Watermelon Mojito -- The Taste of Summer Distilled Into a Glass

A good week in real estate: 2 closings, 7 new leads, the satisfaction of matching families with houses the way Mama matches fillings with phyllo — instinctively, confidently. I brought spanakopita to an open house. The buyers ate it. They made an offer.

Dimitri stopped by the bakery Saturday morning to eat spanakopita and tell Mama she is doing things wrong. She told him he had his chance. They argued. They ate. They loved. In that order, which is the only order this family knows.

I stood in my kitchen this evening and looked at the counter where I have made a thousand meals for my family and thought: this is what I do. I feed people. I sell them houses and I feed them food and I keep showing up because showing up is the only recipe that never fails.

I made a watermelon and feta salad with fresh mint and olive oil. Sweet, salty, refreshing — the taste of summer distilled into a bowl. The kitchen smelled like rosemary and the evening air and I thought: this is what survives. Not the money or the stress or the arguments about phyllo. The food survives. The recipes survive. The love baked into every dish survives.

The house was quiet this evening. I sat at the kitchen table with a glass of wine and the remains of dinner and I thought about all the tables I have sat at — Mama's table in Tarpon Springs, the table in the South Tampa house I lost, the table in the apartment where I started over, this table where I have fed my children for years. Every table is a different chapter. The food connects them all.

That watermelon and feta salad reminded me that summer flavors—sweet, bright, alive—are the ones that cut through everything else: the closings, the arguments over phyllo, the quiet house at the end of a long day. So I took what was left of the watermelon and turned it into something to sip slowly, the way I sat with that glass of wine at the kitchen table, letting the evening settle around me. This Watermelon Mojito is exactly that—fresh mint, a squeeze of lime, the sweetness of summer in a glass, the kind of drink you make when the week has been full and you want to feel it all without being crushed by it.

Watermelon Mojito

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh watermelon, cubed and seeded
• 10 fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
• 2 oz fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 1 1/2 oz simple syrup (or to taste)
• 3 oz white rum
• 1 cup club soda, chilled
• Ice, as needed
• Lime slices and watermelon wedges, for garnish

Instructions

1. Blend the watermelon. Place the cubed watermelon in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher or large measuring cup, pressing to extract all the juice. Discard the pulp.
2. Muddle the mint. Divide the mint leaves between two tall glasses. Add 1 tablespoon of the simple syrup to each glass and muddle gently until the mint is fragrant and just bruised—do not shred it.
3. Build the cocktail. Fill each glass with ice. Pour 1 1/2 oz rum into each glass, followed by 1 oz lime juice and half the watermelon juice (roughly 3/4 cup per glass).
4. Top and stir. Top each glass with chilled club soda and give it a gentle stir to combine without losing the bubbles.
5. Garnish and serve. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint, a lime slice, and a small watermelon wedge on the rim. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 210 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 15mg