Didn’t your mother always tell you to eat vegetables? And don’t you always do what your mother says? OK, sometimes you do. This time you should.

We can help you with that. Or at least Chef Sean Keeley at Ross Isaac, 1710 S. MacArthur Blvd., can — with a cucumber-basil mojito. A traditional Cuban highball, a mojito is made with muddled mint, cane sugar and rum. Muddled, you say? That means bruised — so you can buy your own pestle and muddle in a glass, gently, mind you, or muddle with the back of a spoon. 

Two things you need to know: Basil is in the mint family, and the Hendricks gin is infused with cucumber. Actually, Hendricks Gin is infused with juniper, a little Bulgarian Rose and then some cucumber mash. So here’s the recipe with Keeley’s twists added, including those all-important vegetables.

Story published Friday, May 7, 2010 ( Volume 5, Number 3 )