Margaritas and granitas, why not?

Try it before summer ends

I like to cook. But it just doesn’t seem much fun anymore with the kids gone. Yet every once in a while, I’ll come up with something. Like over the weekend when the heat index was like 100 or close, and I got back to the house from errands that included CVS (can anyone explain why CVS seems to call me nearly every day? I don’t even have that many scripts there). As I settled down, I thought, “Wow, wouldn’t a nice cold margarita be nice?”

Not exactly cooking, but it is composing something in the kitchen. That counts.

So I made a trip to the store for ingredients. I know I was not being environmentally conscious about this; I am typically very careful about resources these days. Not only is gas still pricey, but I really do try to reduce trips in the car and keep my carbon footprint light. But sometimes, mental health takes precedence, and I rationalized that since I actually buy and cook so little, it was worth it.  

I also picked up some Fancy Feast for Sheba, which, for some reason, seems to be have gone way up in price and down in availability. I grab a few cans anytime I see a flavor she likes. Please don’t call me a hoarder; I’m just looking out for my 15-year-old fur baby.

Found the ingredients I needed for the margarita quickly, and that sort of surprised me because there are times when it’s very hard to find the limeade.

Back to the cooking angle, this is a simple recipe I completely credit to an old friend, R., thank you, R, if you’re reading! Who knew after all these years, I would be writing about this? It is a tried-and-true recipe, made many times over.

Anyway, if you try it, I don’t think you’ll regret it. Remember, this is for a group, or at least 2?

The recipe as given to me:

One 12-ounce can frozen limeade

One 12-ounce can diet Sprite (These seem to have shrunk to 7.5 ounces. Get-less, pay-more seems to be the theme lately.)

9 ounces Jose Cuervo Especial Gold tequila

3 ounces Cointreau (triple sec will do)

Mix all ingredients; serve over ice.

I actually have altered this so it’s 12 ounces of any tequila. This makes it easy to remember.

I add a touch more triple sec, 4 ounces, and though I need to open two cans of Sprite, I still use only 12 ounces.

The other change to the original is adding nearly a full can of seltzer, which, unlike the 7.5 ounce Sprite cans, still seem to be holding at 12 ounces. I usually have lime or lemon flavor on hand, not sure if using other flavors would make a difference.

I’ve also become particular about the limeade, after having tried a few store brands. Now, I stick to Minute Maid, despite the corn syrup.  

So there we are, and because this makes a nice size pitcher, I thought I would share. Most friends here know I like my cocktails, but really, a pitcher of margaritas was beyond even me.

I asked my nearby neighbor, who was having a tag sale, if she would want one. Sadly, I was rejected; she explained she’s on a food plan and off sugar and carbs. And I have to say, she looks great.

Then I asked another neighbor, but she was busy wrangling her daughter’s new puppy, so I was on my own. Unusual reactions for the neighborhood, but I guess times change, and it was just too hot to ask anyone else.

I put some music on, poured myself one, and thought about what I could do with the rest of this brew.

After a few sips, I recalled some seemingly complicated recipes about fruit granitas (kind of a rustic Italian ice) combining fruit and ice that I had seen either Ina or Martha or both make, and thought, why not try the same with my leftover margarita mix?

Poured myself another one ­– added some ice to my glass because by this time, most of the ice in the pitcher had melted, eased the rest into a low 1.8 liter Corningware dish and stuck it in freezer.

It didn’t last long. A few days later, with the temp still hovering around 90, a friend stopped by, and guess what? I was ready. Pulled that out of the freezer, used a fork to scrape the icy mix out into margarita glasses, and wow, it was better than ever.

And so easy, margarita granitas.

P.S. After I wrote this, I made another batch, using about 30 cubes from the ice maker, just to make sure the first one wasn’t a fluke.

It wasn’t. Just as good the second time. I served these in vintage iridescent champagne glasses that were my mother’s (in photo).

Wondering now if I should try a pina colada next time, maybe using a similar alcohol ratio.

Let me know if you try it first! Still a few weeks left to summer.

Cheers!