Ask not what your fellow bloggers can do for you...

It's hot and it's just going to get hotter. Before Saturday, I mean, not in a "global warming is here and we're all going to die" sort of way, even though we probably are. Oh, Ford, who died and made me Bono?

Anyway, what does one drink in such putrid weather when one doesn't care for beer? Why, a mojito, of course.

Here's one I prepared (and drank) earlier

And it's easy. Because I lovesyouseall, and because ThirdCat once expressed a scrap of interest, I'm going to share my carefully-guarded mojito recipe. All you need is Havana Club (or any other white rum), limes, fresh mint leaves, sugar, ice and soda water. Oh, and a glass and a mouth, but those are usually fairly readily available.

Ah, all the ingredients for heaven in a glass

The only difficult part may be finding something to use as a muddler. I use my rolling pin, bequeathed by my grandmother and also very useful for making gingerbread. I believe you can also buy small lumps of wood from sniffy saucepan shops staffed by Prue and Trude lookalikes, but no-one wants to have to go there. A sturdy wooden spoon would probably do quite nicely.

Drop a few lime wedges, a few mint sprigs and a teaspoon of sugar into the bottom of the glass thusly:

Give it a good scrunching with whatever nubby wooden implement you have nearby. Smell the mint and the lime? Mmm. Knock in a healthy shot of Havana Club and a handful of ice-cubes and top it up with cold soda water. Give it a stir to distribute the sugar and finish it with another lime wedge and a mint sprig.

If you're doing these for a crowd, it makes things much easier if you make a simple syrup because you don't have to worry about crunchy bits of sugar floating about. Don't worry, it's true to its name: simple. Put a cup of sugar and a cup of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir it until the sugar has dissolved and let it cool. About 15ml, or half a shot glass, is enough per drink.

So, go to! It goes very well with crisps.