Seis de Mayo - DIY Infused Tequila Leftovers

I've got a confession. One my grandma will be happy to hear.

I don't drink much. I actually can't.
Between an early start-time at work, a vegan diet, and 5 days a week of rock-climbing, kick-boxing, or running, my body has a super-low tolerance compared to when I was younger and, err, less healthy. With my chosen lifestyle I just can't be out at the bars all night without feeling sick.

That said, when I do indulge, I want it to be delicious. Cheap and delicious. Which is how I got into infusing my own alcohol. Cheap booze + yummy fruit + patience = lip-smacking homebrew, great for presents or entertaining. My past libations include candy cane vodka and Skittles vodka, as Christmas presents. Candy worked well, but doesn't really go with tequila, so I decided to use the leftover fruit from my Cinco de Mayo margaritas (seen here). I worried about infusion times and the fruit potentially spoiling, so I did a little research and found a great beginners' guide here:

Guide: How to Infuse Spirits

Following their advice, I did a batch of pure oranges, an orange-ginger, a pure strawberry, and a strawberry-lime. After 3 days they smelled and tasted fabulous, except for the orange -ginger. I think the ginger had turned, or else I used too much of it. It was foul.

The strawberry especially came out delicious. I kept the original bottle and poured the infused tequila back in, and the other flavors into jam jars to store in the fridge. Now I just have to use it up before the move. Who's coming over for a margarita? <3

Cinco de Mayo Vegan Tacos

Instagram: afewgoodhours

 Every May, we who have no cultural custody of the day of cinco still like to let loose and celebrate. It makes me wonder- is Cinco de Mayo a big deal in northern, eastern, and central states, or is it purely a border-state phenomenon? I'm glad that we Californians have fully embraced it as a day for eating tacos and drinking margaritas, anyway.
 
This Cinco de Mayo, I did it ALL vegan, and it worked out great! My tacos got more love on Instagram than most of my pictures ever have, and tasted as good as they looked:

Recipe: Vegan Tacos Ole
-corn tortillas
-sunflower oil
-olive oil
-salt
-butternut squash, cubed
-black beans
-red quinoa, cooked according to package directions
-guacamole (I would have made my own, but all the avocados in TWO STORES had been completely cinco-de-picked-over. I used Trader Joe's Avocado's Number pre-made guac)
-tomato
-hot sauce (optional)
-lime
-cilantro (optional)

• Heat a sided or deep frying pan on the stove on high medium. Add enough sunflower oil to fill the bottom.
• When it's hot, add one or two tortillas at a time (depending on pan size) and flip them over when they turn a nice, dark yellow (about 4 min). Fry the other side, then remove with tongs and sandwich between paper towels to blot the oil. Continue frying as many as you need while you complete the other steps.
• Cube the squash and lightly coat the pieces in olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread them on a baking sheet and cook in the oven about 20-30 min, until a fork easily cuts in. Meanwhile, cook the beans in a small pot over medium heat, stirring frequently until they are hot. Cut up the tomato.
• Add the beans to the cooked quinoa and stir. Add salt, lime, hot sauce and cilantro to taste.
• Now the time to decide how many stations to have. You could potentially throw in the squash and tomatoes at this juncture, but I think taco stations are more fun and try to keep my taco-building ingredients separate 'til they hit the taco. I understand that people have their own taco construction methods and that should be seriously respected. Here's how I build mine:

1. Tortilla
2. Quinoa and bean mixture
3. A few cubes of butternut squash
4. tomatoes
5. Guacamole
6. Squirt with lime, then top with a few extra cilantro leaves

Instagram: afewgoodhours

The margaritas were so easy I won't even go through the process of listing things. Just blend together tequila, Triple Sec, fruit, and a complementary flavor of sorbet. No ice needed, the texture is smooth and perfect if your sorbet is nice and frosty. I did mango sorbet with strawberries. Holy cow. Vaca santa.

Forgive me, I swear I passed an international fluency exam in Spanish, but it didn't include all the important phrases.

Stay tuned for a post on how to use up all that extra tequila! <3