Mint and Kumquat-Infused Vodka

A friend and I picked some of the cutest kumquats on the way home from work tonight. Kumquats are small citrus fruits that you can find growing in fancy gardens around downtown Charleston. These little fruits are sometimes bitter, with the skin being the sweetest part. I brought them home to infuse in vodka with some mint growing in my own, not-so-fancy garden.

I don't have many uses for kumquats, but I thought this was a pretty good idea. The process is very easy: Wash the fruit and slice in half. Prepare the mint by rinsing, stemming and chopping the leaves. Place both ingredients in a jar and pour vodka over them. Cover the jars with a lid and place in a cool, dark place for 3 days. The vodka in this recipe could easily be replaced with gin. 

Mint and Kumquat-Infused Vodka

My jars are in the fridge and are going to be hard to resist!  I can now say that I foraged the makings for a drink in downtown Charleston. We talked about mixing this with soda water, but I'm starting to think sweet tea might make a good match. How would you drink this concoction?

Friday Flowers

My aunts and grandmother gathered aqua mason jars from antique shops for over a year for my wedding. They found these gems in little places from South Georgia to the North Carolina mountains. We ended up using them for my rehearsal dinner and I wouldn't have it any other way. My sister and I went to the farmers market and bought $30 worth of flowers and put them together. We added mint in the arrangement for some greenery and it smelled amazing. As much as I love mint, I never thought to put it in a flower arrangement. We had 10 arrangements of different sizes and it was so affordable.

Last night I got a couple zinnias from Thackeray Farms. With so many left over mason jars I decided to recreate the arrangement. I am afraid to prune my mint back too much, otherwise I would have added some. These simple little flowers will add a ray of sunshine to the weekend. What is your favorite flower?