What's the best way to muddle something (mint and limes, in this case) when you don't have a specific tool for it? I'm coming up blank, and I'm usually good and finding a way to make things work! Do you guys have any suggestions?
Well, if you have a wooden spoon, with a rounded handle you can use the tip of the handle. Otherwise, you can muddle with two spoons.. I'd suggest a large spoon and a small one, so the stuff has some place to go (and do it over the glass so you don't lose the juice). If you have a handle of the butter knife that is thick, that would work. As long as the glass is the right shape and you can get a good "smooch" surface against the inside of the glass.. then you can use a spoon.. it just has to have a good contact surface.
Anyway.. that's probably more than you needed to know, hehe.
I used the wooden spoon handle since it was handy - did the job well! Many thanks for the suggestions! Its just a virgin mojito tonight, but I'm trying the real thing tomorrow - I'll let you know how it goes!
French pins don't have the handle on them, right? I don't have one of those, but that's a good idea too! To get a little more mint flavor in them, I'm going to substitute the sugar for mint-infused simple syrup. I'm going to use the syrup for dessert anyways, so its economical.
Plus, my poor little peppermint plant just doens't have that many leaves!