Omaha Farmers Market & Summertime Mojitos

This past weekend was the opening day at the Omaha Farmers Market.

And what a beautiful morning it was! We packed up and made a trip downtown to the Old Market to check out what this year’s vendors had to offer.

We knew there wouldn’t be too much available this early into the year; the growing season is pretty short in Omaha, compared to California where we used to find fresh produce year-round.

In the early weeks, you’re usually limited to herbs and seedlings, but we can always count on some of our favorite usual standby’s: fresh baked bread from Le Quartier, pita bread and hummus from Parthenon, and the always tasty chips and salsa from Erik’s Enchiladas, to name a few.

The market is not huge, but that’s kind of what I like about it. You can browse the whole area in under an hour and it’s usually never so busy that you can’t easily get what you need. It leaves plenty of time for a coffee break and sweet treat from Aroma’s Coffeehouse afterward.

We stopped at the Erik’s stand to pick up some chips, salsa and tamales (a must for us every time we go), and then went to see what kind of herbs we could find. I was on the hunt for one my favorite things: fresh mint! It’s a rare treat since you can’t really buy mint in the grocery store here any other time of year (and usually only in those little overpriced plastic cartons), and nothing feels more like summer than a nice refreshing mojito on the patio. Back at the market, I spied a big fabulous looking bunch for $2…score!

I’m not one to drink a lot of mixed drinks, almost exclusively sticking to wine, but I do just love a crisp mojito! I’ve been making my own for a few years now and have nearly perfected it! It’s super easy and requires very little in the way of special tools or ingredients.

On Mother’s Day, I decided to mix up a few of these summertime mojitos for Matt and I, and we spent the afternoon on the deck enjoying the beautiful weather. Evelyn fittingly “made” me this coaster for Mother’s Day with a little note, “a helping hand to hold your drink”. She knows me so well! 🙂

Seriously, you’ve got to try these for yourself. They’re so dangerously delicious.

Summertime Mojitos

Servings: 1 cocktail

Ingredients

15 mint leaves plus extra for garnish
juice from 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp sugar can substitute other sweeteners if you prefer
3 ounces clear rum such as Bacardi
cubed ice
club soda

Instructions

Remove about 15 mint leaves from stem and place in bottom of a highball glass (16 oz is ideal).
Add lime juice, sugar and rum to the glass.
Muddle ingredients in the glass to dissolve the sugar and extract the mint flavor (if you don't have a muddler, a wooden spoon will work fine).
Fill glass with cubed ice. Top off with club soda to fill the glass.
Give one final stir with a straw and garnish with a sprig of mint.