You don't have to be in California to have margaritas and guacamole for dinner. I discovered last Saturday that, in the absence of bountiful organic limes and lemons, a highly passable cocktail can be produced from bottled citrus juice.
We're Not in California Anymore Margaritas
2 oz. tequila
2 oz. sour mix
splash of triple sec
Shake with ice and serve on the rocks. That's one serving by the way, but it would be much better to just use those proportions and pour a whole bunch in a pitcher with some ice. It's nice to share.
Sour Mix:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Put that in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and let simmer for about 1 minute. Set that aside to cool for a moment.
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup lime juice
Stir the juice together. Stir in the simple syrup. Your sour mix is ready to be turned into margaritas.
With your margaritas you will have some kind of chips and salsa. It is a moral imperative. I am certain that you have something in your fridge or pantry that can be turned into salsa.
One Particularly Delicious Salsa, or Guacamole Depending On Your Perspective :
(I had envisioned the avocado staying in contrasting chunks with the mango, but of course, when you stir up a ripe avocado it mushes up into its own special fiesta bowl and that's just fine, so call it what you will.)
1 avocado, diced
1 mango, diced
1/2 a medium red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced
lime juice (I used 3/4 of a lime's worth.)
about 1 Tbsp. minced cilantro
salt to taste
Chop the onion first and let it soak in cold water while you do the rest of the chopping. This will mitigate its sharpness. Drain your onion, and mix all that together. The lime juice and salt should be added to taste. Use a spicier chile if you want to. I bought serranos for this purpose, but they disappeared, so jalapenos were used instead.
In my inauthentic opinion, it's the lime juice, onion, chile, and cilantro that make this particular style of salsa, so you can substitute the other parts with whatever you have on hand. Of course, tomatoes are traditional here.
The boy had a black bean tamale along with his quacamole since he wasn't getting the all important margarita nutrients. I bought the tamales frozen at the Whole Foods when we were in Dallas last weekend. What a great instant meal! The boy loved it.
Happy Weekend Y'all! (The farmers market opens tomorrow!)
