OY! KRISTEN

I know that it's not officially summer yet, but the temperatures in Georgia have reached into the sweltering degrees, so that means its time for weekly watermelon runs to the grocery store. I love the combination of watermelon, lime and mint, and I whipped up a few treats this week re-imagining this symphony of flavors in a few fresh ways. This mojito was by far my favorite, so I wanted to quickly share it here with you all in case you need a new cocktail for those Bachelorette viewing parties. P.S. I'm not watching this season because I am on a strict bedtime schedule. My 5-month-old shows no middle-of-the-night mercy. Hence the cocktail creations :)

Ingredients:
- 1/4 watermelon, cut into chunks
- 20 mint leaves
- juice of 1 lime, plus more cut into wedges for garnish
- 2-4 tbsp. maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like it)
- 3/4 cup light rum

Method:
1. Puree the watermelon in a high-speed blender (I love my Vitamix) until consistency is smooth, about 1 minute.
2. In a pitcher, combine watermelon puree with 2 tbsp. maple syrup, rum and the juice of 1 lime. Stir vigorously to combine.
3. Place several mint leaves in each individual glass and muddle. Add ice and pour in watermelon puree mixture. Garnish with more watermelon chunks, lime wedges and mint leaves. This serves 4-6.

Notes:
- Some people might prefer to strain the watermelon puree to have a more juice-like consistency. I like the frothy, smoothie-like consistency because it almost feels healthy? (Don't tell me that it's not - watermelon is FRUIT.) It's totally your preference, so if you like it that way, by all means STRAIN.
- With the subtraction of the rum, this exact recipe makes great popsicles! My son has been eating them (and asking for more!) all week :)
- Feel free to add more maple syrup if you like it sweeter, more lime if you like it more sour, or more rum if you like to have a goooood time ;)