Tag: Margarita

Strawberry Margaritas

Strawberry Margaritas | Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

You know what I haven’t quite been doing enough of this summer? Making cocktails at home. I always feel so accomplished when I whip up a delicious drink in my own kitchen, especially on a hot summer day, which lord knows we’ve been having in Portland. And I have never actually made a blended cocktail at home. Until now, that is. You see, when I got a bottle of Oregon Fruit Products pourable fruit in the mail, I decided it was time to change that.

Oregon Fruit Products has been around for a long time – eighty years in fact. And they’ve just come out with pourable fruit, a syrupy diced fruit sauce that’s easy to add to dishes, desserts, and drinks. They pick their fruit at the peak ripeness, so it really does capture that taste of Oregon summer. The convenience of this is great – you store it in the freezer, and then thaw it in the fridge when you’re ready to use. It’d be great on your waffles on a Sunday morning or in a power smoothie. (Keep in mind that since it’s a new product, you may see it with the old “Berrst” label until they update all the packaging. But it’s the same stuff. I promise.)

I decided to whip up a batch of strawberry margaritas for me and Jonah. After my discovery that no, you don’t have to have triple sec to make a margarita, I’ve enjoyed a simple shaken version a couple times this summer. But let’s be honest, blended just feels fancier, no?

Strawberry Margaritas

Makes 2 cocktails

Ingredients

4 oz tequila
Juice of 3 limes
10 dashes of orange bitters (or roughly 1/2 tsp)
1 cup Oregon Fruit Products’ Pourable Fruit Strawberry
1 1/2 cups ice
Optional: lime wedges and margarita or kosher salt for glass

Instructions

Combine tequila, lime juice, orange bitters, and fruit in a blender, and blend to combine. Add ice, and blend until smooth.

If you’re going for a salted glass, pour plenty of salt onto a plate or shallow bowl. Run a lime wedge around the rim of the glass. Press the rim of the glass into the salt.

Fill with margarita and enjoy!

This is a sponsored post. Oregon Fruit Products sent a me a sample of Strawberry Pourable Fruit, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Weekend Finds 5:3:14: Cinco De Mayo Edition

I’ll be working on Monday night, but this edition of weekend finds is for those of you that will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo! I plan on celebrating with my roommates over the weekend, though there certainly won’t be any margarita cupcakes or jello shots (because, seriously?). You can celebrate this weekend, too, if lots of margaritas are more your style…

1. Rhubarb Margaritas

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Try these rhubarb margaritas with homemade rhubarb simple syrup!

Yes, more rhubarb. I had a hard time deciding if this weekend finds would be rhubarb themed or Cinco de Mayo themed, and lucky for me, this find fits both. This time, the rhubarbh is combined with tequila, so it’s about as great as it could ever be. I would DIY some rhubarb simple syrup for this recipe instead of trekking out to your nearest Ikea…

2. Tacos Galore

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
This slideshow from Bon Appetit has so many different kinds of tacos, it’s hard to choose which ones to make.

If you know you’re going to make tacos (and really, why wouldn’t you?), check out this slideshow from Bon Appetit to help you decide what exactly to fill them with. I think making a few of these fillings is a perfect way of giving folks some options.

3. Corn Tortillas

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Beautiful fresh tortillas. There’s nothing like them.

If you haven’t made your own tortillas before, I definitely recommend it. The softness and freshness cannot be beat by anything in a little ziploc bag you buy at the store. Try this recipe from Happy Yolks on Food52. It only calls for 3 ingredients, one of which is water, and you don’t even need a tortilla press.

4. Guacamole with Spring Peas

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Guacamole: springtime edition with the addition of peas and ginger.

I love that this guacamole recipe brings fresh peas into the mix, letting us celebrate springtime a little bit too. The ginger sounds nice too, like it would make for a very refreshing snack. Bring on the Juanita’s. And don’t forget this guac saving trick.

5. Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
These crispy tacos look delicious with all the cheese and beans oozing out.

These black been tacos look delicious, and I love the way you fry up the tortillas to get them nice and crunchy. Imagine these bad boys all piled on a plate, piping hot and ready to enjoy with some Coronas. Yum.

6. Fish Tacos

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
These fish tacos are some of my favorite tacos I’ve ever made.

If you are going to make more traditional tacos, this recipe for fish tacos will always be one of my absolute favorites.

7. Mango Michelada

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
I love the color of this mango michelada.

If margaritas aren’t quite your style and you’d prefer something a little more laid back, try this mango michelada. I bet you could simplify it even farther by replacing the mango purée with mango juice, too.

Friday Finds 8:2:13

This Friday Finds comes to you from a cute little coffee shop on N Albina, called Albina Press. Lots of light and tables, and the coffee is pretty dang good. (Take that with a grain of salt – I don’t usually drink coffee and am not great at knowing the difference between good and great… so there you have it.) Here’s what I found this week:

1. Using leftover beer

Ways to use that extra beer from The Kitchn on Friday Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Ways to use that extra beer from The Kitchn

It happens to everyone. You throw a party. You tell everyone to bring some beer, expecting maybe a few guests to actually do it. And then, lo and behold, EVERYONE brings beer. After the party, you have more of the stuff than you know what to do with (unless you’re planning on throwing a rager with your college buddies). The Kitchn has a few ideas for ways to use all that leftover beer: make a shandy, use it to steam clams, etc. You can also use it as a substitute for wine in your risotto 😉

2. Carrot Margarita

Carrot Margarita from Flora Farms on Friday Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Carrot Margarita from Flora Farms

I’ll be honest, this carrot margarita from Flora Farms (found on The Latin Kitchen by way of Cupcakes and Cashmere) sounds so so so good. I love the sweetness of carrot juice, and this is a fun way to change it up.

3. H&M Home

H&M Home on Friday Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
H&M Home is now available!

H&M now has a home section! With some cute linens and kitchen accessories, I’m sure I’ll be hitting it up soon. It’s a great way to do seasonal revamping on a budget. They’ve got some cool storage tins and photographic tea towels that I’m eyeing.

4. Charred Corn Crepes from Smitten Kitchen

Charred Corn Crepes from Smitten Kitchen on Friday Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Charred Corn Crepes from Smitten Kitchen

These charred corn crepes look so fun to make, and can be made in so many variations (sweet? savory? spicy? creamy?) that you could use the batter again and again. These are on my to do list, for reals.

5. EatWith

EatWith on Friday Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
EatWith

New site EatWith looks crazy, kind of like Airbnbor Couchsurfing, but for meals. EatWith meets with hosts to evaluate their chops and space, and then hosts are allowed to put up events on EatWith, which anyone can attend (that the host chooses). Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, ranging anywhere from $10 to meals in the hundreds, this seems like such a cool way to try new food and meet new people. This is definitely something to look into when traveling!

6. 50 Best Things to Eat & Drink Right Now

GQ's 50 best things to eat & drink right now on Friday Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
GQ’s 50 best things to eat & drink right now

GQ has a list of the 50 best things to eat and drink right now, with dishes from restaurants all over the place (the clam chowder at Portland restaurant Ox makes the list), as well as ingredients that are becoming the hot new thing (a la kale). Check it out and see if anything in your area makes the list.