Shake and Sip

Don’t have plans for Cinco de Mayo? You do now.

Today Oliver and I are celebrating with fresh gaucamole and yummy quesadillas. Tomorrow I will celebrate with a fresh margarita. I know it will technically be Sexto de Mayo, but who’s counting? Besides, lots of great things happened on Sexto de Mayo. For instance, the 4-minute mile was broken on that day in 1954 — Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in less than 4 minutes, making the new record in 3:59.4 seconds at the Iffley Road track in Oxford, England.  And... even more significant, on May 6, 1945, WWII ends. (The German forces signed the full surrender on the 7th. VE Day is May 8th, when President Truman and Winston Churchill made the event public.)

That’s more history than you need. I wanted to be sure, however, you found a reason to make these delish elixirs. They look great in a glass, but often I like to serve them in Mason jars. And of course, they are best served on the rocks.

My favorite is lime, but feel free to add fresh strawberries and blend away to make a fruity treat.

Classic Fresh Lime Margarita

INGREDIENTS

• 4 ounces tequila
• 2 ounces Cointreau
• 2 ounces fresh-squeezed lime juice (plus spent lime rind)
• 1/2 ounce agave syrup
• Ice
• Coarse sea salt
• Additional lime wedges (for garnish)

 METHOD

1. Mix tequila, Cointreau, lime juice and agave syrup in a shaker or large measuring cup filled partway with ice and stir or shake until thoroughly chilled.
2. Spread salt on a plate. Rub rims of two rocks glasses with the spent lime. Turn glasses upside down in the salt. Fill glasses with ice and pour in the margarita liquid. Add lime wedge to each. 

Serves 2
 

Margaritas are better with food...





Not-so-classic Guacamole

INGREDIENTS (all organic)

• 2 ripe avocados
• the juice of 1 lime
• 1 ear cooked corn, kernels cut from cob
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• freshly chopped cilantro - to taste
• 1 clove garlic (minced with garlic press)

 METHOD

1. Dice, chop and mash accordingly

Serves 2-4 as an appetizer

Here are our quesadillas. We make ours on a grill pan.

Andrea’s Quesadillas

INGREDIENTS (all organic!)

• shredded cheddar
• lightly cooked chicken breast (do not dry out!)
• tomatoes
  
• sauteed red onion
  
• red peppers, lightly sauteed
  
• freshly chopped cilantro - to taste
  
• fresh corn
• corn tortillas
• garnish:
• guacamole
• beans
• salsa (we used cherry and green)
• sour cream
  

 METHOD

1. Lay a corn tortilla on the grill pan
2. add ingredients
3. cover with a second tortilla
4. cook until cheese begins to melt
5. flip over, cook until cheese is melted
   

YUM!

Hope your day is equally as fun!

:)