this is life. what a fucked up thing we do. like drinking mojitos days before october. y'all know how i roll.

omg greatest mojito ever.

i made the syrup from demerara sugar and water, 1-1, and put in a shit-ton of mint. let it steep for an hour, and then muddled it right before bottling. (old trickling springs milk bottle, in case you're wondering - stuff goes fast but it goes bad spectacularly when it does - we'll miss you, delicious/beautiful amazing zest of one orange in equal parts demerara and water syrup whcih made great sweet/sourjitos with a wedge of orange mujddled alongwith and the rum pured over the grater, but i digress)

The mint is from Shady Brook in Broad Street Farmer's Market. They know me as :"beef stew guy." We had the following conversation

Guy who works there: "Okay, we've got your potatoes - both kinds, the peeled garlic, twelve shallots, three big whtie onions - did you need anything else?"
Me, checking down the list but panicking before I hit the bottom, "WHERE'S MY MINT?"
Owner of the stall: "You need mint? I got mint."
Me: "I see two bundles. Can you do two?" I'm nice, if he's saving it, that's fair.
Him: "I can do as much mint as you want. How many do you want?" He had me at "mint."

The stew from that shop, btw, along with two pounds of beef back ribs and two pounds of pot roast, my roasty potatoes, and some caramelized onions, is in the bottom of my mom's fridge. She liked it, I haven't tried it yet. It's lunch, tomorrow, and I 'll get steamed rice from a vendor at Broad Street which is always nice for lunch. Burned the SHIT out of myself making it, so much that I bought tongs at the kitchen supply store. Comically long tongs. Those will be good for a laugh. I could turn burgers without leaving the toilet with those.

Anyway, this mojito is in a Mason jar. It's full. I poured layers of syrup and rum (they eventually disintegrate, but it looks cool, now to do it for real) and then dropped in a bunch of mint (not a whole bunch, but like ten sprigs and a lime nad a half, muddled the shit out of it, flipped the muddler to the proper side, muddled it to much greater effect, and then added most of a small can of Jones Spookiwi seasonal kiwi soda. It's crisp and tart like their Green Apple, which I'd love to use in a mojito if I could fucking find any.

It's good. I stuck a three-cube section of ice cube into it, stirred by pushing that around, and am loving it now. Is strength is responsible, in part, for this loquaciousness.