Well wouldn’t you know it, the calendar would suggest that today is in fact the last official day of Summer here in the southern hemisphere– surely not?!!
In Melbourne, the heat shows no sign of abating, roof top cocktails, dusk till dawn art festivals and movies under the stars still beckon. I for one, am happy to live in some denial for now and enjoy a little cocktail…
My first love and favourite cocktail of the season is always a Mojito. Cool, crisp, a little sweet and easy on the mint… At the bargain price of $10 per cocktail last summer in NYC, it was cocktail hour EVERY SINGLE night! Unfortunately (or fortunately), the purse is a little more constrained at horrendous Australian prices.
To prolong the last little bit of summer, I’ve put together these Basil, Mint and Lime Mojito Icy Poles. The addition of basil is a distant memory of my trip to Argentina 2 years ago. My best friend who was living there at the time, took me to a stunning bar called Milion in the Recoleta district of Buenos Aires.
Housed in a grand 19th century French style mansion, a long elegant bar lead outside to a sweeping staircase and courtyard. The walls of this hidden courtyard cascaded with greenery and candlelight which provided a stunning backdrop for my first Basil Dacquiri – it was divine!
These icy poles are alcohol free and can either be eaten as is, with a little white rum or you could crush them up in a glass and add your rum to taste.
Enjoy!
Gillian
xo
Basil, Lime & Mint Mojito Icy Poles
Makes 8 standard icy poles
Ingredients
- 250ml lemonade (sprite) (substitute 50ml of lemonade for white rum if preferred)
- Juice of 6 limes
- Zest of two limes
- 3 Tbl of sugar
- 1 cup of fresh basil leaves
- 16 mint leaves
- 8 cucumber slices
Method
- Mix lemonade, 2 tablespoons of sugar, lime juice and zest together in a jug and set aside
- Add basil and 1 tablespoon of sugar to a saucepan – just cover with water and simmer until basil has reduced to 1 tablespoon. Keep an eye on it and add more water if required. Blend, add to lemonade/lime mixture.
- Add torn mint and cucumber to each icy pole mould then fill with liquid. Freeze icy poles for at least 12 hours.
- When ready to eat, leave icy poles out for a few minutes to losen up in the mould.
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These look so amazingly fresh and summery! They would be a fantastic addition to a BBQ. Mmmm
If we get a summer here, these will be a definite at any outdoor event…