Virgin Margaritas

I was walking through a cooking store and they were offering free samples of bottled Margarita Mix in several flavors, in a little paper cup dipped in salt. Even without the alcohol it was so refreshing as a drink, I was inspired make virgin margaritas at home.

It's just the perfect summer drink: icy, cool, sweet, and the salt replenishes the electrolytes your body loses in perspiration. And delicious.

This is more instructions than exact recipe because the basic idea of a Margarita is wildly versatile, and I want you to play with it.

What make a Margarita a Margarita is the lime, the salt, and the tequila. I'm going to eliminate the tequila since I don't drink alcoholic beverages, but you can add it if you want. Just replace some of the water with an equal amount of tequila.

First, prepare the glass. Place some natural salt in a plate and distribute it in a layer that is larger than the circumfrence of the rim of the glass. Rub the rim with a cut lime, and quickly place it in the salt. The lime juice will cause the salt to stick to the rim.

The basic Margarita mix, to which tequila is added, is simply sweetened lime juice. But often lemon and/or orange or tangerine juice is added. You can actually use any fruit juice, plus lime. During the summer, you can puree any fresh fruit (strain it to remove any tiny seeds, as from strawberries or blackberries), and add it to the mix. Also, an orange liqueur is often added to Margarita mix, so a splash of orange flavoring extract instead would be entirely appropriate.

For sweetener, I suggest agave nectar, since tequila is made from agave, and agave dissolves easily, but you could use any natural sweetener you want (see Sweetening Cold Drinks With Simple Syrup).

Then add water and ice. Margritas are made with varying degrees of slush, so experiment and adjust accordingly to your taste. I would start with half water and half ice.

This, of course, all goes in a blender and gets whizzed up (or you can shake it with ice cubes or crushed ice in a covered jar. Pour it into the prepared glass immediately and serve.