Spicy Marg

So I know I told you that I like eating, but have I also told you that I like drinking? (insert boyfriend saying, in high pitched voice, "no you don't!!!"). Ok, it's true, I actually don't like drinking.  That being said, I still make a killer margarita.  I took this last summer off, and my boyfriend was also able to sneak away from work for a good portion of that time, so we spent most of our days either in Maine on the boat or at the beach on the Jersey Shore.  Location notwithstanding, imbibing many margs was always on the to-do list.

Dinner in Maine, ok, so we also like Champagne... but I can't very well post a recipe for that.

To back up a few months, this obsession started while at this adorable little Mexican restaurant in Newport, RI.  It was a chilly and drizzly night, and we had just motorcycled down from Boston, and this place was just what our chilled bones needed.  Enter stage left, a cucumber jalapeño margarita.  The spice of the tequila was enhanced by the spice of the jalapeño and the cucumber was there to chill it all down.  Such a delight!  Speaking of delights, the party next to us consisted of two older ladies who had a conservation that went a little something like this:

Lady 1: I'm going to have the duck salad. To make a duck salad, first you have to cook it. You know, I cooked a goose once. Finding a goose is not that easy.
Lady 1: Oh my God, if I even open a can of green beans, I will be sick!  And the broccoli, I mean, brussel sprouts, now those are like a piece of wet toilet paper.
Lady 1: Do people even eat succotash anymore?

Note the silence of lady 2.
It was the beginning of what proved to be a fantastic summer. 

After experimenting a bit with the best way to approach this drink, here was what I we came up with:

Cucumber Habanero Margarita 

(or a spicy Margaret, as my iPhone likes to say)

Materials for 1 delectable libation (scale as needed):

• 1/2 cucumber, cut into about 1 inch square chunks
• 1/4 habanero**, sliced, but adjust this depending on your spice tolerance (for example, the boy usually takes a whole habanero... Ya, he's crazy.)
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• juice from 1 lime
• 1.5 oz good tequila (I recommend Milagro of Jose Cuervo tradicional silver)
• seltzer water

Method:

1. Muddle the cucumber chunks, habanero, and agave together in the bottom of a shaker.
• If you don't have a muddler, I find that a glass and the handle of something works well
• Muddle it really well until the cucumber is broken down and you can see the cucumber juices mixing around
2. Add the lime juice and tequila.
3. Add a bunch of ice, put on the top of the shaker and shake shake shake shake.
4. Fill your drinking glass with ice and strain the cucumber/habanero/tequila into the glass
5. Top with seltzer
6. Enjoy!

**Note: avoid touching pretty much anything on your body while working with the habanero.  It will make for a very uncomfortable hour or so.  

Now, picture yourself in this situation:  You get back from a day at the beach and go to make the above signature drink, only to find you are out of cucumbers AND peppers!  What is a girl to do?  Luckily, on hand there were strawberries, mint, and one creative lady, thus strawberry mint margaritas were born!

Strawberry Mint Margarita

Materials for 1 delectable libation:

• 3 strawberries, chopped a bit
• About 5 mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• juice from 1 lime
• 1.5 oz good tequila (I recommend Milagro of Jose Cuervo tradicional silver)
• seltzer water

Method:

1. Muddle the strawberry chunks, mint, and agave together in the bottom of a shaker.
• Muddle it really well until you have a red liquid with dark green broken down mint pieces
2. Add the lime juice and tequila.
3. Add a bunch of ice, put on the top of the shaker and shake shake shake shake.
4. Fill your drinking glass with ice and strain the strawberry/mint/tequila into the glass.
5. Top with seltzer
6. Enjoy!

Jambox and margs sums up my summer.