Mojitos, my new favorite herbal remedy

With the deck right outside our kitchen door, it's both easy and convenient to grow our own herbs.  This year, we've planted basil, mint, rosemary, parsley and cilantro.  In addition to providing some fresh flavors to add to our meals, they actually provide a lovely green backdrop when we're outside, enjoying the outside space that we were so sorely lacking in our old place.

Our exploding mint plant (left) along with some very tall basil (right)

Parsley (upper left), cilantro (upper right), rosemary (lower center)

As the caption states, within days of planting it our mint plant exploded.  Huge, green and EVERYWHERE.  The parsley has a tendency to do the same thing.  However, parsley lends itself to drying very easily.  So when it gets too large, I just cut down what I want to dry and bring it in.  Mint in any form but fresh just doesn't do it for me.  As a result, B and I needed to find a way to use our mint and fast.  Right about the same time the temperatures in DC were starting to spike considerably, in fact we were well on our way to what a good friend of mine called, "sweaty pits 2011."  B solved both problems (if not somewhat temporarily) in one delicious go - MOJITOS! Crisp, refreshing and mint-filled.  Here's the recipe he used, hopefully you'll find it as tasty and heat-beating as we did!

Ingredients (per glass)

4 mint leaves
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
2 ounces white rum
2 ounces club soda
crushed ice

Place the mint leaves in the bottom of your highball glass and squeeze the lime juice over them. Add the powdered sugar. Muddle the mint, lime juice and sugar together. Add crushed ice. Stir in the rum and top off with the club soda.