grapefruit

Grapefruit Moscow Mules

Grapefruit Moscow Mule Recipe by The Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. Made with fresh grapefruit and lime juice, spicy ginger beer, and vodka. These are a refreshing summer mule that you can sweeten up with simple syrup or sugar. Increase or double the recipe to make a pitcher for a crowd. Find the recipe for this variation of the mule on thewoodandspoon.com.

Greetings, earthlings. I am writing to you from a distant and remote place called motherhood. The land where sleeping hours are few, the air smells of sour milk, and tiny people undo every household task you attempt to accomplish. For example, that laundry you just folded? It’s now stuffed in the back of the toy box. Oh, and that diaper you just changed? Yeah, you’re gonna want to strap on some latex gloves for what’s going on in there now. And those new shoes you just bought? Well, they’re filled with puddles of spit up that poured off you shoulder, dripped down your back, and finally squished its way under the soles of your feet. 

Don’t even get me started on nursing bras. Nothing says “I’m feeling sexy” like covering your utilitarian lady parts with thicks mounds of flesh-toned fabric that’s all rigged up with elastic and plastic hardware. Doesn’t that sound so attractive? Come at me, boys.

Don’t get me wrong- I am honored to identify as a mother. It’s the greatest and most triumphant joy I’ve ever known. But sometimes, Stella just needs to get her groove back, okay?

Grapefruit Moscow Mule

Almost a year ago, Brett and I were supposed to travel to Mexico. Refresh your memory of the tragic traveling disaster here if need be, but the CliffNotes version is that we lost a passport and had to cancel our trip the night before we were scheduled to leave. Thankfully, as luck would have it, yours truly and her no longer passportless hubby are leaving today for a redemptive trip to Mexico. Solo. No chi’rens. Hallelu-yer.

The glorious thing about this trip?

NO SPIT UP. NO DIAPERS. NO 3 AM WAKEUP CALLS. NO GRANNY PANTIES.

Just me, my man friend, the Mexican sunshine, and maybe one or four cocktails (before noon). 

Yes, I will most certainly cry when we hug the babies goodbye. There may  be some moments of homesick at night before bed. And let’s be honest, there’s no way I’ll be able to escape my bestie, the ever-present Medela breast pump. But I have the nasty habit of putting my marriage on the back burner for the sake of wearing my mama hat full time, so I need this trip. We need a breather.

Grapefruit Moscow Mule

Grapefruit Moscow Mule

Today I’m sharing a cocktail recipe with you. By the time this get posted, I will  most certainly be on a beach with a cocktail in my hand, and since it’s Monday, I’m thinking you’re going to want to get in on this beverage action too.

Grapefruit Moscow mules are the drink of the minute in our house. My husband and I have been making these all summer, and I just can’t get over the spicy freshness that is the ginger beer and citrus combo. My summertime requirement for alcoholic beverages is lime and effervescence so grapefruit Moscow mules are on the money. 

Once you know a good base recipe for a mule, you can create any number of beverages. My standby recipe is 1.5 ounces of liquor (traditionally vodka), 3/4 ounce of lime juice (about half of one big and juicy lime), and 4 ounces of ginger beer. From there, you can add fruit juice, trade out the vodka for flavored liquor like blood orange vodka or even bourbon like in this recipe, or add infused simple syrups to amp a sweet and subtle flavor.

These grapefruit Moscow mules have the summery addition of some grapefruit juice and just a touch of simple syrup so that those ginger beer bubbles don’t completely light you up, however, if you prefer ultra spicy mules, you can skip the syrup. This recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, or even multiplied by 24 for a crowd (I’ve tried it!).

Grapefruit Moscow Mule

I hope you all have a terrific week, and take the chance to make some grapefruit Moscow mules this evening as a reward for making it through Monday. You’ve probably earned it.

 

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Grapefruit Moscow Mules

Grapefruit Moscow mules are a spicy and refreshing take on the traditional mule, containing fresh grapefruit juice and a little sweetness from simple syrup. Make this recipe for one, or a little extra for a crowd!

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 11/2 ounces vodka
  • 1/2 ounce fresh grapefruit juice (the juice of about 1/4 of a grapefruit)
  • 3/4 ounce lime juice (about 1/2 lime)
  • 1/4 ounce simple syrup
  • 4 ounces ginger beer

Instructions

  1. Combine vodka, fruit juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker and fill to the top with ice. Shake well, about 30 seconds, and pour into a mule mug or highball glass. Add ginger beer and stir gently to combine. Garnish with grapefruit peel.

Notes

  • You can substitute bottled grapefruit juice here if you’d like. Just give it a taste prior to serving as it may need less simple syrup.

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Grapefruit Tejitos

Grapefruit Tejitos / Tequila Mojitos Recipe by The Wood and Spoon Blog by kate Wood. This is a tangy, delicious boozy take on the classic mojito, made with tequila and lemon juice, fresh mint, and citrus grapefruit juice. Shake this fun summertime cocktail in a shaker or make a pitcher full for a crowd. Recipe at thewoodandspoon.com

There should’ve been margaritas. 

White sand, the smell of Coppertone, fish tacos, yes. But mostly, margaritas.

Don’t underestimate the amount of tequila a small woman can put away when it’s appropriately mixed with lime, salt, and a little bit of sunshine. On tropical vacations, I always feel like I’m in some weird Bermuda Triangle of alcohol tolerance where my upper limit for liquor is  suddenly similar to that of like, a 250 lb. Irish biker dude that hangs out in bars and takes his coffee with two shots of Bailey’s. I shudder to think of what the cabana boys must think of my poor liver at that point in time, but what is that saying about “work hard, play hard?” Yeah, let’s do that.

Our flight to Mexico last fall was to land mid-morning, giving us ample time to travel to our resort, check-in, and wiggle a pasty body into last summer’s bikini. By noon, I would be (over)due for a margarita.

Grapefruit Tejitos

This is, at least, what was supposed to have happened. 

At 5pm the evening before our 5am flight to Mexico, my husband announced that he could not find his passport. We spent the next several hours plowing through stacks of papers, pulling sweaters off of shelves, looking through all of our luggage, bags, and purses, and even lifting up the coffee table for a peek. I looked between every book on my bookshelf, in the back of that weird, tiny cabinet that is above the refrigerator, and in the medicine drawer.

Spoiler alert: we never found it.

I can’t really articulate the things going through my mind at that point, nor would my thoughts at that time be appropriate to share on the Internet with you kind folks. You come here for recipes, not to read about the evil torture I was plotting for my husband. Although I was mega-bummed, my frustration and disbelief was outweighed by the look of devastation on Brett’s face. He works so hard for our family and he had earned every second of that vacation. We were both equally disappointed and discouraged.

Eventually, we decided to throw in the towel and I called to cancel our flight. I spent the next hour on the phone with the airline and I think we can all agree there is nothing worse than that. Forty minutes of automated conversation with a smattering of elevator music, all endured  in hopes of finally talking to a REAL PERSON?? And then, can you even be sure it’s a real person? I’m convinced they’ve hired robots, which would actually be impressive if some scientist has already figured out how to create machines that are even more annoying that any human being I’ve ever met.  I submit that a superior option to these world-dominating telephone robots would be Siri or even Scarlet Johannson from that movie “Her”. Or maybe they could hire Matthew McConaughey or Morgan Freeman to do the voice prompts? These have got to be better ideas than what we’re currently working with. 

I was moments away from a mental break when Brett announced we still just needed to get away. We had airline credit now, a babysitter lined up for the weekend, and a few days off work; we might as well spend those days on the road to somewhere else instead of sitting at home, salivating over the margaritas that should have been.

Grapefruit Tejitos

The following day, we were poolside in Scottsdale, Arizona, which I’m now pretty sure is is the birthplace of cactuses (cacti?) and delicious, over the top breakfast and brunch options. The trip was perfectly splendid, but I was definitely missing my margarita.

When we got home, I made a margarita for Brett and a cocktail for myself that was almost too good for words. I was really proud of this creation until just recently when I discovered it was not ingenious and, in fact, was a near dead-ringer for Mexico’s most popular cocktail: the Paloma. 

Have you all tried one of these? If my research serves me well, a traditional Paloma consists of tequila with a splash of grapefruit soda and a wedge of lime. In light of a margarita, I have unknowingly turned a blind eye to this delicious beverage for years! No longer.

grapefruit tejitos

The version I mix up for myself contains fresh grapefruit and lemon juice, tequila, simple syrup, and a few mint leaves muddled in for good measure. I told Brett they were called Grapefruit Tejitos because in my mind, I was drinking a flavored mojito made with tequila instead of rum. These cocktails are refreshing, tart, and multi-faceted in flavor. With a salt-rimmed glass, they make me feel like we never missed that flight to Mexico last fall and we’re laying on the beach right at this very moment. Sigh. Maybe this fall.

I think these tejitos (it has a ring to it, doesn’t it?) would be a perfectly unique way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in a couple weeks, or, at the very least, to celebrate the start of this weekend. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

grapefruit tejitos

 

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Grapefruit Tejitos

If a mojito had a love triangle with a grapefruit and some tequila, these grapefruit tejitos would be the outcome. This beverage is refreshingly balanced in flavor, offering both sweet, tart, and floral notes.

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 2

Ingredients

  • 6 large mint leaves
  • 2 ounces tequila blanco
  • 1 ounce Cointreau or another orange flavored liquor
  • 1 ounce simple syrup
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Juice of 1/2 large grapefruit
  • Salt (for rimming glass)

Instructions

  1. Muddle mint in the bottom of a martini shaker.
  2. Add tequila, Cointreau, simple syrup, and fruit juice.
  3. Fill shaker up with ice and shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds or until ice has begun to dissolve.
  4. Serve in a salt rimmed glass with additional ice, if desired.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2
  • Calories: 181
  • Sugar: 13
  • Sodium: 92
  • Fat: 0
  • Saturated Fat: 0
  • Unsaturated Fat: 0
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 24
  • Protein: 1
  • Cholesterol: 0

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