Every dog once had its day. Now everyone and everything, it seems, gets its or their own day. Tuesday was National Daiquiri Day. Yesterday was National Hot Dog Day, an honorarium that frankfurters were obliged to share with both fortune cookies and lollipops. Today is National Junk Food Day and tomorrow, ISYN, we will observe National Rat Catchers’ Day. Sunday is National Tequila Day. I derived this information by looking at the National Day Calendar, which is trademarked by a company named Zoovio, Inc. I do not know which, if any, legislative body bequeathed the Power to Set the Days to Zoovio, but I am gunning for an Everyone a Millionaire Day as well as a No More Debt for All Day. I will share my progress.
Meanwhile, I can take or leave daiquiris, do not dig on hotdogs, fortune cookies, nor lollipops. I have never needed a rat catcher, so I know not of their charms. My daughter likes Palomas, Ranch Water, and Margaritas so I have acquired a bottle of Millagro Añejo Tequila to share with her this weekend when I visit her in Birmingham to celebrate my birthday, which was Monday (I am brining along the frozen remnants of my stellar Princess Cake from Bywater Bakery). Not only does tequila have a day: it is also having a moment. Tequila sales recently outpaced whiskey sales (the heat?) and are moving aggressively to overtake vodka as America’s favorite spirit.
I don’t really know anything about tequila, but I found this recipe, the color is pretty, and it sounds refreshing for sitting around a community center swimming pool, which is probably where we are headed since it is as hot in Birmingham as it is here.
Carpe Dia Punch
Ingredients
- 6 parts Milagro Añejo Tequilla
- 3 parts Hibiscus Tea
- 3 parts fresh lime juice
- 1 part Amoretti blackberry syrup
- 3 parts ginger beer
- sage leaves for garnish
- blackberries for garnish
Preparation
Dump all ingredients except ginger beer and garnishes in a punch bowl over a block of ice. Top with ginger beer right before stirring intermittently. Garnish with blackberries and sage.
Before I depart on my adventure, I will whip up a few batches of Crick Cracks, a perfect thing developed by cookbook author/blogger/recipe developer Molly Baz, whom Cecilia and I follow with slavish devotion. All her recipes are fresh, colorful, and easy without being the same old ho-hum. Crick Cracks are easily customizable snacks that store well in an airtight tin for easy road trip transport and make for perfect snackage. When they devolve down into crumbles throw them on a salad for some crunch. This is a good one for all the Keto-ers out there.
Crick Cracks
Adapted from mollybaz.com
Serves 6-8 restrained people as a snack, 1-2 with no self-control
This recipe makes one tray of Crick Cracks, but you might as well double it and make two. They will last several days if you keep them stored in an airtight room-temperature container, but they probably won’t last that long. I like the combination of sharp cheddar with crushed pecans and whole cumin seeds. I also like the combo of sharp cheddar with crushed sliced almonds and Dukkah, a Middle Eastern spice and nut blend. Click here for Dukkah or grab a jar in the spice section of Trader Joe’s. As for the cheese, Molly grates hers from a block. Not me. I buy big bags of the cheapest, pre-shredded cheddar I can find and go with that. Works just fine every time.
That’s it from me. If you are partaking in Tales of the Cocktail, please do not drive.
