Muddle mania

Overnight, the heat broke.  Ahhhh.  Josh and I celebrated by eating breakfast outside.  While we were sitting, I noticed that a certain plant was spiraling out of control.

"Oh, my, I have a lot of mint," I said.  "I need to figure out something to do with all that--"

It was like a sitcom, when the protagonist gets bombarded with the best idea ever. Muddle it!!!

Part of why I went straight to summer beverages and not, say, a nice rack of lamb garnished with mint was that I had just read a Pioneer Woman post on watermelon granitas and had already added that pretty little thing to my weekend to-do list.  For me, it's not at all about the rum--and actually, this whole adventure happened without a drop of it.  It's about mint.  I could add mashed-up mint to just about anything. I'd probably eat it by itself. (That's gross but true.)

Once I get a hankering, it's hard to shake. Ten hours later, I was still curious about muddling, so after work, I trekked to my neighborhood Target in search of a muddling stick. I started at one end of the kitchen utensils and worked my way over to the other side.  I saw ridiculous tools ranging from a strawberry huller to an avocado slicer, but no muddling stick. 

You know how the longer you're searching for something, the more you decide you're willing to pay for it?  It was like a supply and demand lesson unfolding before my eyes.  First, I decided $3.00 seemed reasonable.  Then $5.00.  By the time I found the muddling stick, over in the "liquor tools" section, my limit was $10.00. I trudged out of Target with a very serious $12.99 muddling stick.

REENACTMENT

 Once I got home, serious muddling stick in hand, I picked a fistful of mint.  It barely made a dent in my mint supply, which means I will have to try this experiment again. (Watch a sad tear slip slowly down my cheek.)

Then the work began. I started muddling away, mushing the mint down into the bottom of the glass.  The mint scent amplified almost immediately.  I poured ice cubes in and added lime juice, a dash of sugar, and club soda...a combination I will now call paradise.  My sweet mint mash-up:

I sat on the patio and ate dinner and drank my mint mocktail. 

I will never have too much mint again.