Skinny POM Vodka Mojito

 Photo by Sheila San Juan                            

It has been a Pleasantville type of week here in Orange County, CA.  Everyday I envision the news segment in the Pleasantville movie, "It's another beautiful day in sunny Southern California."  Seeing how it is 75-95 degrees on a daily basis, who couldn't go for a day at the beach with some refreshing cocktails?!

I shop at Trader Joe's on a pretty regular basis, I've noticed that they sell, what I assume are discontinued Stoli Vodkas.  I've purchased a regular size bottle of Stoli Gala Apple and Stoli White Pomegranate for only $5.99 per bottle in the past.  I've seen this a few times and whenever there is a flavor that entices me I say, hey why not at that price.

At first attempt with my new Stoli White Pomegranate I tried to create a Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Martini recipe.  I had purchased some mint at Albertsons to try and infuse into my martini, they only sold one type of mint and it had a root attached so that you could plant it after using the mint you need.  I got home and played around with my martini concoction, however it was not to my standards to be confident enough to share the recipe.  Do not fret though, I really like this idea and will still continue to play around with this idea.  Once I believe it cannot get any better I will share my recipe with you!

Going back to that mint that I purchased, my husband planted it in a pot and put it on our balcony.  The first few weeks the mint was started to get pretty paltry and I thought she might not make it.  However, my husband moved the mint to our staircase, which gets direct sunlight, and that mint just started taking off.

Now that I have some serious mint action going on, mojitos have been on the mind and my friend Sheila inviting me to hang out at her beachside pad and go play at the beach was the perfect excuse for some mojitos.  So I put together a little Mojito Kit to take over, which included - limes, Stoli White Pomegranate, my muddler, Hansen's Club Soda, fresh mint of course, POM juice, and the most ab fab Penguin Martini Shaker.

Typically your traditional mojito would consist of lime and mint muddle with some pure cane simple syrup, using rum and club soda.  My recipe excludes the simple syrup and uses fresh pomegranate juice to add a little natural sweetness.  It is my personal preference to enjoy vodka rather than rum, you can use either one to make your mojito and they will both taste great.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Stoli White Pomegranate (can use a limon vodka, or if you want a traditional style mojito, I suggest Bacardi Limon)
• 3 Slices of Lime
• 5-10 Mint Leaves
• POM Juice
• Club Soda
• Mint Sprig (optional garnish)

Before going any further you will also need a muddler preferably, you could MAcGyver kitchen items if need be, but I cannot guarantee this will work.  Also a martini shaker is needed for best results.

Directions:

1. Take your Lime Slices and Mint Leaves and toss into bottom of shaker, splash in a little bit of POM Juice.  Muddle together until well mixed.  
2. Fill the rest of shaker tin with ice.
3. Add 2 oz. of  Stoli White Pomegranate.
4. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds.
5. Pour contents into glass of choice, I absolutely love the way they look in a mason jar.
6. Add ice to glass until full and top off with Club Soda to the brim of glass.
7. Add Mint Sprig to edge of glass for a garnish, if you wish.

Sit back and enjoy!

Shhhh...don't tell, we snuck some on the beach (aqua fresca style)

DIY - Wine Cork Place Card Settings

So, I'm ready to get back to my blog after a year or so of wedding planning and stress....whew! Every girl dreams about having her big day and having this glorious day that's all about you.  Well that day does not come easy, you have to set your date, find your vendors, pick the "perfect" dress, pick out specific flowers your want, and so on and so on, I'm getting a headache thinking about it again.  Of course once you get all your beautiful pictures back from the photographer, all of those small details, that you stressed out about and didn't even notice during the dang day of the wedding, come into place and are commemorated forever in picture.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the details from the wedding, my husband, family and I made these Place Card Settings from hand within the last week of the wedding, talk about procrastinating.  I used a Place Card Template from Michaels and saved the corks from the bar I worked at so all I had to pay for was the Paper Templates which I used a Michaels coupon for, of course.  All and all these only cost me about $10.00 to make and I had close to 100 guests at my wedding.  

Supplies Needed:

• Synthetic Wine Corks 
• Box Cutter or Paring Knife
• Place Card Templates
• Butter Knife

Directions:

1.  Begin cutting slits into the middle of the Synthetic Wine Corks using a sharp knife like a paring knife, box cutters or something similar.  

     *I say to use synthetic wine corks because the regular corks will fall apart as you start to cut into them unless you pre-treat them first, like by boiling them in water for 10 minutes.  So by using the synthetic corks you can save time, they'll be easier to cut, no risk of falling apart when you put in the place card.

2.  Using Place Card Templates directions print out your guests names with table numbers on the bottom, using the fonts of your choice.

3.  Now this is the tricky part, put your Butter Knife into the slit you cut earlier to separate slit, then quickly place the place card inside.  This took some trial and error at first, but once you got into the groove they went in easier.  It is okay if at the beginning you ruin some of the place cards and are forced to reprint, it happens to the best of us.

This is definitely an easy way to put a little of your personality into your wedding, and doesn't cost much to make and you can recruit your friends, family or maybe favorite bartender to save corks for you to save money.  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and check back soon for my Wine Cork Monogram Tutorial, which you can use your regular or synthetic wine corks for.