The weekend off and Vanilla-Peach Mojitos

I took the weekend off and it was GLORIOUS.

I didn’t write a single word for an article. I cooked a Father’s Day meal and got to relax, sip wine and be with family. There was not a single worry about getting recipes down or photographing a dish. Mostly, I was lazy and unproductive. I loved every minute of it. 

Now on Monday morning, as I look at the week ahead, I thought I might feel panicky or regretful. I don’t. Not even a little bit. Let’s hear it for weekends off… 

Last weekend, I was in a race to use up a big box of peaches before they went bad. Of course, a few of them made their way into a cocktail. 

Sparkling Vanilla-Peach Mojitos

Makes 2 cocktails

1 peach

2 tablespoons vanilla bean simple syrup (recipe below)

2-3 ounces white rum

12 large mint leaves, torn

sparkling wine

ice

Peel and remove pit from peach. Place peach and vanilla simple syrup in a blender and puree. Divide mixture and mint into 2 glasses.

Fill glasses with ice and add 1-1 ½ ounces rum to each glass (to taste).

Top with sparkling wine.

Note: If you like it minty, muddle the mint in the peach mixture instead of tearing the leaves. 

Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 vanilla bean

Slice vanilla bean down the middle and scape out seeds. 

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, vanilla bean and seeds. 

Bring to a boil. Let mixture boil about 5 minutes. Strain and let cool. 

The vanilla bean simple syrup makes this drink something special. It’s a flavor you don’t expect in a cocktail, but works amazingly well with the peach and the mint. This one will definitely be making another appearance this summer.