Friday Cheer! Two For One

I've got a two for one deal for you today. Two drink recipes in one post. Because one recipe was not delicious, and the other one was delectable.  It just wouldn't be morally right to offer a sub-par drink to you.  Thankfully, I have a doubly wonderful second drink recipe to set my morality back on track...and just in time for Easter!

Recipe 1:  Lychee Mojito
(To continue with honesty, I must admit this is the one I did not like, though it was really only the lychee floating around like miniature brains in my drink.  Omit the lychee and it's a marvelous mojito, which I'll drink any day.)

Ingredients:
--Seltzer water or club soda
--2 oz. white rum
--2 tbsp. lime juice, fresh squeezed
--generous handful of fresh mint (at least 10 leaves), washed
--1 1/2 tsp. sugar (preferrably turbinado, but granulated sugar works too)
--2 lychees and about 1 tbsp. of their juice or syrup

Seltzer water, white rum, lime, mint, and lychees in syrup

Directions:
--Remove mint leaves from their stems and put in the bottom of your glass.
--Add the sugar to the mint. Use a wooden spoon (or the handle of a butter knife or an actual muddler) to grind the sugar into the mint leaves. Your goal is to smash the mint leaves as much as possible so they release their oils. You don't need to work it to a paste...just bruise the leaves quite a bit.
--Pour white rum and lime juice into the glass.
--Place 2 lychees and their juice or syrup into the glass. Stir ingredients.
--Add seltzer water or club soda to taste. I usually add about 4-6 oz.

Notes:
--Though the sugar helps abrade the mint leaves, you can replace the sugar with agave nectar or simple syrup.  Either liquid sweetener will dissolve more readily into the drink. Just make sure you thoroughly bruise the mint with your utensil so you release all those tasty oils.
--I'm not a huge fan of sipping a clump of mint in with my drink, so I often add the seltzer water, wait a few seconds, and most of the mint will float to the top of the drink.  Then I can scoop most of the mint out and enjoy my drink.  Stir the drink to release any mint trapped at the bottom, under the lychees.
--As I said earlier, if you omit the lychees and their syrup, you've got a rather tasty mojito on your hands.
--Ginger ale makes a lovely switch from seltzer or club soda.

Lychee Mojito, before (left) and after (right) the addition of seltzer water

Recipe 2:  Vodka-Citrus Cocktail

Refreshing and perfect for relaxing on the porch on a warm evening.  Definitely a personal favorite.  Adapted from the We Are Not Martha blog.

Ingredients:

--2 oz. vodka
--2 oz. grapefruit juice
--2 oz. blood orange juice (Use orange juice or a mix of pomengranate and orange juice instead)
--1 oz. lime juice

Oxo's mini measuring cup (4tbsp. or 2 oz. capacity) is the perfect tool for making cocktails.
Or for watering seedlings I'm attempting to start in my apartment...

Directions:

--Combine all the ingredients in a glass. Give it a stir. Drink.

Blood orange and grapefruit juice make a beautiful drink!

Notes:

--Blood oranges are out of season now and impossible to find. I had a container of juice from the last of my blood orange hoard.  Since a regular orange wouldn't replicate the taste of a blood orange, I'd recommend adding orange juice plus something else (pomengranate or cranberry are my best nominations).

--Add some seltzer water or club soda for a little fizz, if you're craving it, though this drink doesn't need it to succeed.

Happy Easter Weekend!!