Of all the factors that can determine the trajectory of your life, your neighbors rank right up there at the top of the list. A good neighbor can become your best friend or life-long partner. He or she can help you start your car, pick up your mail or find your missing dog. A bad neighbor can wreak havoc on your world in an infinite number of ways. One call to the authorities by our old neighbor in California, and we were forced to tear down an addition to our house. Granted, it wasn’t permitted, but in the out of the way location where we lived, no one would have noticed or cared had we not been ratted out.
When we moved to Pennsylvania, fresh from the house addition debacle, my husband and I wanted to find a property where we could wave at our neighbors from a distance, not have them in our faces as we opened our front door. We love our five acre property despite all the yard work, because it’s fairly private and not too close to any other house. We ARE situated behind a development, but thanks to a perimeter of pine and sycamore trees, it feels just isolated enough.
Our kids were only seven and four when we moved in, so naturally they went exploring to find some playmates in the vicinity. My daughter found that there was a girl her age in one of the houses right behind ours, just a short trek through the low pine tree branches. I sheepishly followed her over to the house to introduce myself to the girl’s parents, Bob and Sheri, and found we had a lot in common. We were all around the same age, and Bob and my husband were in the same field, corporate video production. We forged a friendship that is still going strong today. The guys have worked together on plenty of production projects and maintain a friendly rivalry over who makes the best chili or ribs. Sheri and I go see lots of movies and like to talk about the local issues (aka gossiping).
There are about five or six other couples in the neighborhood that we have gotten to know over the last 12 years and enjoy their company at various events. Over the years there have been barbeques and cook offs, graduation parties and progressive dinners. We try to make sure we know who is doing what on any given holiday so we don’t overlap. This past Memorial Day weekend Bob and Sheri had some of us over for a barbeque, and the two rib masters, Bob and my husband Dave, put forth a great effort that produced some outstanding racks of baby backs. And you know where this is going- I brought a pitcher of cocktails.
I wasn’t sure how my pomegranate mango daiquiris would be received. I am SO into pomegranate lately, so anything I mix with it tastes great to me, but I didn’t know if the gang would feel the same way. But since I’m offering up the recipe here, you must know by now that they liked them- they really liked them!
Here’s the recipe- it makes about 7-8 drinks.
Pomegranate Mango Daiquiri
16 oz POM pomegranate juice
1 12 oz can frozen limeade concentrate
1 1/2 cups each mango rum and regular white rum
Empty the thawed limeade concentrate into a large pitcher. Add 2 1/2 cans of cold water, both rums and the pomegranate juice. Throw in a few lime wedges and mix thoroughly. Cover the pitcher and chill for at least two hours, then serve over ice in tall glasses.
If you want to go the frozen daiquiri route, substitute the water for a blender half to three quarters full of ice cubes. I haven’t tried a frozen version so I won’t give you exact measurements, but a little extra booze in the blender couldn’t possibly hurt (could it? My buzzkill hubby says I can’t encourage overindulgence).
Enjoy a pitcher of these delightfully refreshing summer cocktails with YOUR neighbors (as long as they are the good kind).
Thanks Monica.
We couldn’t have asked for better neighbors and friends. As always, your drinks were the hit of the party.
Thanks Bob but I think it was your ribs that were the hit of the party!
What’s that thing growing on Dave’s Arm?
It’s a two-headed rib eater!
Mmmm pomegranate! (And rum!) Sounds refreshing and delicious!
And don’t forget the mango! And yes, it’s delish 🙂
Oh My God, two of my favorite fruits…I MUST try these. They sound fantastic! Will have to go buy rum though. I didn’t even know they made mango rum!
They make vodka and rum in every flavor you can imagine, Fran. Makes my experiments really fun!
We hope we’re in the good neighbor category and love to get together with our group of neighbors here. One of the best parts of living here. I LOVED the Pomegranate Mango Daiquiri and really love Monica’s web site. What a great writer as well as drink concocter.
Sandra, you and Tom are definitely in the good neighbor category! Thanks for your kind words, and I appreciate your support 🙂
Hi, just wanted to tell you, I enjoyed this article.
It was helpful. Keep on posting!
Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better!
Reading through this post reminds me of my previous
room mate! He consistently kept talking about this. I ‘ll forward this
post to him. Pretty certain he’ll have a great read.
Thank you for sharing!