.  I keep meaning to make mojito's, but by the time I get the kid off to bed these days, I'm ready for bed myself!  

So the hub was doing some yard work the other day, spreading pine straw all over the property: shirtless, sweaty... and boy did he look hot.  

Ahem.

Boy did he look parched.

So Jake and I decided to fix Daddy a little thirst quencher.  

We marched up to my Mother-in-Law's mint jungle and just started grabbing handfuls.  Now, she told me she has about four varieties of mint, but we just picked what was in front of us and sniffed.  

Seemed to work out okay for us.

We found a bag of lemons in the fridge and set to squeezing some mint lemonade for my other main squeeze.

This recipe couldn't be easier.  I seem to be on simple-syrup trend right now...

Minted Lemonade

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

A few handfuls of fresh mint, lightly crushed in your hands, Plus some extra for garnish

Cup or so of fresh lemon juice

Ice

Combine water and sugar in saucepan over medium heat.  Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved.  Add a few handfuls of mint and take off the heat.

While the simple syrup is cooling, get to work squeezing those lemons.  My Mother-In-Law had a beautiful antique glass juicer.  I got a great hand workout--but feel free to use an electric juicer!

Grab a pitcher and pour in the lemon juice.  Add water and simple syrup to taste.  Throw in a few more mint sprigs and some ice.

Pour, enjoy, repeat.